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Bracketology 2023: WVU, Pittsburgh and Oklahoma among teams with key games

By Jason Burgess

LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 09: A detailed view of the bubbles prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Fulham FC at London Stadium on October 09, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 09: A detailed view of the bubbles prior to the Premier League match between West Ham United and Fulham FC at London Stadium on October 09, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images) /
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Bracketology West Virginia Mountaineers guard Erik Stevenson Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Bracketology West Virginia Mountaineers guard Erik Stevenson Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

West Virginia 15-8 (4-7) vs. No. 3 Texas 19-5 (8-3)

Austin, TX, Saturday, February 11, 12:00 PM ET, ESPN2

West Virginia has an extremely important week ahead when it comes to its NCAA tournament chances. They beat No. 11 Iowa State on Wednesday at home and now on Saturday, they travel to Austin to do battle with No. 5 Texas. It’s hard to believe that in the second week of February, a team with a conference record of 4-7 is even on the bubble, but that just illustrates the top-to-bottom strength of the Big 12.

Despite the 4-7 conference record, the Mountaineers are 19th in the NET, and their predictive metrics all rank in the top 40. Six of their 15 wins have come from quad 4, which means taking advantage of any road game left on their schedule will be a key to West Virginia’s final portfolio. Nearly half of their schedule qualifies as a quad 1 game and they have won five of those games.

After this game with Texas, Bob Huggins’ team finishes with three home games and three road games, with all three road games coming against teams currently ranked 14th or better in the AP poll. While there are plenty of opportunities remaining on their schedule, the double-edged sword with that schedule is that with every loss they risk a perilous position on the bubble.

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