Score Predictions for West Virginia vs Kent State

The Mountaineer Maven staff makes their picks for Sunday's game.

The West Virginia Mountaineers (8-1) welcome the Kent State Golden Flashes (5-3) Sunday at 4:00 pm and the game will be streaming on ESPN2. 

Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 73, Kent State 64

If Kent State can get to the line in this one, they'll be able to hang around for quite a while. They lead the nation in free throw percentage, shooting it at nearly 84% as a team. But, as evident in West Virginia's win over UConn, the Mountaineers struggle from the line shooting a miserable 61% from the charity stripe. So, no, this game won't come down to free throws, but it alone will allow the Golden Flashes to stay within reach. 

WVU will have to make it a point of emphasis to chase Kent State off the three-point line. They have six guys that shoot north of 35% from three, including one (Giovanni Santiago) who shoots it at a 46% clip.

Fortunately for Bob Huggins, his team should be able to control the glass on both ends of the floor, which is something they haven't been able to do yet this season. Kent State doesn't have a ton of length, which shows in their rebounding numbers. Santiago, Sincere Carry, and Malique Jacobs may be able to make shots, but when they go cold or begin to turn the ball over, West Virginia should be able to get out to somewhat of a comfortable lead.

I see the Mountaineers cruising in the second half, but another lackluster performance by the second unit makes the score appear much closer than it really was. 

Christopher Hall: West Virginia 77 Kent State 68

West Virginia is coming off a big win over No. 15 Connecticut, and the biggest concern heading into the game against Kent State is energy. Will the Mountaineers be up for this game? West Virginia has a knack for playing down to its opponent, which could be the case versus the Golden Flashes. 

This is Kent State's first matchup against a Power Five program this season, although they did play Big East Conference member Xavier to open the season, and this will be their second true road game of the season. 

The key stat for the game will be rebounding, an area West Virginia struggled to start the season but has improved. In the Golden Flashes' three losses, they were outrebounded by an average of 14.3 rebounds per game. So, for WVU, it goes back to effort. Keep Kent State off the glass, play solid defense, and the Mountaineers will win easily. However, despite playing with energy for 40 minutes on Wednesday against UConn, I suspect West Virginia will start sluggish Sunday evening and will let Kent State hang around longer than they should. Nonetheless, I have West Virginia winning comfortably 77-68.

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