Wednesday, March 11
Kansas City, Mo.
7 p.m.
West Virginia University
vs
BYU
Photo by: WVU Athletic Communications
West Virginia Tips off Big 12 Tournament Play on Wednesday Night
March 10, 2026 09:12 PM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia begins Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship play at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City on Wednesday night against 10th-seeded BYU, which defeated 15th-seeded Kansas State 105-91 on Tuesday.
The Mountaineers earned the seventh seed in this year's tournament by virtue of its 77-62 victory over UCF last Friday night in Morgantown.
West Virginia, which finished in a four-way tie with BYU, UCF and Cincinnati for seventh place in the league standings with a 9-9 record, got the seven-seed because of tie breakers. The Mountaineers swept the season series against Cincinnati and UCF and also claimed a 79-71 victory over BYU at Hope Coliseum back on Feb. 28.
WVU is a 65-63 loss at Kansas State removed from bringing a three-game winning streak into postseason play. At 18-13 overall with a NCAA NET ranking of 58, it is not out of the realm of possibility for WVU to play its way back on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a couple of Big 12 Tournament victories out in Kansas City.
This year's bubble field is considered among the weakest since the tournament field was expanded to 68 teams in 2011, with the majority of the top bubble teams such as Indiana, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Colorado, SMU and NC State losing last weekend.
The Mountaineers' five victories against Quad 1 teams this year compares favorably to several of the teams already considered locks for the tournament, not to mention those hoping to play their way in.
WVU was in a much stronger position last year in the conference tournament as the eight-seed but was upset in the second round by 16th-seeded Colorado, which ultimately cost it a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
According to the latest ESPN.com Bracketology, the last four teams in the tournament are Santa Clara, SMU, VCU and a 15-loss Auburn team that finished tied with Oklahoma for 11th in the SEC standings with a 7-11 conference mark.
That's how soft the tournament bubble is this year.
Honor Huff, who picked up All-Big 12 honorable mention honors yesterday, scored a team-high 19 points in West Virginia's eight-point victory over the Cougars in Morgantown. Senior forward Brenen Lorient contributed 18 points and seven rebounds while freshman DJ Thomas came off the bench to chip in with 13.
BYU star guard AJ Dybantsa was limited to just four points in the first half before erupting for 16 in the second half.
Robert Wright III led all scorers with 23.
Earlier tonight, the duo combined for 54 in the victory against K-State, with Dybantsa getting 40 on 15-of-21 shooting.
The Big 12 Conference announced yesterday that Wednesday night's game will now be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Angel Gray) and will tip off at 7 p.m. EST at T-Mobile Center.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things under at 6 p.m. EST on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
West Virginia is playing in its 13th Big 12 Championship where it owns an 11-13 record, including reaching the finals in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The winner will meet second-seeded Houston on Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST.
The Mountaineers earned the seventh seed in this year's tournament by virtue of its 77-62 victory over UCF last Friday night in Morgantown.
West Virginia, which finished in a four-way tie with BYU, UCF and Cincinnati for seventh place in the league standings with a 9-9 record, got the seven-seed because of tie breakers. The Mountaineers swept the season series against Cincinnati and UCF and also claimed a 79-71 victory over BYU at Hope Coliseum back on Feb. 28.
WVU is a 65-63 loss at Kansas State removed from bringing a three-game winning streak into postseason play. At 18-13 overall with a NCAA NET ranking of 58, it is not out of the realm of possibility for WVU to play its way back on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a couple of Big 12 Tournament victories out in Kansas City.
This year's bubble field is considered among the weakest since the tournament field was expanded to 68 teams in 2011, with the majority of the top bubble teams such as Indiana, Cincinnati, Virginia Tech, Colorado, SMU and NC State losing last weekend.
The Mountaineers' five victories against Quad 1 teams this year compares favorably to several of the teams already considered locks for the tournament, not to mention those hoping to play their way in.
WVU was in a much stronger position last year in the conference tournament as the eight-seed but was upset in the second round by 16th-seeded Colorado, which ultimately cost it a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
According to the latest ESPN.com Bracketology, the last four teams in the tournament are Santa Clara, SMU, VCU and a 15-loss Auburn team that finished tied with Oklahoma for 11th in the SEC standings with a 7-11 conference mark.
That's how soft the tournament bubble is this year.
Honor Huff, who picked up All-Big 12 honorable mention honors yesterday, scored a team-high 19 points in West Virginia's eight-point victory over the Cougars in Morgantown. Senior forward Brenen Lorient contributed 18 points and seven rebounds while freshman DJ Thomas came off the bench to chip in with 13.
BYU star guard AJ Dybantsa was limited to just four points in the first half before erupting for 16 in the second half.
Robert Wright III led all scorers with 23.
Earlier tonight, the duo combined for 54 in the victory against K-State, with Dybantsa getting 40 on 15-of-21 shooting.
The Big 12 Conference announced yesterday that Wednesday night's game will now be televised nationally on ESPN2 (Jon Sciambi, Fran Fraschilla and Angel Gray) and will tip off at 7 p.m. EST at T-Mobile Center.
Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage with Tony Caridi, Brad Howe and studio host David Kahn will get things under at 6 p.m. EST on stations throughout West Virginia, online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
West Virginia is playing in its 13th Big 12 Championship where it owns an 11-13 record, including reaching the finals in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The winner will meet second-seeded Houston on Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST.
Players Mentioned
Senior Night/UCF Recap
Sunday, March 08
TV Highlights: WVU 77, UCF 62
Saturday, March 07
Ross Hodge | UCF Postgame
Friday, March 06
Brenen Lorient, Honor Huff & Chance Moore | UCF Postgame
Friday, March 06
