Best Case Scenario: WVU wins four of its last five games to finish 19-12 overall, and 11-7 in Big 12 play. That's good enough for third place, as Oklahoma also finishes 11-7 in conference, but loses the head-to-head series against WVU. The Mountaineers travel to Kansas City to play the sixth seed (Kansas State, Iowa State or Oklahoma). WVU wins this match up to play Texas a third time. And for the third time, Texas crushes the Mountaineers. However, WVU finishes 20-13 and makes the NCAA tournament as a 9 or 10 seed.
Worst Case Scenario: WVU loses four of its last five regular season games (the lone win coming at home against TCU) to finish 16-15 overall, and 8-10 in Big 12 play. Despite the weak finish, WVU still closes conference play in sixth place. The Mountaineers then head to Kansas City, where they lose to Oklahoma, resulting in a 16-16 record. A catastrophic finish causes WVU to look toward next season as the Eers fail to even make the NIT.
Most Plausible Scenario: WVU should be in every game that it plays over the next three weeks. Iowa State appears to be really struggling, so a Mountaineer victory in Ames is not out of the question. The Mountaineers go 3-2 over their last five games to finish 18-13 overall, and 10-8 in Big 12 play. That's good enough for either a fourth or a fifth seed in Kansas City, where WVU would most likely play Kansas State. A loss in this game sends WVU to the NIT. Beating Kansas State would advance WVU to play Kansas (assuming the Jayhawks maintain first place in the conference). A loss to Kansas puts WVU (at 19-14) squarely on the NCAA bubble. A victory over top seeded Kansas would put WVU in the Big 12 final against Texas, but more importantly would get WVU to a 20-14 record. 20 wins would be good enough to make the NCAA tourney as a 10 or 11 seed.
Hoping for the best. As always,
Let's Go, Mountaineers!