3 Takeaways from West Virginia’s First Two Games in PK85

West Virginia has completed two games in the Phil Knight Legacy tournament so far, going 1-1. The Mountaineers lost by 12 to No. 24 Purdue on Thursday night and defeated Portland State 89-71 on Friday. Let’s take a look at three takeaways so far from the event.

Mountaineers Can Redeem Purdue Loss with Win Over Florida

Before West Virginia headed to Portland, a 2-1 record in the tournament would’ve been a successful trip. It still will be. After the Boilermakers defeated WVU by a dozen, they dominated No. 6 Gonzaga on Friday night to advance to the championship game. West Virginia can redeem themselves on Sunday with a quality win over Florida.

The Gators lost to Xavier in the first round before beating Oregon State to advance to the fifth place game.

During the offseason, Florida hired former San Francisco coach Todd Golden to replace Mike White. Golden recruited the transfer portal well bringing in Will Richard (Belmont), Kyle Lofton (St. Bonaventure) and Adam Fudge (LSU). Pair that around with returning two-time All-SEC recipient Colin Castleton and you have a solid core. The Gators were upset last week by Florida Atlantic.

Seth Wilson is Another Weapon off Bench

During WVU’s two PK85 games, sophomore guard Seth Wilson has stepped up big for the Mountaineers. Wilson has scored a combined 19 points with 5-three’s against Purdue and Portland State.

“He’s been huge. That’s what he does, he makes shots. He’s got great strength,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “You don’t even know he’s a little smaller because of his physicality.”

Postgame Reaction to WVU’s Win Over Portland State

West Virginia’s strength this season is their depth and adding Wilson to that will only give them another scoring option off the bench.

West Virginia Needs to Fix Turnover Issue

West Virginia’s biggest issue this season has been turnovers. Huggins has expressed his discern for his team’s lack of taking care of the ball since the summer. WVU has committed 77 turnovers in six games. The issue Huggins and his staff have with that number is the amount of unforced turnovers their team commit. If West Virginia can limit the turnovers as the season goes on, they’ll be tough to beat.