West Virginia Lands No. 9 Seed in 2023 NCAA Tournament
The 2023 NCAA Tournament selection committee has given the West Virginia Mountaineers the No. 9 seed in the South Regional.
West Virginia will take on No. 8 Seed Maryland on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama. The winner will likely take on the No. 1 seed Alabama.
The West Virginia Mountaineers did not need to sweat out Selection Sunday, mostly thanks to their win last Saturday to wrap up the regular season over Kansas State. The moved the Mountaineers to 19-14 overall and 7-11 in Big 12 Conference play.
In the Big 12 Tournament this past week, the Mountaineers made easy work of Texas Tech in a 78-62 win, but then lost to Kansas in the quarterfinals 78-61. Bob Huggins was not thrilled after the game.
“This wasn’t the team I had all year,” Huggins said of Thursday’s performance. “I mean we came out with no enthusiasm, no pep in our step. It was — it was a bad game. It was a bad game from where I was watching it.”
However, Erik Stevenson was not concerned after the loss, saying, “We’re going to get our name called on Sunday.”
He was right.
West Virginia reached the Big Dance last year, but lost to Syracuse in the second round 75-72. WVU will try to reach the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2018. The program hasn’t gotten beyond the Sweet 16 since they reached the Final Four in 2010, where they lost to Duke 78-57 in the National Semifinal.
The Mountaineers have now made 31 NCAA Tournament appearances, including two Final Fours. WVU is 32-30 in NCAA Tournament games.
