WVU Looks to Add to Postseason Resume Tonight at Iowa State

WVU Looks to Add to Postseason Resume Tonight at Iowa State | https://wvusports.com/

By Press release submission

Mar 5, 2023

WVU Looks to Add to Postseason Resume Tonight at Iowa State

West Virginia's tour of Quad 1 teams continues tonight with a 9 p.m. matchup at Iowa State.

The Cyclones, despite losing their last three games and five out of their last six, are No. 23 in this week's NCAA NET rankings, one of 10 Big 12 teams in this week's top 65.

Last-place Oklahoma, which defeated Iowa State 61-50 in Ames last Saturday, now has five Quad I victories as the 65th-rated team in the NET.

Kansas (6), Texas (10), Baylor (12), Kansas State (17), TCU (21) and Iowa State (23) make up the top 25.

West Virginia moved up one spot to No. 26 after its two-point loss at Kansas last Saturday, while Oklahoma State and Texas Tech remained steady at No. 46 and No. 54 respectively.

All 10 Big 12 teams have played at least 15 Quad 1 games so far this season, with only Michigan State's 15 joining them from outside of the Big 12.

Kansas is now an impressive 15-5 vs. Quad 1 teams after outlasting West Virginia, while Kansas State (9-6), Texas (10-7) and Baylor (10-8) also boast winning marks.

Iowa State is 8-9 against the Quad 1 and remains on solid ground for the 68-team NCAA Tournament coming up next month, despite its late-season slide.

West Virginia, on the other hand, is probably going to need at least one or two wins down the stretch at Iowa State tonight, at home against No. 17 Kansas State this Saturday, or in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament beginning March 8 to solidify its postseason credentials.

If the season ended today, West Virginia (16-13, 5-11) would face Texas Tech (16-13, 5-11) in the 8-9 game of the tournament in Kansas City. The Red Raiders have put themselves into the March Madness discussion by winning four of their last five and six of their last nine games.

All 10 Big 12 teams have at least 14 victories and Oklahoma (14-15) could reach .500 once again with a win on Wednesday night at Kansas State.

There could be a scenario where all 10 teams have winning overall records heading into the conference tournament, which demonstrates the overall strength of the league.

Among the power basketball conferences, the ACC currently has five teams with losing overall records, including 4-25 Louisville and 9-20 Florida State.

The Big East has three teams with losing records (including 7-23 Georgetown and 9-20 DePaul), the Big Ten has two (including 7-20 Minnesota), the Pac-12 has three (including 3-26 Cal) and the SEC four (including 10-19 South Carolina).

The updated brackets coming out late this morning still have West Virginia in the tournament, but the Mountaineers need to add some wins, despite Kansas coach Bill Self's endorsement after watching his team hold them off on the game's final possession on Saturday.

"You guys watched them play today. Does that look like an NCAA Tournament team to you? The answer is an emphatic yes. They're really good," he said.

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins agrees, pointing to what his team has faced in the Big 12 and a difficult nonconference schedule that included games against Purdue, Xavier, Auburn, Florida and Pitt.

"We have far and away the best strength of schedule in the country," Huggins said Saturday. "And if that doesn't mean something to the committee, shame on them. I told our guys I don't think they have anything to worry about, and I will blast (the selection committee') as far and as long as I can if they don't get these guys in the tournament."

A win tonight at Iowa State, which is 13-2 at Hilton Coliseum this year, could likely make the issue moot. WVU has already defeated the Cyclones 76-71 in Morgantown in what was a hard-fought and difficult basketball game.

WVU should have won in Ames last year and defeated Iowa State 76-72 on Feb. 2, 2021.

Tonight's game will be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Rich Hollenberg and Jess Settles) with radio coverage on the Mountaineer Sports Network tipping things off at 8 p.m.

Tony Caridi and studio host David Kahn can be heard on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the mobile apps WVU Gameday and The Varsity Network. Satellite radio coverage is on SiriusXM channel 381.

West Virginia will return to Morgantown early Tuesday morning and will have the rest of the week to prepare for its regular season finale against Kansas State on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Coliseum. That game has already been announced a sellout.