Can Virginia slow down West Virginia in the Jimmy V Classic opener?

Can Virginia slow down WVU?

A pair of contrasting styles will be on display tonight when No. 14 West Virginia takes on No. 10 Virginia in the opener of the Jimmy V Classic at 7:00PM ET.

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The Mountaineers like to pick up the pace offensively, going up-tempo through the game on offense and force opponents to keep up. That's a distinct difference in style compared to the Cavaliers, who play excellent defense and are more methodical on offense.

Reasons to bet Virginia:

The Cavaliers are laying 4 points tonight against the Mountaineers according to oddsmakers from online sports book RealBet.eu. While West Virginia is a  perfect 7-0 straight up and is 4-0 against the spread in lined games this season, Virginia has the ability to take the Mountaineers out of their game.

Look for the Cavaliers to focus on stopping the Mountaineers' post players and force them too shoot from the 3-point range, where they're just 28.5 percent this season. The key to stopping West Virginia is to slow down its pace of play on offense, and Virginia can do that with its air-tight defense.

The Cavaliers can't win this game in a shootout and if their defense is as good as it normally is, they won't have to.

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