Score Predictions for No. 6 West Virginia vs TCU
The No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers play host to the TCU Horned Frogs Thursday night at 7:00 EST and streaming on ESPN+.
Schuyler Callihan: West Virginia 72, TCU 68
On paper, the Horned Frogs should stand no chance in this game. However, this is a tough spot for West Virginia. They are coming off a tough loss to No. 3 Baylor, a game that went to overtime and now, turns around roughly 48 hours later to take on TCU with Oklahoma State coming to Morgantown in another 48 hours.
The game in Fort Worth about a week ago was never really in doubt for West Virginia, but they never created any distance from TCU. The Mountaineers shot 57% from the free-throw line which had a lot to do with it, but big man Derek Culver was one of the main reasons they were able to come out with the W. He finished that game with 18 points and 14 rebounds - a rather standard night for him. On Tuesday against Baylor, he was everything but himself. He was 0/3 from the floor and had very little impact on the game. This is the perfect time to get Culver back into a rhythm so that he is feeling confident and ready to go against Oklahoma State on Saturday and then next week at the Big 12 tournament.
Give me West Virginia, but not by a lot.
Christopher Hall: West Virginia 72 TCU 62
I fully expect the Mountaineers to start this game off sluggish and maybe even trail at halftime after the heartbreaking overtime loss to the No. 3 Baylor Bears on Tuesday.
TCU has struggled this season and the Mountaineers handled them in Ft. Worth just two weeks ago, but this is a scrappy Horned Frog team that has battle everybody within the Big 12.
Regardless, if West Virginia does not play up to its abilities, I still expect the Mountaineers to win comfortably. I look for Derek Culver to have a bounce back game after going 0-3 from the field in the loss to Baylor and guards Taz Sherman and Sean McNeil to heat up in the second half. Or, maybe West Virginia has put Tuesday night behind them and plays a solid 40 minutes. Nonetheless, West Virginia, again, handles TCU, 72-62.
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