NCAA Basketball: Ranking the 2021 Big 12/SEC Challenge matchups
6. Florida at West Virginia
This game has the best odds of being the lowest-scoring of the entire challenge, as both teams thrive on defense. They each also have talented bigs, such as Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe of West Virginia and Keyontae Johnson and Omar Payne of Florida.
This game will likely come down to whichever group of guards performs better. That’s a question both sides have to answer, with Miles McBride (WVU) and Scottie Lewis and Tre Mann (Florida) the key players to lead their respective offenses. If “Press Virginia” can dictate the pace of the game, they’ll have a strong shot to win this at home.
Prediction: West Virginia
5. Arkansas at Oklahoma State
The obvious player to watch in this one will be Cade Cunningham, the No. 1 incoming freshman for Oklahoma State. Even with a postseason ban, the Cowboys will be a team to watch and should be competitive against most teams this season.
It’s hard to tell which players to watch for the Razorbacks, given the complete roster turnover. Desi Sills is the lone double-digit scorer from last season, while Coach Musselman brought in three grad transfers, along with three more eligibles after redshirting. And there’s a top-15 incoming recruiting class, led by four-star freshmen Moses Moody and Jaylin Williams.
Assuming the Hogs figure their rotation out in the two months of time between the start of the season and this game, they should have the depth and offense to overcome anything Cunningham does for Ok State.