Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Stanford

West Virginia and Stanford are set to meet in the first round of the 2026 College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Thursday night. The winner will advance to the semifinals of the event, while the loser will close the book on their 2025-26 season.

Here is how we see this one going down.

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 70, Stanford 68

I honestly have no clue how this one is going to go, so probably not a good idea to take my prediction to heart. Having a near-month-long layoff is what makes this game so hard to predict. It's difficult to tell which team is going to come out flat, who really looks like they want to be there, and how engaged they will be throughout the course of the night, knowing this isn't the NCAA Tournament.

Amir Jenkins not being available does impact West Virginia to some degree, but offensively, I think it will open some things up because Honor Huff will have to slide to the one, and it will allow him to not only have the ball in his hands more often but also play at a faster pace.

Ebuka Okorie is going to be a handful tonight for WVU, but for the most part, Jasper Floyd has done a pretty solid job defensively on some of the best scoring guards in the Big 12. Okorie will certainly fill it up, but I expect Floyd to get the better of that matchup.

Give me the Mountaineers squeaking one out to keep their season alive.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 67, Stanford 63

The Mountaineers have an opportunity to win some walking around money with a 50k cash prize awaiting the winner of the opening round of the College Basketball Crown.

The game features two guards in Stanford freshman Ebuka Okorie and West Virginia senior Honor Huff. Okorie averaged 22.8 points per game this season. He scored 30+ points in seven games this season, including a 40-point outburst against Georgia Tech, and is now appearing as a potential 2026 first-round draft pick in the latest mock drafts.

Huff, a bit of a streaky shooter, hit a season-high 24 points six times throughout the season. When the Brooklyn native is hot, the Mountaineers are hard to beat. However, the supporting cast for the Mountaineers has arguably been more consistent since senior forward Chisom Okpara was sidelined with a season-ending injury.

WVU senior forward Brenen Lorient has been as steady as they come and heads into the contest having hit double figures in 12 consecutive games and averaged 11.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. However, Stanford guard Benny Gealer can light it up from the outside and is four games removed from a career-high 30 points behind a personal best eight threes.

As simple as it is, West Virginia will need to make shots. The Mountaineers have made tough shots, most notably Huff, but the killer down the stretch is making the open/good looks. I quoted Bob Huggins in the last Big 12 tournament prediction as one of my favorite quotes after the Hall of Famer suffered a loss: "We didn't make shots." Ross Hodge echoed the same sentiments in the latter stages of the season, and it was evident after shooting 38% against BYU in Kansas City.

Okorie clearly presents a problem, and Gealer highlights a supporting cast that can have a big game. However, I give the edge to the West Virginia defense. The Mountaineers have limited some of the top talent in the nation represented in the Big 12, and if they can hold Okorie under his average and not let another Cardinal have a career day, WVU advances. I'll take the fresh legs of one of the better defenses in the country. Mountaineers advance 67-63.