Tonight’s the ultimate contrast of styles in the Jimmy V Classic, which has a quality doubleheader with WVU v. Virginia preceding Maryland v. UConn. The opener is all about tempo because the Mountaineers try to speed up offenses and the Cavaliers operate deliberately. WVU gets offense from defense, but Virginia’s offense is cautious and its defense oftentimes makes matters miserable for opposing offenses.

Las Vegas has the Cavaliers as a five-point favorite and sets the over/under at 133. So something like a 69-64 game, which feels about right, one way or the other. Neither team lets opponents get to 70, Virginia doesn’t go fast on offense and WVU, well, halfcourt success can be fleeting and is critical this evening.

The pack-line is a defense developed by former college basketball coach Dick Bennett, who is Tony’s father. Dick Bennett, 72, won 489 career games during stops at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Wisconsin-Green Bay, Wisconsin and Washington State.

Tony Bennett, 46, has borrowed those concepts during his 10-year career. Virginia is 60-11 the last two seasons with 30 overall wins and 16 Atlantic Coast Conference wins each season. The Cavaliers have won consecutive ACC regular-season titles.

The defense, as the name suggests, emphasizes a “pack” or “team” mentality. Only the player guarding the ball can step outside an invisible 16-foot arc that goes from baseline to baseline like the 3-point line.

“It’s a great defense,” Huggins said. “His dad had great success with it; Tony’s had great success with it. A lot of people have tried to copy it. They’re the masters. They’re the guys who do it best.”

Huggins, though, would prefer to play his way. His players need to make shots in order to get in their full-court pressure. They want to create possessions, not do what Virginia wants and limit them.

“They control the game with their offense,” Huggins said. “Their defense gets a lot of credit, and justifiably so, but when you keep taking time off the clock with your offense there’s not many possessions.

“You work a little harder on the offensive end to get shots and then you have to guard longer on the defensive end. It cuts down on the number of possessions, which is what they want. We, on the other hand, want more possessions.”