The 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket and field has been announced, and the West Virginia Mountaineers will receive a No. 10 seed in the East region. The Mountaineers' first opponent will be Gonzaga, and they will play on March 15 at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. If West Virginia wins their first matchup, they will likely face No. 2 LSU.
The Mountaineers earned the No. 10 seed after finishing in eighth place in a deep Big East during the regular season. Led by Kevin Jones, the Mountaineers finished 19-12 in the regular season before losing in overtime to Connecticut in the Big East Tournament. The Mountaineers' at-large profile includes wins over Kansas State, Georgetown and Cincinnati.
Here's a look at the East Region of the 2012 NCAA Tournament bracket:
No. 1 Syracuse vs. UNC Asheville, Thursday 3/15/12
No. 8 Kansas State vs. No. 9 So. Miss, Thursday 3/15/12
No. 5 Vanderbilt vs. No. 12 Harvard, Thursday 3/15/12
No. 4 Wisconsin vs. No. 13 Montana, Thursday 3/15/12
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 15 Loyola (Md.), Thursday 3/15/12
No. 7 Gonzaga vs. No. 10 West Virginia, Thursday 3/15/12
No. 3 Florida State vs. No. 14 St. Bonaventure, Friday 3/16/12
No. 6 Cincinnati vs. No. 11 Texas, Friday 3/16/12
For more on West Virginia, visit The Smoking Musket. For more coverage of West Virginia in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, visit REGIONAL SITE'S STORYSTREAM. Click here for a link to our NCAA bracket 2012.