MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Big 12 coaches have been around Bob Huggins long enough to believe last season’s struggles were a fluke. A bounce-back year is expected for West Virginia, which was picked to move from the bottom to the middle of the pack in this year’s Big 12 preseason poll.
The Mountaineers were picked to finish fifth by the league’s coaches after going 4-14 in the Big 12 a year ago. If West Virginia lives up to that expectation, it bodes well for a return to the NCAA tournament. The Big 12 has sent no fewer than five teams to the tournament in each of the last 11 seasons.
“Picked tenth, fifth, it doesn’t matter ’til the end,” was Huggins’ response.
Freshman forward Oscar Tshibewe is among the reasons opponents are bullish on West Virginia. He was picked as the Big 12 preseason freshman of the year on Wednesday.
“Oscar is a very level-headed kid. I think if anything, it’s made him hungrier to be better because he knows he’s behind in a lot of areas,” Huggins said. “His footwork’s not very good. But that’s a guy who has really only played a couple years of basketball here [in the U.S.]. He wants to learn and wants to get better.”
Fellow forward Derek Culver was selected as an honorable mention all-Big 12 player.
Though Kansas’ stranglehold over the conference was finally broken last season, the Jayhawks were picked to return to the top this season, getting all but two of the possible first-place votes. Baylor was picked second, while defending league champion and national runner-up Texas Tech was picked third.
Big 12 basketball preseason poll
Team (First-place votes) Points
1. Kansas (8) 80
2. Baylor (1) 71
3. Texas Tech (1) 62
4. Texas 57
5. West Virginia 45
6. Oklahoma State 42
7. Iowa State 30
8. Oklahoma 29
9. Kansas State 23
10. TCU 11
Coaches cannot vote for their own team