Niang will have to play defense. As much as people say "no defense in NBA" - there is defense. You won't play if you have an overall losing impact on your team. It's all about advanced stats and plus minus.
It's should be a good game. I also think that teams like Baylor and W.Va play with a higher intensity in the regular season and we have trouble matching that. I don't see a lack of motivation for our guys in this game.
I think this will be a good game. Virginia is too good to let us run away with it, and they are too slow to get ahead by anything that is out of our reach. Most likely scenario is that this a 1-2 possession game.