WVU Coliseum – Morgantown, WV
Tip-off: Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. ET
Line: Gonzaga -2

No. 20 Gonzaga will face its first true road contest of the season on Tuesday when it visits a West Virginia team looking to secure its first win against a decent team this year.

Gonzaga’s one defeat this season came at the end of November against Dayton in the Maui Invitational with the Bulldogs favored by nine points. But they have won four in a row since then, and are now 3-4 ATS this season. This two-point spread is their smallest so far this season, and West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins is 13-31 ATS (30%) in games where the spread is -3 to 3 as head coach of the Mountaineers. Mark Few’s squad has proven to be prolific on the offensive end so far, averaging 90.4 PPG (5th in Div. I) on a nation-leading 54.9% FG. West Virginia’s offense isn’t too shabby though, putting up 83.6 PPG (29th in D-I) on 48.3% FG. The Mountaineers have lost to every respectable team they have played so far this season though: Virginia Tech, Wisconsin and Missouri. None of their wins have come against major conference foes, and even though the Bulldogs play in the WCC, their ranking suggests they are indeed a high-caliber opponent. When these two teams played last November, the Bulldogs cruised to an 84-50 win as 11-point favorites at home. They also played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, where the higher-seeded Bulldogs also won and covered with a 77-54 victory. In these two games, the Zags have shot 54.0% FG, while WVU managed just 29.8% FG.

Can West Virginia finally beat a quality team on Tuesday? For the latest college basketball picks, check out The Platinum Sheet for all the StatFox Experts selections every week throughout the entire 2013-14 season. The StatFox Experts have been rolling in college basketball Best Bets this season with a 58% ATS (70-50-5) mark, including a 70% ATS (35-15) record in the past two weeks. StatFox Zach is leading the way at 67% ATS (16-8-1) on Best Bets, while StatFox Scott is 60% ATS (15-10), and StatFox Brian is 58% ATS (14-10-1).

Junior PG Kevin Pangos (19.8 PPG, 4.3 APG) paces the Gonzaga offense and he’s been ridiculously efficient for a guard this season. He’s only turning it over 1.2 times per game, while averaging 3.6 threes, hitting them on a 50% clip. Overall, he’s shooting 50.9% from the field. SG Gary Bell Jr. (13.8 PPG) joins him in the backcourt, and he’s been even better at shooting from distance with a 54.2% clip, knocking down 2.9 per game. Bell led all scorers in last year’s meeting against the Mountaineers with 15, while Pangos added 13. Six-foot-4 SG Gerard Coleman (11.0 PPG) is more of a slasher in the backcourt, providing some balance. And don’t forget about senior PG David Stockton (5.7 PPG, 4.9 APG) who isn’t much of a scorer, but leads the team in assists and steals with 1.7 SPG. PF Sam Dower (15.3 PPG, 7.2 RPG) leads the Gonzaga frontcourt that has outrebounded its past two opponents—New Mexico State and Coppin State—by a combined 28 rebounds. But they need to be more consistent, because in their loss to Dayton, the Flyers outrebounded them by 11. The player with perhaps the most potential down low is sophomore C Przemek Karnowski (8.9 PPG, 7.6 RPG), who leads the team in rebounding and has a 7-foot-1 frame that may allow him to play in the NBA someday if he can hone his skills.

West Virginia presents one of the most lethal backcourt duos in the country in SG Eron Harris and PG Juwan Staten. Harris (18.9 PPG, 4.1 RPG) leads the team in scoring and is hitting 2.9 threes per game on a 51% clip, which is actually better than his overall FG Pct. of 46.7%. He had perhaps his worst game of the year in the team’s most recent game, a loss to Missouri, when he scored only eight points. Staten (16.3 PPG, 7.2 APG, 5.9 RPG) is less of a shooter, but more of a complete threat as an effective rebounder and the team’s leading distributor. He also has 1.6 SPG, and will be a tough matchup defensively for Pangos. Last year against the Bulldogs, Staten went 0-for-6 in 34 minutes, so he’ll certainly have redemption on his mind. Freshman PF Devin Williams (10.0 PPG, 7.8 RPG) is the team’s No. 1 rebounder and the only guy other than Staten who averages more than 4.5 RPG. When the team needs to create matchup problems look for French SF Remi Dibo (9.8 PPG) to get the ball, as he is an effective three-point shooter. SG Terry Henderson (9.6 PPG) also adds valuable depth to the backcourt.