ESPN Bracketology Tracker: West Virginia Has New First Round Matchup

West Virginia won't have to go far for its opening round game

The Mountaineers will hit the road Wednesday to face Texas Tech and will return home to host struggling Kansas State this Saturday.

Yesterday, the AP Top 25 rankings were released for the week, slating West Virginia as the nation's 12th best team - moving up two spots from a week ago. 

Today, ESPN's Joe Lunardi updated his projected tournament field and gives the Mountaineers a new first round opponent in UC Irvine. This projection would have the two meeting in Cleveland as members of the West Region of the bracket.

UC Irvine currently sits at 12-9 and tied atop the Big West conference standings with Hawaii. 

Below is a look at the rest of the West Region matchups. 

*Note that West Virginia would play the winner of the 7 vs 10 seed in the 2nd round, should they win in the opening round.

1. Gonzaga vs  16. Stetson/Texas Southern

8. USC vs  9. Michigan

5. Auburn vs  12. VCU/Memphis

4. Maryland vs  13. Stephen F. Austin 

6. Houston vs  11. Minnesota/North Carolina State

3. Oregon vs  14. Winthrop

*7. Rutgers vs  10. Florida

2. West Virginia vs  15. UC Irvine

What do you think about the projected path for the Mountaineers? Let us know in the comment section below!