For the first time since the 2018 preseason, WVU men’s basketball is nationally ranked in the AP poll.
The Mountaineers check in at No. 25 this week, marking their 100th week as a ranked team in the AP poll under head coach Bob Huggins. It’s also the 234th overall week the Mountaineers have appeared in the ranking.
More importantly, the Mountaineers rate even higher in the first round of NCAA Evaluation Tool rankings.
The NET rankings, which were developed last year, are a new system that replaces RPI as the main tool for evaluating teams at the Division I level. It’ll carry a lot of weight in March when it’s time to fill out the 68-team field for the NCAA Tournament.
According to an explanation on the official NCAA website, NET rankings examine each team’s game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and the quality of wins and losses.
West Virginia debuted at No. 12 in the inaugural round of NET rankings for the 2019-20 campaign.
The Mountaineers also rank No. 9 in strength of schedule, which contributed to their high NET ranking.
Upcoming opponent Ohio State tops the inaugural NET listing, despite suffering its first loss to Minnesota over the weekend. The Buckeyes rank No. 5 this week in the AP poll.
Kansas earned the No. 1 spot in the AP poll this week, and is second in NET. Baylor also ranks No. 5 in NET.
