Score Predictions for West Virginia vs. Cincinnati

We make our picks for the Big 12 Championship opening round matchup between the Mountaineers and the Bearcats

The West Virginia Mountaineers (9-23, 4-12) will meet the Cincinnati Bearcats in the opening round of the Big 12 Championship Tuesday afternoon inside the T-Mobile Center. Tip-off is set for 3:00 EST and the action will stream on ESPN+.

Schuyler Callihan: Cincinnati 85, West Virginia 64.

Ah, yes. At last, the end of a dreadful season for the Mountaineers. I do give this group credit for continuing to fight all year long despite being well out of NCAA Tournament contention for the majority of the season but Saturday's game in Cincinnati looked like a team that was ready to move on and get the year over with. And in all honesty, can you blame them?

I don't have much else to say about this one other than let the coaching search conversation heat up.

Christopher Hall: Cincinnati 83, West Virginia 68

The Mountaineers showed little fight in the 92-56 season finale loss to the Bearcats on Saturday, and this group may have given up on the season. 

West Virginia finished the back half of the conference schedule 1-8, and after the 94-90 overtime loss on the road at Kansas State where the Mountaineers came all the way back from a 29-point deficit, WVU jumped out to a 20-4 lead against Texas Tech in the next outing only to lose by 11, and this seemed to break the Mountaineers because a bad defensive team has gotten worse, giving up 93 and 92 points the final two games of the season. 

Meanwhile, Cincinnati will try to play its way into the NCAA tournament, despite not being on Joe Lunardi's radar. One would think three wins in the Big 12 Championship, which would include wins over Kansas and Baylor, may move the needle. Nonetheless, Cincinnati is still playing with a sense of urgency and West Virginia, clearly, is not. 

West Virginia may have a different attitude heading into the postseason. However, the Mountaineers were never consistent on the defensive end and proved repeatedly they could not make the necessary stops down the stretch to pull out wins.

Cincinnati rolls 83-68.

Big 12 Conference Tournament Matchups + Schedule