The West Virginia Mountaineers are down to the final seven-game stretch of their regular season schedule, and right now, an NCAA Tournament bid would not be in the picture for the program if the season ended today.
However, the season doesn't end today, and there's still plenty of reason to believe the Mountaineers could still be in contention for the big prize come Selection Sunday. But if they want that to happen, what happens over the course of the next few weeks is going to be very important.
Bracketology update: Mountaineers on outside looking in ahead of several important games
In the latest ESPN Bracketology update from Joe Lunardi, West Virginia was in the first grouping of four teams outside the first eight teams to miss the tournament, meaning they'll like need to surpass about a dozen teams in the committee's eyes if they want to earn a spot.
Luckily for the Mountaineers, the next few week have ample opportunities to do just that. The final stretch of the season has two games against UCF, one game against TCU, one game against Oklahoma State, and one game against BYU among their final seven contests.
UCF is currently projected in the tournament, among the last four teams to receive byes to the Round of 64 and avoid a play-in game. TCU is the first team out of the tournament in the latest Bracketology update, while Oklahoma State is also among those first eight teams predicted to miss the field. BYU, meanwhile, is currently projected as a No. 6 seed in the tournament.
West Virgiia likely needs at least four, if not five or six victories to close out the regular season if they want to lock up a tournamen spot. Two of those games against Kansas State and Utah won't mean a ton in terms of resume, but will add to the win total if they handle their business.
If Ross Hodge and the Mountaineers can tap into some of the resilience they've demonstrated so far this season and reel off three wins in those five games, and play solid basketball in their two more winnable contests, we could still be discussing a March Madness trip next month.