Josh Eilert suggests Kansas State received favorable whistle vs. West Virginia due to NCAA Tournament bubble status

Kansas State led by as many as 25 points against West Virginia on Monday. Despite this, the Mountaineers forced overtime but could not seal the deal on the road.

The 94-90 win pushes the Wildcats to 17-11 on the season, furthering their status as an NCAA Tournament bubble team. Meanwhile, WVU is 9-19 and are still winless on the road. While the Mountaineers had their chances down the stretch to put K-State away, head coach Josh Eilert wasn’t happy with the officiating at the end of the night.

“[We] couldn’t get a whistle and I feel like that’s going to be a recurring theme when you play a team on the bubble in this league,” Eilert said on WVU’s postgame radio show.

Suggesting that Kansas State was awarded the victory due to the Big 12 wanting more teams in the NCAA Tournament is a rather bold claim considering the fact that the Mountaineers boast wins over the likes of teams such as Texas and Kansas throughout the season.

West Virginia ultimately forced Kansas State into 22 fouls on Monday, only three less than K-State was awarded. Additionally, West Virginia was 17-of-26 from the free throw line during the contest. The 9 missed opportunities at the line — including back-to-back missed free throws from WVU’s Jesse Edwards that would have put the Mountaineers up four points with 24 seconds left in regulation.

Instead, K-State guard Tylor Perry made good on his free throw attempts to tie the game, force overtime and ultimately send West Virginia back to Morgantown remaining winless on the road. Kansas State is now 7-0 in overtime games this season, and 12-0 under head coach Jerome Tang. The seventh win set a new NCAA record for most overtime wins in a single season.

For West Virginia, the loss keeps them in last place in the current Big 12 standings. They have three games left on their regular season schedule to end the year on a high note before the conference tournament.

They begin March with two home games — where the Mountaineers are 9-7 this season — against Texas Tech and TCU. West Virginia will round out their regular season on the road against Cincinnati on March 9.

While West Virginia’s NCAA Tournament hopes are off the table at this point in the season, coming back from a 25-point deficit with the season they’re having is a testament to Eilert’s squad will and perseverance.