Carrier Dome - Syracuse, NY
Tip-off: Saturday, 2:00 p.m. ET
Line: Syracuse -4, Total: 134.5

One team will suffer its first loss of the season as No. 2 Syracuse and No. 8 Villanova battle at the Carrier Dome Saturday afternoon.

The Wildcats and Orange are two of the nation’s few remaining unbeaten teams and no longer play in the Big East together, but will still play each other as non-conference play winds down. Villanova owns two big wins this year against Iowa and Kansas, and is an incredible 8-1 ATS this year. Its lone road game was at Saint Joseph’s, when it covered a 4.5-point spread easily in a 98-68 victory. The Orange are 4-3 ATS, but just 1-2 ATS at the Carrier Dome so far. Their marquee win came at a neutral site against Baylor, when they won and covered. These teams are 5-5 SU in their past 10 meetings against one another, with the Wildcats going 6-4 ATS. Villanova covered in both of the contests last year, even though the two teams split the meetings SU.

Which top-10 team will remain unbeaten? 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 63% ATS (107-63-5) mark, including an eye-popping 72% ATS (72-28) record over the past four weeks. StatFox Zach is leading the way at 68% ATS (23-11-1) on Best Bets this season, including 80% ATS (16-4) in the past four weeks, while StatFox Brian is 65% ATS (22-12-1) for the season and 75% ATS (15-5) in the past four weeks. StatFox Gary is 64% ATS (21-12-2) for the season and 87% ATS (13-2) in the past three weeks, while StatFox Scott is 63% ATS (22-13) for the season and 73% ATS (11-4) in the past three weeks. StatFox Dave is 56% ATS (19-15-1) for the season and 60% ATS (12-8) in the past four weeks.

Villanova has one of the best defenses in the nation, holding opponents to 64.0 PPG on 38% FG and forcing 16.6 turnovers per game. PF JayVaughn Pinkson (16.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG) leads the team on the offensive end, also adding 1.0 SPG. The team’s next two leading scorers are both guards in SGs James Bell (15.4 PPG) and Darrun Hilliard (14.4 PPG). Bell hits 2.2 threes per game, though at a weak 32% clip, and actually leads the team in rebounding as well with 6.5 RPG. The duo combines for 3.3 SPG. Sophomore PG Ryan Arcidiacono (9.2 PPG, 3.2 APG) leads the team in assists, though his numbers are down from a year ago, and he’s making only 35.4% FG. The unsung hero of the lineup is sophomore PF Daniel Ochefu (3.7 PPG, 6.2 RPG), who isn’t much of a scorer, but is a load on the boards and leads the team with 1.9 BPG. He does all of that in only 18.5 MPG, though he has eclipsed 20 minutes in each of the team’s past three contests. His contributions help the Wildcats rank 12th nationally with 42.0 RPG.

Syracuse, with head coach Jim Boeheim’s legendary 2-3 zone, also has one of the nation’s most tenacious defenses, forcing 10.4 SPG, fifth most nationally. Without some key players from last year, the Orange offense has quickly adjusted, in large part due to the strong start of freshman PG Tyler Ennis (12.1 PPG, 5.4 APG) who has helped the team live without Michael Carter-Williams, now in the NBA. Ennis seemingly gets better every game and is a menace defensively with a team-high 2.8 SPG. PF C.J. Fair (17.8 PPG, 5.3 RPG) leads the offense, though he’s turning it over 3.2 times per game, twice as much as last season. Sophomore SG Trevor Cooney (14.1 PPG) has made a huge leap from last season, hitting 3.3 threes per game on an impressive 49.3% clip, while also forcing 2.3 SPG. Fellow second-year SF Jerami Grant (12.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG) is a nightly highlight reel with his athleticism, and rounds out the team’s double-digit scorers. Beyond them, C DaJuan Coleman (5.1 PPG, 4.6 RPG) and PF Rakeem Christmas (5.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 1.4 BPG) can be big assets down low, combatting the strong rebounding of the Wildcats.