Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Creighton

This evening, the West Virginia Mountaineers (19-14) and Creighton Bluejays (16-17) will be going at it, fighting for a spot in the College Basketball Crown championship.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 72, Creighton 68

Although I have the Mountaineers winning this one by four, I went back and forth on this. The Bluejays live and die by the three-point shot, attempting more than 28.5 threes per game and connecting on nearly 35% of those shots. West Virginia ranks 215th nationally in defending the long ball, being the one sore spot in the Mountaineers' defensive game this season. It cost them a few games this year, including another Big East team that plays a similar style in Xavier.

That said, Creighton has their own issues on the defensive end of the floor, and I can't see WVU as poorly as they've been shooting it this season, following up a 2/20 night from downtown with another dreadful outing. Honor Huff heats up, and the physicality of Chance Moore powers the Mountaineers late.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 67, Creighton 59

After leading for most of the game in the opening round, the Mountaineers rallied down eight to win in overtime against Stanford, while Creighton pulled away from Rutgers in the second half.

West Virginia's inconstancy has been its biggest issue all season, especially shooting from the field, and it returned against Stanford, shooting over 50% from the field in the first half, then struggled to make a bucket in the second, but continued to battle, and the Mountaineers resilience won the day.

Senior guard Honor Huff was 0-6 from three-point range, but produced 11 of his team-high 21 points from the free throw line. Senior guard Treysen Eaglestaff carried the Mountaineers with his 18 points in the first 32 minutes of action, which was his only his second double-figure performance in the last 12 games.

Creighton senior guard Nik Graves put in 28 points against Rutgers - his first 20-plus point outburst this season, and the team's leading scorer Josh Dix, was 4-8 from three-point range for 14 points.

Creighton was near the bottom of the Big East in nearly every defensive category, and last in three-point defense - this is where Huff will find some space. However, who will be the supporting cast for Huff in this game? Eaglestaff rose to the challenge, and the steady play of Brenen Lorient will show up again. WVU also got some big plays from freshman forward DJ Thomas.

Nonetheless, West Virginia got the stops down the stretch against Stanford to pull off the comeback, and I will once again lean on the stingy Mountaineer defense. Mountaineers advance 67-59.

Projected starting lineups

West Virginia: Jasper Floyd, Honor Huff, Treysen Eaglestaff, Brenen Lorient, Harlan Obioha

Creighton: Nik Graves, Josh Dix, Fedor Zurgic, Jasen Green, Isaac Traudt

The Mountaineers and Bluejays will throw the ball up in the air at approximately 4 p.m. ET. You can watch the game live on FOX or tune into Tony Caridi's call on MSN Radio.