What you need to know about WVU’s NCAA Tournament region
West Virginia drew the No. 5 seed in the East Region but will travel to San Diego to open the tournament against No. 12 seed Murray State. Go figure.
However, here is everything you need to know about the other teams in the bracket as the Mountaineers look to carve out a spot in the Final Four.
The Bracket and Schedule:
No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 16 Radford, 6:50 p.m., Thursday March 15, TNT No. 8 Virginia Tech vs. No. 9 Alabama, 9:20 p.m., Thursday March 15, TNT
No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Murray State, 4 p.m., Friday March 16, TNT No. 4 Wichita State vs. No. 13 Marshall, 1:30 p.m., Friday March 16, TNT
Winners of those two games will meet.
No. 6 Florida vs. No. 11 St. Bonaventure, 9:57 p.m., Thursday March 15, truTV No. 3 Texas Tech vs. No. 14 Stephen F. Austin, 7:27 p.m., Thursday March 15, truTV
No. 7 Arkansas vs. No. 10 Butler, 3:10 p.m., Friday March 16, truTV No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 CS Fullerton, 12:40 p.m., Friday March 16, truTV
Winners of those two games will meet.
The Lines:
Villanova is a 23.5-point favorite over Radford Virginia Tech is a 2-point favorite over Alabama West Virginia is a 10.5-point favorite over Murray State Wichita State is a 12-point favorite over Marshall Florida is a 5.5-point favorite over St. Bonaventure Texas Tech is a 11.5-point favorite over Stephen F. Austin Butler is a 1-point favorite over Arkansas Purdue is a 21-point favorite over CS Fullerton
Where do the teams fall in the RPI?
A total of 11 of the 16 teams fall inside the top 50 of the RPI.
12 Murray State (26-5) No. 48 13 Marshall (24-10) No. 87 14 Stephen F. Austin (28-6) No. 104 15 Cal State Fullerton (20-11) No. 131 16 Radford (22-12) No. 128
| Seed | Team | Record | RPI |
|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Villanova |
30-4 |
2 |
|
2 |
Purdue |
28-6 |
9 |
|
3 |
Texas Tech |
24-9 |
23 |
|
4 |
Wichita State |
25-7 |
16 |
|
5 |
West Virginia |
24-10 |
27 |
|
6 |
Florida |
20-12 |
45 |
|
7 |
Arkansas |
23-11 |
30 |
|
8 |
Virginia Tech |
21-11 |
61 |
|
9 |
Alabama |
19-15 |
42 |
|
10 |
Butler |
20-13 |
41 |
|
11 |
St. Bonaventure |
25-7 |
24 |
|
12 |
Murray State |
25-6 |
48 |
|
13 |
Marshall |
24-10 |
87 |
|
14 |
Stephen F. Austin |
28-6 |
104 |
|
15 |
Cal State Fullerton |
20-11 |
131 |
|
16 |
Radford |
22-12 |
128 |
Odds to win?
According to Bovada, the odds to win the region go as follows.
Villanova – 6/5
Purdue – 29/10
West Virginia – 13/2
Texas Tech – 8/1
Wichita State – 8/1
Florida – 18/1
Virginia Tech – 30/1
Butler – 30/1
Alabama – 40/1
St. Bonaventure – 40/1
Arkansas – 50/1
Stephen F. Austin – 100/1
Murray State – 100/1
CS Fullerton – 100/1
Marshall – 100/1
Radford – 200/1
How about the chances to claim the national championship?
The No. 1 seed in the East Region is Villanova at (6/1) while No. 2 seed Purdue is (12/1) and finally it’s West Virginia with the third best odds as the fifth seed in the bracket at (22/1). The other program listed as a possible contender for the crown is No. 4 seed Wichita State, a potential second round opponent if the Mountaineers advance past Murray State at (33/1). No. 3 seed Texas Tech is fourth at (40/1).
Computer Takes:
FiveThirtyEight.com predicts that No. 1 seed Villanova has the best chance to win the East Region and advance to the Final Four at 50-percent with a chance of winning the national championship at 18-percent, the highest of any team in the entire field. No. 2 seed Purdue falls next in line to claim the region at 20-percent but only has a five-percent chance of cutting down the nets.
The third best? No other than No. 5 seed West Virginia at eight-percent, with a total of a two-percent chance to win the national championship. Others of note in the region include No. 3 seed Texas Tech and No. 4 seed Wichita State at six-percent to win the region and No. 6 seed Florida at four-percent.
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