For WVU, NCAA seeding is the source of motivation in Kansas City

There are a few sources of motivation West Virginia plans to draw from heading into the Big 12 tournament.

The first is simple. West Virginia has yet to win a game in Kansas City since it joined the league a few seasons ago. Head coach Bob Huggins and company sit 0-3 in Big 12 tournament games.

The other is more complex and more important according to the team.

“Honestly, it’s more motivation to better our seeding for the NCAA tournament. That’s the number one thought,” forward Devin Williams said.

Currently, West Virginia ranks inside the top ten of both major national polls and has an RPI of ten. The team is 8-6 against the RPI top 50 and has a chance to earn more quality wins in the Big 12 tournament.

To win the Big 12 tournament title, West Virginia will likely have to beat at least two teams with an RPI inside the top 25.

Depending on how many wins West Virginia can pickup over the next few days, come selection Sunday, the team could play its way into anything from a one-seed to a four-seed.

“We keep the common goal of winning the national championship, so we have to win in the Big 12 tournament to better our positioning,” guard Jaysean Paige said.

For Huggins, he’d like to think West Virginia will control its seeding for the national tournament, but knows at the end of the day the committee will determine how his team is placed.

“We can’t control any of it,” Huggins said.

“I still can’t believe we were the last two-seed in 2010 and I know we were the last two-seed because the last two-seed plays the top one-seed. We ended up playing Kentucky.”

Before a Final Four run in 2010, West Virginia won six straight games including three at Madison Square Garden to win the Big East tournament championship. West Virginia finished the year at 27-6, but was placed in the same region as top-ranked Kentucky. Villanova was amongst the two seeds ranked ahead of West Virginia. A few days before the start of the Big East tournament, West Virginia won at Villanova.

Right now, West Virginia is on a four-game win streak. If West Virginia were to win the Big 12 tournament, it would enter the NCAA tournament on a seven-game wins streak, which would have to appeal to the committee.

Potential NCAA first or second round landing spots closest to Morgantown are Brooklyn, Providence and Raleigh, but above location Huggins wants the better seed.

“The seed is more important,” Huggins said.