The West Virginia Mountaineers dropped a must-win game on their homecourt on Wednesday night, putting a halt to just about any chance the Mountaineers might make an NCAA Tournament appearance this season.
The Mountaineers desperately needed to secure a victory against the Utah Utes, as their opponent entered as the bottom-ranked team in the Big 12 and currently will count as a devastating Quad 3 loss on their home floor – which just so happens to be the type of loss that is pretty hard for the tournament selection committee to forgive for a potential bubble team like West Virginia.
A pair of really bad bubble losses tonight:
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) February 19, 2026
-- Seton Hall at home to DePaul
-- West Virginia at home to Utah
Both teams were on the outside looking in entering the night and now drift further (much further) from at-large contention.
There are still a handful of opportunities on the season for the Mountaineers to impress the committee as that ever-so-crucial homestretch of the season includes two more projected tournament teams at home and two bubble teams on the road, but it will take a significantly impressive effort over the end of the regular season and Big 12 Tournament if WVU wants an at-large bid.
West Virginia fans knew entering the game that it was pretty much a must-win game for their team, and they watched with increasing dismay as the Mountaineers first fell behind early (as has often been the case in Big 12 play) before attempting to mount a comeback, nearly tying the game before poor opportunies cost the team multiple opportunities at game-tying possessions.
After the loss, fans took to social media to share their chagrin at the fact that the Mountaineers will likely miss the tournament for a third straight season after an embarrassing homecourt loss that extended their home losing streak to three games after opening the season 13-0 in Morgantown. Check out some of the reactions to the loss below, and let us know how you're feeling about the outcome.
It was pretty miraculous that this group even got themselves back into any sort of bubble conversation in the first place and fully on brand to take this kind of loss the second that it happened.
— The Smoking Musket (@smokingmusket) February 19, 2026
When a 9-16 Utah team dominates inside against @WVUhoops at the Coliseum, probably ending the Mountaineers’ hopes at an NCAA tournament berth (a Quad 3 loss), that’s called a hard, hard, painful gut punch.
— Mitch Vingle (@MitchVingle) February 19, 2026
Ugh. Brutal. 🤦♂️
You can tell West Virginia felt pressure.
— Jerry West Enthusiast (@Eersfanatic) February 19, 2026
My guess is they are officially knocked out of tournament and we win out.
The West Virginia way
Postseason hopes are over after an embarrassing February home loss to the worst team in the conference who was winless on the road this season and was on a 7 game losing streak.
— WVU Barstool (@WVUBarstool) February 19, 2026
Mountaineer basketball.
WVU fans were put on this earth to suffer
— Gold And Blue Zone (@GoldAndBlueZone) February 19, 2026