The Mountaineers haven’t lost consecutive games since they fell to Clemson and Xavier in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at the beginning of the season. Can West Virginia avoid its second losing streak of the season? Here are our picks.

Schuyler Callihan: TCU 61, West Virginia 54

The level of intensity and urgency in the game against Utah was extremely concerning to me. It’s a game they knew they could not afford to drop, and yet they played as if they still had 20 games to prove themselves. I also wasn’t a big fan of some of the things being said by the players postgame. Not that they said anything wrong, they just looked and sounded defeated. Are they going to be able to find some answers offensively in a matter of a couple of days? I don’t think so.

I’ve got this one as another defensive slugfest that pretty much puts an end to whatever is left of WVU’s tournament hopes.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 67, TCU 66

West Virginia has lost seven of the last eight games in Fort Worth, and after the abysmal performance Wednesday night in the home loss to Utah, there’s not much confidence the Mountaineers can steal another road win.

TCU has won the last three of four at home, including a win over Iowa State, and held the Cyclones to a mere 55 points. The Horned Frogs started the Big 12 slate 1-4, but the group has turned their season around and sits one game below .500 at 6-7 in league play.

The Mountaineers have lacked consistency on offense and would do themselves favors to hit the good looks they get, especially in the opening minutes. And there are times they’re two steps behind their opponents and look nothing like the team that knocked off Kansas or the group that has won three of their last four games.

Jamie Dixon’s teams will always be tough defensively, even though during Big 12 play this season, they are in the bottom half of the league. Again, they have improved and have two forwards, David Punch and Xavier Edmonds, who will attack the rim.

West Virginia is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament, and with five games remaining, there’s little room for error. Maybe they come out with a sense of urgency and execute at a high level, and maybe they will be the aggressors from the outset. This group has played freely on the road, and I believe they hit some big shots to pull off the win, 67-66.

It’s unlikely that West Virginia makes the NCAA Tournament at this stage, given that they have a Quad 3 home loss on their schedule in addition to a pair of losses to Xavier and Wake Forest that aren’t going to be received well by the selection committee.

That being said, the analytics still like the Mountaineers enough to put them among the top 68 teams in the country.

Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are a tournament team, either. You have to keep in mind that there will be several teams outside the top 68 who will receive automatic bids by winning their conference championship. However, it may be a sign that there is still a small sliver of hope for the Mountaineers if they were to snap out of their offensive funk and catch fire.

Unlikely, yes. But hey, it ain’t over until it’s over, right?

According to KenPom, West Virginia ranks 60th, sitting nine spots behind Saturday’s opponent, TCU. The NCAA’s NET Rankings have WVU a couple of spots back at 62. They have just as many or more Quad 1 wins as the 26 teams ranked above them in the NET, and with these next three matchups with TCU, Oklahoma State, and BYU, they have a shot of separating themselves resume-wise by racking up that Q1 win total.

Although I went in-depth yesterday as to why WVU’s season feels doomed, I don’t understand how winning 21 games and going 12-6 in the Big 12 wouldn’t be enough to get into the field. Yes, that means the Mountaineers would have to win out, which is somewhat laughable to even mention, but even in that scenario, it still may not be a tournament-worthy resume, as TeamRankings.com still projects it will take 24 wins.

Despite the bleak outlook, WVU head coach Ross Hodge remains optimistic.

“The gift and the curse, we talked about it, being in the Big 12 is you still have opportunities in front of you. Now, those opportunities can run out, and that’s a reality,” Hodge said. “But you still have opportunities, and you still have all your goals in front of you. That’s the truth. Two things can be true at once. You let a great opportunity slip tonight, that puts more pressure on your other opportunities.

West Virginia and TCU will tip things off tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock and NBCSN.