While the West Virginia Mountaineers had to win on Friday against the UCF Knights to keep any NCAA Tournament hopes alive, that victory alone won't be enough. The Mountaineers will need multiple wins next week at the Big 12 Tournament if they're hoping to go dancing, and they will possibly need to win it. But the win over the Knights also helped them with that latter goal.
With the win over the Knights, WVU secured a finish within the top eight spots of the conference, which means they will be getting a bye past the first round of the conference tournament. That means WVU will have Tuesday off, while two teams play a full game to determine who West Virginia faces the next day.
This gives WVU a significant advantage, and will allow them to be well-rested and have a better chance at getting at least one win at the event.
The Mountaineers, who were projected to finish 11th in the conference this season, can end up as high as seventh place with a Cincinnati loss to TCU tomorrow. But they will at least finish in eighth place.
The seventh-place bid would be favorable, as an eighth-place finish will set up a likely rematch with UCF, which posits the tough challenge of beating a team twice in a week and three times in a season. And if they win there, they'll likely see Arizona, currently ranked second in the nation, in the next round.
If the Mountaineers make it to seventh, they'll face the winner of what will likely be a BYU and Kansas State showdown in the first round. WVU has wins over both teams this year. This side of the bracket also gives WVU a more winnable opponent in the quarterfinals if things go to chalk.