West Virginia got a boost Saturday when the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee had the Mountaineers as a No. 2 seed in its early reveal of the seeds of the top 16 teams at point of the season. That boost quickly took a hit after another dispirited WVU road defeat Saturday afternoon when the Mountaineers lost at Oklahoma, 69-59.
The Mountaineers went 1-1 over the past week and the loss to the Sooners is reflected in their slight drop in the latest Bracketology projections.
ESPN’s latest Bracketology forecast has West Virginia down a line as Joe Lunardi has the Mountaineers as a No. 3 seed in the West Region, down from the No. 2 seed he had WVU in his last forecast. ESPN still has the Mountaineers in the Cleveland pod for the first- and second-rounds, the closest available venue for WVU. In the forecast, ESPN has WVU opening against 14th-seeded Wright State. Creighton (6 seed) and Virginia (11) are on the opposite bracket in the Cleveland pod https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/bracketology.
CBS Jerry Palm also has the Mountaineers as a No. 3 seed in the West Region and also has WVU playing in the Cleveland pod. Palm as West Virginia opening against Bowling Green (14). CBS has Arizona (6) and Wichita State (11) in the opposite bracket in the Cleveland pod https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/bracketology/.
The USA Today likewise projects WVU as a No. 3 seed in West Region and also has the Mountaineers playing relatively close to home in Cleveland. Like ESPN, USA Today has WVU opening against Wright State (14). Creighton (6) and Indiana (11) are opposite WVU in the Cleveland pod in this forecast https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2020/02/10/ncaa-tournament-bracketology-march-madness-bubble-watch-acc-duke-louisville/4711426002/.
