Why a home game gives WVU women's basketball a major edge in the NCAA Tournament

WVU women's basketball took home the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament Championship last weekend, and with the win, they positioned themselves perfectly to secure a home game in the NCAA Tournament.

And if the Mountaineers are awarded one of the Top 16 seeds in the field (and they are currently projected to earn one), which is where they must land to get the opportunity to host, it could go a long way in helping them punch their tickets to the Sweet 16.

Mark Kellogg's strong track record at Hope Coliseum could be a major boost in March

It's always an advantage to be able to play a game on your homecourt – that's a pretty widely accepted fact in basketball. But it shouldn't be understated ahead of potential NCAA Tournament games at Hope Coliseum just how good the Mountaineers have been in Morgantown during the Mark Kellogg era.

Kellogg is currently approaching the end of his third season with the Mountaineers. During that stint, West Virginia has gone 44-5 in games at Hope Coliseum. That's good for a home winning percentage of 89.8% and an average of less than two home losses per season.

And while nothing is a guarantee, that type of stat certainly makes you think home games in the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament would go a long way in helping the Mountaineers get past opening weekend for the first time since Kellogg took over the program and earn that elusive trip to the Sweet 16. West Virginia is extremely difficult to beat at Hope Coliseum.

And while Kellogg knows home games aren't cheat codes, he's thrilled about the possibility of bringing the NCAA Tournament to Morgantown.

"I want it for the state; I want it for our community; I want it for our program, and I want it for women's college basketball, because I think it will be an electric environment for the other teams that come here to play," Kellogg said this week.

"(Hosting) doesn't guarantee that you are going to win," he added. "It doesn't guarantee that you get to play a second game. We just know two day's-worth of games (could be) played here. You have to play really well to win the first game of the NCAA Tournament to get an opportunity to continue to play. I don't want us to lose sight of that."

If the Mountaineers are able to advance to the Sweet 16 with a homecourt advantage assist, it will be only the second time in program history they have advanced past the second round of the tournament, and the first time since the tournament expanded to 64 (now 68) teams in 1994.