After taking care of business at home in the regular season finale, the stage is now set for the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship.
The OFFICIAL 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship bracket. pic.twitter.com/X61MfbE7VJ
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) March 9, 2025
The 8th-seed Mountaineers will get their first action in Kansas City on Wednesday, facing the winner 16-seed Colorado after they secured an upset victory against nine-seed TCU in the opening round of action on Tuesday. Tip-off is set for approximately 3pm ET.
Colorado is a familiar opponent for the Mountaineers, as the WVU saw Colorado once during the regular season schedule. The Mountaineers were able to defeat the Buffaloes on the road in the basketball program’s first-ever trip to Boulder, and will need to be able to do so once more if they hope to make a Big 12 Championship run.
#16 Colorado (12-19, 3-17)
Colorado had an abysmal start to conference play, losing its first 13 games. One of those losses came at the hands of the Mountaineers in their lone matchup.
Despite a second-half push by the Buffaloes, WVU was able to hold on for a 78-70 victory in Boulder. Senior guard Javon Small finished with 26 points in the win, but it was the performance of another senior -- Joseph Yesufu -- that garnered the most attention of any Mountaineer on that given day. Yesufu scored a season-high 18 points in the win, scoring 8 of his 18 points in the final five minutes of the game to help seal the deal for the Mountaineers.
Colorado features a balanced offensive attack led by senior guard Julian Hammond III, who averaged 12.6 points per game.