West Virginia has found different sources of offense in the College Basketball Crown, including 6-7 freshman DJ Thomas. When the Mountaineers don’t have to rely exclusively on Honor Huff, they’re tough to beat. Oklahoma has the superior scorers but West Virginia should slow the game down. Ross Hodge’s team is still riding the momentum of an unlikely comeback vs. Stanford and can take this to the wire.
West Virginia operated as among the slowest offenses in Division I. Then came Saturday's semifinals, when the Mountaineers' game against Creighton resulted in 157 points -- about 20 above the total. This matchup has generated a similar number even though Oklahoma goes quicker than the median team. Its games average 160, in part because 43 percent of the Sooners' field goal attempts are threes. Their defense can be shoddy, so West Virginia could be in more attack mode than usual. The championship game marks the teams' third appearance in the venus, so there is no unfamiliarity with the rims and shot angles.
I can't let my Final Four pick of Arizona be the last college basketball pick I make on the site this season. So let's look at the total in this Crown Championship Game. Oklahoma games have been over this total in 34 of 36 games in 2025-26. They have averaged nearly 83 points per game and surrendered 77. On the other side, West Virginia games are usually painful to watch but both in this tournament have ended in the upper-150s. Look for the Sooners to dictate the pace with the Mountaineers having to play catch up. I think this ends up in the 140s at minimum.
