[4:00 PM] #21 Florida @ Florida State

Who will WIN this matchup?

#21 Florida Gators (7-2)

@ Florida State Seminoles (9-1)

• Having outscored its last two opponents by an average of 52 points, Florida State takes a big step up in competition when it hosts No. 21 Florida on Sunday. The Gators, whose losses were to No. 8 Gonzaga and No. 4 Duke, will give the talented and deep Seminoles a much better sense of where they stand after Florida State piled up 216 points in blowout victories over Southern Miss and Nicholls.

• The Gators have faced the tougher early schedule, beating Miami (7-2) and Seton Hall (7-2) and showing they can compete with the best in losing by five points to the Bulldogs and hanging late with the Blue Devils before falling, 84-74. Florida’s pressure defense, which is forcing 16.4 turnovers a game, and strong rim protection (6.8 blocks) will likely provide the Seminoles’ high-octane offense with its toughest test yet.

• Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen (team-leading 13.3 points) is coming off a strong 21-point effort at Madison Square Garden against Duke and scored 34 points in the Gators’ 73-71 win over the Seminoles last season. Senior point guard Kasey Hill (8.2 points, 4.2 assists) also played well against Duke, with 13 points and six assists, and has been more productive over the past four games after a slow start to the season. Junior forward Devin Robinson (11.7 points on 53.6 percent shooting) has been the team’s most reliable shooter while 6-foot-11 center John Egbunu (9.1 points), who will be challenged by the Seminoles tall front line, has been in a shooting slump but continues to pound the boards (8.0 rebounds) and reject shots (21 blocks).

• The Seminoles expect the return of freshman star Jonathan Isaac (15.1 points, 7.3 rebounds), who has missed the last three games with a hip flexor injury. In his absence, junior college transfer P.J. Savoy (12.8 points) emerged as a serious scoring threat, hitting 13 3-point shots in the last two games to give Florida State three players – leading scorer Dwayne Bacon (16.6 points) is the other – who are shooting a combined 45 percent (45-of-100) from beyond the arc. Junior point guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (9.8 points, 5.0 assists) has shot the ball better over the past few games and is engineering an offense that ranks No. 3 in Division I in shooting percentage (52.4 percent) and No. 8 in scoring (90.3 points).

• The Seminoles rank No. 14 nationally in field-goal defense (36.2 percent).

StreakSmarts Pick: Florida State Seminoles

Confidence: 4/10