Virginia Tech (18-10) (NET: 50)
2-8 (Q1), 6-1 (Q2), 3-1 (Q3), 7-0 (Q4)
The Hokies haven’t made the NCAA Tournament in four years but are certainly in much better shape than last season. Virginia Tech has been a middle of the pack team in the ACC for much of Mike Young’s tenure in Blackburg and it’s more of the same this season, but this team might just break that drought with a hot finish to the season.
This team put themselves in great shape with a 12-2 start to the season that include a triple-overtime win over rival Virginia that remains a Quad 1 victory. Their other Quad 1 conquest came just a few weeks ago at Clemson as they’ve been clawing for positioning in a much tougher ACC.
Unfortunately, the Hokies have been stockpiling losses in recent weeks. There isn’t a truly disappointing loss on the resume, though that loss to Florida State recently slid to Quad 3. Being just 7-8 in the ACC is clearly disappointin, as this team has lost three different league games by just a single point and have won just three of their last eight contests overall.
Two major opportunities remain, as Virginia Tech has Quad 1 road games at North Carolina and Virginia the next two Saturdays. The expectation is that the Hokies won’t be successful, but if they can pull off an upset they’ll put themselves closer to the right side of the bubble.
West Virginia (16-12) (NET: 66)
4-7 (Q1), 2-4 (Q2), 2-1 (Q3), 8-0 (Q4)
Year one for Ross Hodge at West Virginia hasn’t exactly been a banner year but his Mountaineers still find themselves alive for the postseason. While it’s certainly true that this team could have won more games to this point and their NET isn’t exactly in great shape, the wins speak for themselves and have kept them on the bubble.
All four Quad 1 wins have come during Big 12 play and the most notable was upsetting Kansas way back in early January. This team has swept Cincinnati, with the early February road game being Quad 1, while also getting nice road wins over UCF and Arizona State. They haven’t won a majority of those opportunities but certainly have more Quad 1 wins than several comparable bubble teams.
A recent Quad 3 home loss to Utah kick started their current 3-game losing streak. Obviously, West Virginia is trending in a tough direction at the wrong time and is back down to just 7-8 in the Big 12. Tough earlier losses to Wake Forest and Xavier remain Quad 2 and remain among a long list of wasted opportunities.
There isn’t much time left to turn things around but it’s pretty clear that this losing streak has to stop as soon as possible. West Virginia gets a BYU team this weekend that’s in their own big slump and it might be their last Quad 1 game before the Big 12 Tournament. It would also help to knock off UCF in their home finale.