Virginia is coming into this game with a 2-0 record this season. It is a new era in Virginia basketball with Ron Sanchez taking over for Tony Bennett, but so far they are off to a good start at 2-0. They won their 1st game of the season against Campbell by 9 points and followed up with a win against Coppin State by 17 points in their last game. Virginia has always been a team with great defense, and that has not changed this season as they allowed 56 points and 45 points in their 2 games so far. They are going up against a Villanova team that is 2-2 this season and is not off to a great start. They have been very mediocre over the last few years since Kyle Neptune took over this team and they really have not been anywhere near the same team that was so dominant for so many years under Jay Wright. They are 2-2 this season and already have some questionable losses under their belt. They beat Lafayette at home by 12 points and they also have a win at home against NJIT by 37, but they lost by 10 points at home to Columbia and they are coming off of a 7 point loss on the road against Saint Joseph's in their last game. This game is being played at a neutral location so Villanova is not going to benefit much from the crowd here, and Virginia has the defense to keep this a close game, even winning it. Virginia will cover the spread in this game.