Can West Virginia make March Madness 2025? Breaking down Mountaineers' NCAA Tournament odds

With less than a week ahead of Selection Sunday, the NCAA Tournament bubble teams are getting plenty of discussion. Include West Virginia among those. At 19-12 and with a 10-10 mark in Big 12 play, West Virginia still has its NCAA Tournament future up in the air. Here's a few thoughts on where the Mountaineers stand and what could be ahead.

Can West Virginia make March Madness 2025?

Amani Hansberry and West Virginia are hoping to reach the NCAA Tournament. (Photo Credit: IMAGN)

It's very likely. TeamRankings.com gives the Mountaineers a 91% chance at an NCAA bid. BracketMatrix has West Virginia in 102 of the submitted 103 brackets at the moment. ESPN's bracketology has West Virginia so secure that the Mountaineers aren't even discussed with the bubble teams. The situation, while not perfect, looks solid for West Virginia.

The case for West Virginia

West Virginia boasts a handful of incredibly strong wins. The Mountaineers took down Iowa State, Gonzaga, Arizona and Kansas. That's a surprisingly high number of wins over teams that TeamRankings ranks within the national top 15. Few bubble teams will be able to compete with that type of resume in terms of quality victories.

West Virginia also lacks any bad losses. The worst losses on West Virginia's resume are Arizona State and TCU, both of which still fit within TeamRanking's national top 70.

The case against West Virginia

The Mountaineers do have four sub-top 250 wins from their non-conference schedule. While those resume-padding victories are helpful in November and December, they can hurt in March.

West Virginia was just 4-7 against teams within TeamRankings' top 25. The wins are helpful, but it might not be enough (although it probably is) to make the NCAA Tournament.

Does the conference tournament matter?

Possibly. West Virginia will play on Wednesday against the winner of No. 9 seed TCU and No. 16 seed Colorado. A bad loss there could drop West Virginia back onto the bubble. Given the way that mid-major teams end up stealing a handful of bids, the Mountaineers would certainly be wise to avoid a bad loss.

An initial win, which would be the 20th victory on the season for West Virginia, probably puts any possible controversy to bed. Playing Houston on Thursday probably couldn't hurt the Mountaineers.

Basically, West Virginia is very possibly fine regardless of how the Big 12 Tournament goes. That said, a win would provide a little breathing room.

What about seeding?

The Mountaineers could well end up as a No. 9 or No. 10 seed. Those seem to be the most popular projections among the various bracketologists. West Virginia seems above the fray of the first-four games to reach the field of 64.

What do you think of West Virginia's Tournament resume? Share your take below in our comments section!