John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA
Tip-off: Monday, 7:00 p.m. ET
Line: Virginia -12.5, Total: 116.5

No. 2 Virginia seeks its fifth straight win on Monday night when it hosts a surging Pittsburgh team with a 4-1 record in its past five contests.

The Panthers are riding high after a monster 89-76 home win over No. 12 North Carolina on Saturday when they shot a blistering 65% FG (37-of-57), including 53% (8-of-15) from three-point range. But they have struggled mightily on the road all season, going 0-7 ATS (1-6 SU) versus Division-I teams outside of Pittsburgh. The lone victory was a one-point win at 2-point underdog Boston College on Jan. 6. The Cavaliers have lost just once SU all season, but they are only 1-5 ATS in their past six contests, scoring a mere 54.7 PPG during a current three-game ATS skid. Virginia nearly lost at home to 18-point underdog Wake Forest on Saturday, securing a 61-60 victory when the Demon Deacons turned the ball over on their final possession. These teams are meeting for just the third time as conference foes, and first time this season. Both prior matchups were three-point victories for the Cavaliers, who prevailed 48-45 on the road on Feb. 2, 2014 and then won 51-48 in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Although Pittsburgh is an anemic 1-12 ATS after an SU win this season, the school is also 33-19 ATS as a road underdog (or pick) under head coach Jamie Dixon. Virginia is a dreadful 5-19 ATS when coming off a close win (3 points or less) since 1997, but is also 8-1 ATS after a game with 5 or less offensive rebounds in the past two seasons. While the Panthers have no significant injuries to worry about on Monday night, the Cavaliers will continue to miss second-leading scorer, SF Justin Anderson, who is out for at least the next month with a broken finger. SF Evan Nolte, who has been starting in place of Anderson, also injured his finger on Saturday, but is expected to play in this contest.

Can Virginia cover the hefty spread on Monday night? 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 experts have been heating up since Dec. 23, combining for a 57% ATS mark (112-85-3) in college basketball Best Bets. StatFox Gary is a strong 63% ATS (25-15) during this timeframe to improve to 61% ATS (43-27) for the season. StatFox Brian is 63% ATS (22-13-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 28 to put him at 57% ATS (39-30-1) this season, while StatFox Zach is on a 59% ATS (19-13) Best Bets run since Jan. 1 and has a 56% ATS mark (39-31) this season. StatFox Scott is a strong 59% ATS (23-16-1) in Best Bets since Dec. 23, and StatFox Dave is 5-1 ATS since Feb. 6.

Despite Pittsburgh's offensive explosion on Saturday, this is not a high-scoring team, as it scores a pedestrian 68.8 PPG (147th in nation). But the Panthers are very unselfish with 16.9 APG (11th in NCAA) leading to a strong 45.1% FG clip (93rd in nation). They are also very careful with the basketball (9.8 turnovers per game) and shoot an adequate 34.1% threes and 69.3% free throws. Defensively, Pittsburgh allows 65.6 PPG (156th in nation) on 45.0% FG and 34.2% threes, while posting a mere +2.6 RPG margin, which is a minus-1.2 RPG margin in conference play. This isn't a defense that gambles very much, recording only 5.3 steals per game and 3.2 blocks per game. The key to the offensive efficiency is junior PG James Robinson (10.1 PPG, 5.2 APG, 3.2 RPG) who carries an outstanding 2.9 Ast/TO ratio this season. He scored 12 points (5-of-7 FG) with four rebounds, eight assists and just one turnover in Saturday's win, but really struggled against Virginia's suffocating defense last season. In the two meetings with the Cavaliers, Robinson managed just eight points (2-of-13 FG) and five assists, but turned the ball over just once in these combined 70 minutes of action, which helped keep his team close in both of those three-point defeats. The other two double-digit scorers on the Panthers are PF Michael Young (13.3 PPG, 7.6 RPG) and SF Jamel Artis (12.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG). Young shoots 52% FG for the season, and has been blistering during his team's 4-1 surge, averaging 13.6 PPG on 60% FG with 6.8 RPG in these five games. Young managed just 10 points and six rebounds in a combined 40 minutes versus Virginia last season. Artis has scored at least 11 points in 10 straight contests, averaging a robust 18.7 PPG (52% FG) and 6.9 RPG during this scoring binge. SF Sheldon Jeter (4.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG) has also stepped up his play with increased minutes. The sophomore averages only 12.1 MPG for the season, but in the past three games, Jeter has been played 24.7 MPG and has responded with 15.3 PPG on 65% FG (20-of-31) and 4.3 RPG. In Saturday's upset win, Jeter poured in 22 points on 10-of-14 FG (2-of-4 threes) and grabbed four rebounds. But scoring in bunches has been a difficult task for any team matched up with the Cavaliers this season.

Virginia leads the nation in scoring defense (50.9 PPG) and ranks third in NCAA shooting defense (35.8% FG), which helps the team post a +8.7 RPG margin. Like Pittsburgh, the Cavaliers don't rack up many steals (5.1 SPG, 310th in nation), but they do block 4.5 shots per game (70th in NCAA). Although Virginia scores only 66.6 PPG (198th in nation), this is due to a deliberately slow-paced offense that limits turnovers to 8.7 per game (2nd-fewest in NCAA) and rarely wastes a possession with strong shooting percentages of 46.2% FG (64th in nation) and 36.4% threes. Although injured SF Justin Anderson (13.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 48% FG, 48% threes, 80% FT) is regarded as the team's best player, Virginia has plenty of other stars. SG Malcolm Brogdon (13.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG) is the leading scorer who has scored 8+ points in 17 straight contests, including 11+ points in five consecutive games (15.0 PPG). But he has shot horribly in four February games at 34% FG and 13% threes (2-of-15). However, Brogdon played very well in both wins versus Pittsburgh last season, averaging 13.0 PPG (48% FG), 4.0 RPG and 3.5 APG. PF Anthony Gill (11.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG) is the club's best rebounder and shoots 57% from the floor. He was the team's best player on Saturday with 19 points (7-of-10 FG) and six rebounds, giving him 12.8 PPG (66% FG) and 8.0 RPG during his team's four-game win streak. Gill also played big minutes in the ACC Tournament win versus the Panthers last year, coming off the bench to score 10 points with five rebounds. C Mike Tobey (7.8 PPG, 5.4 RPG) shoots 52% FG and 75% FT and has scored at least eight points in five consecutive games despite playing less than 20 minutes in four of those contests. His 6-foot-11, 253-pound frame could give the Panthers' big men trouble on Monday night. PG London Perrantes (5.9 PPG, 4.4 APG) shoots poorly from the floor (34% FG, 31% threes), but he is a heady point guard who rarely makes mistakes. He commits one turnover for every 22.4 minutes on the court, and carries a 3.0 Ast/TO ratio for the season, but Perrantes only four assists and four turnovers in his past two games. He'll need to play better with a tough point guard to contain in James Robinson.