Score Predictions for West Virginia vs Florida

Our staff picks who will win tonight's game between the Mountaineers and Gators.

The West Virginia Mountaineers (5-1) will meet the Florida Gators (4-2) for the right to claim fifth place in the PK85 Legacy Invitational Sunday night at 8:30 p.m. EST and broadcasting on ESPNU. 

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 81, Florida 77

Buckets, buckets, and more buckets. Both of these teams know how to fill it up and are not as sharp on the defensive end. This is an extremely important game for both teams, but more so for the Mountaineers. They need to pick up as many wins as possible before entering league play. I mean, Iowa State, who was picked to finish 8th in the preseason poll just downed the No. 1 team in the country. Bob Huggins will have his guys focused and ready to go. The difference in this game will be the guard play. I expect Kedrian Johnson and Joe Toussaint to play well on both ends of the floor and outplay Will Richard and Kyle Lofton of Florida.

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 85 Florida 84

I'm reluctant to pick West Virginia in this matchup for two key reasons. First, West Virginia, especially under Huggins, has not fared well against SEC teams, going 11-13 against SEC competition while at WVU and 2-7 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge and 0-3 versus Florida. 

The second, is Florida big man Colin Castleton. He comes in at 6-foot-11 and 240-pounds. Although he doesn't compare to Purdue's 7'4" center, buckets around the rim will be at a premium with Castleton averaging 3.3 blocks per game which ranks fourth nationally. He also leads the team in scoring at 20.7 points per game and a team-high 8.5 rebounds per game, although his averages have lowered in Portland averaging 11.5 ppg in the two games. 

I do however believe the guards matchup well, but West Virginia will need to stay out of foul trouble. 

I like the effort and tenacity of this group and that's why I will give the Mountaineers the edge in this matchup 85-84.

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