WVU Basketball Drops Out of AP Top 25, Stays in Another Major Poll

A week after its debut in the rankings, WVU basketball dropped out of the AP Top 25 poll this week. The Mountaineers were ranked No. 21 last week, the team’s first time in a major top 25 since 2022.

A 19-point loss to Arizona, 75-56, on Tuesday was enough for the Mountaineers to exit the rankings. WVU received 61 votes this week, effectively putting the team at No. 28. Sunday’s dicey win at Colorado evidently wasn’t enough to salvage the week in the eyes of the voters.

WVU basketball remained ranked in the USA Today Coaches Poll, however, hanging on at No. 25 with 69 votes.

Arizona, which received 26 votes this week, led WVU for most of the game on Tuesday in a rematch from The Bahamas. WVU got as close as five points in the second half before the Wildcats pulled away in the final minutes.

At Colorado, the Mountaineers let a comfortable lead slip away during a second-half scoring drought that has become all too familiar for the team recently.

Joseph Yesufu scored 18 points off the bench and almost single-handedly preserved WVU’s lead in the final minutes, scoring seven straight points during one stretch. Javon Small finished with a game-high 26 points as he continued to lead the Big 12 in scoring.

Big 12 teams in the ranking this week are No. 2 Iowa State, No. 9 Kansas, No. 10 Houston and No. 25 Baylor. In addition to WVU and Arizona, Texas Tech and Cincinnati also received votes.

WVU basketball runs the conference gauntlet this week, playing at Houston on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and then hosting Iowa State inside the Coliseum on Saturday at 5 p.m. Both of those games are to be broadcast on ESPN+.

For a related story, WVU basketball takes a surprising jump in the KenPom Rankings.