I like West Virginia -9.5 in this one. West Virginia is a deep, veteran team in great physical shape thanks to Bob Huggins' emphasis on strength and conditioning, and therefore will be in a better position to handle this back to back game to start the season than VCU, a young team who hasn't been in this position before. On top of that, VCU was forced to switch to a full court press against Utah State yesterday with 10 minutes to go. Look for VCU to be extra sluggish in this one.
Speaking of the press, the reason VCU had to deploy it yesterday is because they were losing to Utah State with 10 minutes to play. The press was effective and VCU ended up winning 85-69. Don't be fooled by the final score. This one was close. VCU coach Mike Rhoades praised the press after the game calling it "the great equalizer". Utah State's coach called his team's excessive late turnovers a "train wreck" and compared the situation to a pick-6 in football. Here's the thing though-the press won't save VCU against West Virginia, a team very familiar with the press and how to beat it. It wasn't that long ago that West Virginia was called Press Virginia because of how often they used the full court press. If anyone knows how to break a press it's Bob Huggins. Plus Utah State is inexperienced in the backcourt. West Virginia is not.
Finally, look for West Virginia to shoot better than they did against South Dakota State. After the game, West Virginia players were quoted talking about how they missed open shots that should go in for them in the future.
OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION: WEST VIRGINIA -9.5