Score Predictions for No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Kentucky

This evening, the West Virginia Mountaineers and Kentucky Wildcats will meet inside Hope Coliseum with a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line.

Here is how we see this one playing out.

Joey Bray: West Virginia 63, Kentucky 60

Both of these teams play similar styles of basketball and are quite evenly matched. Kentucky and WVU are well coached defensive oriented teams.

Wildcats head coach Kenny Brooks was complimentary of the West Virginia defense, but they will have a tall task trying to contain Clara Strack, who has recorded 15 double-doubles this season for Kentucky.

Due to the similar styles of play, I think this game will be close. Kentucky is certainly one of the best teams the Mountaineers have had to play this season, but getting to play in front of a home crowd could very well be the difference in a game that could go either way.

In the end, I have the Mountaineers don’t just enough defensively in front of another sold-out home crowd to advance to their first sweet 16 in over three decades.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 58, Kentucky 57

This has all the makings of a backyard dog fight. Both teams have immense pride in their play on the defensive end of the floor and aren't going to have very many breakdowns. Kentucky's length is certainly going to cause West Virginia problems, but the speed of the Mountaineers will give the Wildcats some fits too, especially with how quickly they can recover on rotations or help close off backdoor cuts.

Clara Strack (6'5") is the engine that makes this thing go for Kentucky, and you're going to hear her name called a bunch on both ends of the floor — tremendous scorer and elite rim protector. Kentucky head coach Kenny Brooks said she may be the best player he's ever had.

I fully expect this one to be an extremely low-scoring game, and because of the home crowd, I'm going to side with the Mountaineers ever so slightly. Yes, Kentucky has played in front of big road crowds during SEC play, but this is much different. The stakes are much higher with it being the NCAA Tournament. It's win or go home.

Tip is set for 5 p.m. ET on ESPN2. After the game, head over to our YouTube page (West Virginia On SI) for the Mountaineer Postgame Show, where we'll take a look at the final numbers, talk about the positives, what needs to improve, and much more.