CLEVELAND -- To three or not to three, that is the question.

The team that finds the right answer will likely advance to the second round.

	More Coverage Seed of optimism: Pitt begins the NCAA tourney The Brackets Back to Main March Madness Page WVU VS. CREIGHTON AT A GLANCE Matchup: No. 7 seed West Virginia (21-10) vs. No. 10 Creighton (23-10), today, approx. 9:40 p.m., Cleveland State Convocation Center, Cleveland. The game is an NCAA tournament Albuquerque region first-round contest. TV: KDKA-TV West Virginia: Is in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997-98. That year, the Mountaineers defeated Temple and Cincinnati to advance to the Sweet 16 before losing to Utah. ... Finished by winning seven of its last nine games. ... Won three games in the Big East tournament to advance to the championship game before losing to Syracuse, 68-59. ... Junior forward Mike Gansey is from Olmsted Falls, Ohio, which is near Cleveland. His younger brother, Steve, is a freshman at Cleveland State. ... Leading scorer Tyrone Sally was slowed with a stomach virus during the Big East tournament. He said he has completely recovered and ready to go. He averages 12.4 points per game. ... Has played Creighton only one time -- in 1932 -- and lost, 27-26. Creighton: Is located in Omaha, Neb., and competes in the Missouri Valley Conference. ... Defeated Southwest Missouri State, 75-57, in the MVC tournament championship game in order to earn the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. ... Is making its 15th NCAA tournament appearance and have an all-time record of 9-15 in the tournament. This is the Bluejays sixth appearance since 1999. ... Upset Florida, 83-82, in double overtime in a first round game in 2002. ... Leading scorer is junior guard Nate Funk, who averages 17.6 ppg. Only other player to average in double figures is junior guard Johnny Mathies (11.6 ppg). Hidden stat: The magic number is 70 -- Creighton is 21-4 in games when it has held its opponents to less than 70 points but only 2-6 in games when its opponent has scored 70 or more.

At least that's what players and coaches from Creighton and West Virginia believe. The No. 10 seeded Bluejays (23-10) play the seventh-seeded Mountaineers (21-10) tonight in an NCAA tournament Albuquerque region first-round game at Cleveland State University's Convocation Center.

Both teams rely heavily on the 3-point shot, which means both have spent the past three days trying to figure out how to stop the other team from taking them. Neither believes they have figured it out completely, but they hope come game time they'll be ready to stop the other guy's perimeter shooting.

"Creighton is like 41 percent from the 3-point line this year," West Virginia forward Mike Gansey said, "and we like to shoot the 3 as well so I think whoever shoots the ball better and whoever defends the 3-pointer better will win the game. That is very big -- for us to stop them and them to stop us."

The Bluejays finished tied for third in the Missouri Valley Conference in the regular season but won the conference tournament to grab an automatic NCAA tournament berth. Like West Virginia, they run a modified version of the motion offense with an emphasis on creating open looks for their shooters.

Creighton made 285 of 687 3-point attempts (.415 percent) this year, which means on an average night they attempt about 20 3-pointers and make about nine. The Bluejays have three players -- Nate Funk (63), Kellen Miliner (57) and Jimmy Motz (53) -- who have made 50 or more 3-pointers.

West Virginia's numbers from beyond the 3-point line are similar, although the Mountaineers aren't nearly as accurate as the Bluejays. The Mountaineers made 277 of 795 3-point attempts (.348) which also averages out to about nine made per game but the difference is they average about 26 attempts.

Mountaineers coach John Beilein said because the Bluejays shoot the ball so well, the game will be won or lost on defense. He said defending the Bluejays, however, will be tricky even though the Mountaineers have a distinct height advantage at just about every position.

"Sometimes it is not a matter of the ball going in or out of the basket, but rather, it is who defends the best," Beilein said. "They have a great plan for getting open shots, one that is a bit unique. This is the first time we've ever played them and I almost wish I would have already lost to them a couple of times before we had to play them now.

"Their offense is very unique, the scheme is very different and they are terrific at it. This is the first time we've played something like this and we'll have to find the best way to defend it."

While Creighton's offensive system might create some confusion for the Mountaineers, West Virginia's defense could do the same for the Bluejays. The Mountaineers play a lot of 1-3-1 zone, which is defense that is not used by many teams. Creighton has not faced a 1-3-1 defense this season, but Bluejays coach Dana Altman is confident his players will adjust.

"They've been very successful with their 1-3-1 zone down the stretch so I think we'll see a lot of it," he said. "Regardless, we're still going to have to make plays. Whatever defense they come at us with, it always comes down to making plays."

Altman also said the Bluejays biggest challenge is not beating a 1-3-1 zone; it is matching up with West Virginia's 6-foot-11 junior center Kevin Pittsnogle.

Creighton's tallest two starters are 6-8 and both play mostly under the basket. Pittsnogle can play down under the basket, but he's also deadly from 3-point range. He has made 47 of 118 3-pointers this season and was 8-for-16 from 3-point range in two games against Pitt.

"We've not faced a center, like him, that can shoot the ball like he shoots it," Altman said. "Our big guys aren't used to going out there. We have guys inside that have worked on defending inside and we've finally improved that and now we have a guy that goes out and shots the three and shoots it very well.

"I think that is our biggest matchup problem. There are other matchup problems, but the biggest is definitely him stepping out and shooting three's."

Both teams may like to shoot 3-pointers, but their approach to the shot is different.

Creighton looks to take the 3-pointer but will wait patiently for an open look, while the Mountaineers will shot the ball almost every time they have even a little opening.

Altman said that's a big difference because it means the Bluejays are going to have to extend their defense and be aware that the Mountaineers aren't going to be shy about taking shots.

"They take more 3s than we do and I found that hard to believe," Altman said, "but they shoot it a lot quicker than we do. They also have more guys from more positions that can shoot it than we do. They will fire it up there quickly, it is going to take our guys a while to get used to that. We haven't faced a team that's been as aggressive from the 3-point line as West Virginia, so our guys are going to have to adjust to it and adjust to it quickly."