Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: Updated 2020-21 power rankings after NBA Draft deadline

By Tristan Freeman

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats walks the sidelines in the game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 05, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Jay Wright of the Villanova Wildcats walks the sidelines in the game against the Butler Bulldogs at Hinkle Fieldhouse on February 05, 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball
MORGANTOWN, WV – FEBRUARY 01: Oscar Tshiebwe #34 of the West Virginia Mountaineers (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) /

469. . . . Mountaineers . 25. team

Extending the NBA Draft deadline wasn’t even necessary for the Mountaineers, as big men Oscar Tshiebwe and Derek Culver had already decided early on that they were coming back for another season. These were the two lone double-digit scorers from last season and is one of the best starting frontcourt duos in all of NCAA Basketball.

There isn’t any issue with West Virginia’s frontline or the defense overall. The main issue comes from the lack of collective production from the backcourt. There wasn’t any double-digit scoring guard, with rising sophomore Miles McBride coming the closest at 9.5. The lack of a true facilitating point guard to lead the offense didn’t help matters, with not a single player last season averaging 2.0 apg.

So why it’s great that most everyone is coming back, that doesn’t mean that the collective ceiling for the Mountaineers has been raised. Barring one of the guards breaking out to become a go-to scorer, this team will still be susceptible to long scoring droughts and struggle to win games against the top of the Big 12. Yet West Virginia deserves to slide in top-25 due to the impressive frontcourt and Coach Bob Huggins. They just need to find more offense somewhere to become true contenders.

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