West Virginia women’s basketball suffered two close losses to ranked teams this week, setting them back from near the top of the Big 12 standings, to now within just one game of losing their double bye opportunity in the Big 12 Tournament.
West Virginia currently sits at 11-5 in league play, but right behind them are Baylor and Iowa State at 10-6. The job is simple for West Virginia this week though, win and you’re in the top four and earn the coveted double bye in the Big 12 Tournament.
“We know where we’re at, we know what’s essentially on the line late. I’m just glad we’re still playing for important things this late into February and into early March,” West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg said. “There’s two to go and we’re right there in a good spot. We bounce back, we still control our own destiny for that spot if you want to look at it that way. We win two, then we get it.”
Kellogg and the Mountaineers just finished the toughest part of their schedule, facing four ranked teams in there past five games. WVU went 2-3 in that stretch.
If the season ended today, Oklahoma would be the No. 1 seed, Texas the No. 2 seed, Kansas State the No. 3 seed, and West Virginia the No. 4 seed.
The Mountaineers would play the winner of Iowa State vs Texas Tech/Houston in the Big 12 Quarterfinals.
If WVU is able to get that four seed, they would only have to play three games in four days, instead of four games in five days if they were to make a run to the Big 12 title game.
The Big 12 Tournament is set to get going Thursday, March 7, and ends on March 12.
Kellogg and the Mountaineers are back in action in what is seemingly a must win game on Tuesday night. West Virginia hits the road to face Oklahoma State, who is 6-10 in league play this season. Then, West Virginia returns home on Saturday to face TCU, a team the Mountaineers beat last week.
