SHEPHERDSTOWN — Rolling in the midwestern heartland. The 10-team Big 12 Conference had six teams ranked in the Top 15 in this week’s Associated Press poll.

All six now appear to have a choke hold on a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Like staring at the rungs on a ladder, the Big 12 teams were lined up, led by seventh-ranked Kansas State. Kansas was eighth, Texas was in 10th, Baylor had the No. 11 ranking, followed closely by No. 13-ranked Iowa State and No. 15-ranked Texas Christian.

Many people, and just as many computers, believe the Big 12 is the best overall conference in the country.

Is West Virginia destined to join those six teams in the NCAA tournament?

The Mountaineers were 2-6 in conference games as January closed. They were 13-8 overall and had just gotten an important win at home over Auburn, which came to Morgantown with a 16-4 record.

Of their 10 remaining games, the Mountaineers have seven of them against those six highly ranked teams.

They have to play Iowa State twice, are on the road against Texas Christian, Texas, Baylor and Kansas and at home against Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas State. Six road games and only four remaining at the WVU Coliseum.

Texas Christian, a team West Virginia beat at home, was just played this past Wednesday in Fort Worth.

There have been reliable crowds at the WVU Coliseum, to try and boost the Mountaineers with their collective noise and throaty student body standing in unison behind the team’s benches. Crowds in excess of 14,000 attended the games against Kansas, Texas and Auburn.

When WVU travels to Kansas, Texas, Baylor and Iowa State it will see the same of hearty and noisy crowds the opponents see in Morgantown.

West Virginia’s 2-6 conference record is not too detrimental to its chances of reaching the NCAA tournament. It doesn’t need a winning league record to get into the NCAA’s.

If it could manage to win six of its remaining 10 games in the regular season it would be one of the last teams in the field.

Even with a finishing regular season record of 18-13 it would have many backers in its corner. Just how influential those backers would be would determine its NCAA fate.

Every team in the conference — even disappointing Texas Tech and its 0-8 conference record — had a winning overall record as January disappeared.

In recent days, the Mountaineers have picked up their free throw shooting, have found substance coming off the bench and haven’t been manhandled on the boards.

But they are going to see teams just as motivated and just as player-rich as they are.

Nothing has been decided as to WVU’s fate. It needs its players to be healthy and available, which has not been the case on some nights.

Kedrian Johnson seems to be the most valuable player and has to avoid foul trouble or more nagging injuries for the Mountaineers to thrive here in February.

The Big 12 has its deserved reputation as a league without peers. Can WVU get some of that glitter and praise themselves to slide into the NCAA tournament?