Virginia Basketball vs. Syracuse Game Preview, Score Prediction

The Virginia Cavaliers return home from a two-game road trip looking to bounce back after they watched a 13-point lead disappear in a disappointing loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Cavaliers are hoping to right the ship again as they welcome the Syracuse Orange, who have won seven of their last eight games, to John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday afternoon. 

Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Syracuse, including details on the game, an opponent scouting report, game notes, and a score prediction. 

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (10-3, 2-2 ACC) vs. Syracuse Orange (10-5, 3-1 ACC)

When: Saturday, January 7th at 5pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia

How to watch: ACC Network

How to listen: SiriusXM 81, XSM App 81 | Virginia Sports Radio Network -

All-time series: Virginia leads 11-6

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Syracuse 74-69 on January 1st, 2022 at Syracuse. 

Opponent Scouting Report: Syracuse

2022-2023: 10-5, 3-1 ACC
Notable results: St. John's 76-69 L (OT), Bryant 73-72 L, Illinois 73-44 L, at Notre Dame 62-61 W, Georgetown 83-64 W, Pittsburgh 84-82 L, Boston College 79-65 W, at Louisville 70-69 W

The 47th season of Syracuse basketball under Jim Boeheim did not get off to a great start, as the Orange started off 3-4 with three-consecutive losses in November, ending with a blowout 73-44 defeat at Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Since then, however, the Orange have found a rhythm, winning seven of their last eight games and they now sit at 4th in the ACC standings at 3-1 in conference play. Syracuse took down Notre Dame 62-61, Boston College 79-65, and most recently, escaped Louisville with a 70-69 victory on Tuesday. The lone loss for the team over the last month was an 84-82 defeat to Pittsburgh, the same team who just beat the Cavaliers earlier this week to remain undefeated in ACC play. 

With the departure of Buddy Boeheim and a couple of other starters, Syracuse has run most of its offense through a new "big three" this season, as Joe Girard III, Judah Mintz, and Jesse Edwards account for 62% of Syracuse's scoring. Girard, a 6'1" senior who has had plenty of experience going up against Virginia throughout his career, is currently 8th in the ACC in scoring at 16.7 points per game and is one of the top volume three-point shooters in the conference at 37.3%, making just under three made three-pointers per game. 6'3" freshman guard Judah Mintz joins Girard in the back court, averaging 15.8 points per game (12th in the ACC) and 4.2 assists per game (10th in the ACC) as the primary point guard running Syracuse's offense. 

Rounding out Syracuse's big three is 6'11" senior center Jesse Edwards, who is currently averaging a double-double at 13.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Edwards leads the ACC in field goal percentage at 61.7% and is the conference's top rim protector with 46 blocks - the player with the next-most blocks in the ACC has just 25. As the key to Syracuse's zone defense, Edwards anchors the middle of the 2-3 zone and erases any shots attempted near the basket. Tony Bennett will likely have no choice but to play Kadin Shedrick for most of the game to counter Jesse Edwards and the availability of Francisco Caffaro, who missed UVA's last game at Pitt with a foot injury, will be important as well. 

6'9" sophomore forward Benny Williams (8.0 ppg) is capable of stretching the floor and knocking down the occasional three-pointer, while 6'7" freshman forward Chris Bell rounds out Cuse's starting five at 6.7 points per game. Syracuse brings in a couple of Central Virginia natives off the bench in 6'6" freshman guard Justin Taylor from St. Anne's Belfield in Charlottesville and 6'8" freshman Maliq Brown from Blue Ridge in Culpeper. 

Game Notes

• Virginia leads the all-time series against Syracuse 11-6 and has won each of the last three matchups, including a 74-69 win at Syracuse last season
• UVA is 4-2 all-time against Syracuse in games played in Charlottesville
• Tony Bennett is 10-3 all-time vs. Syracuse
• Bennett will surpass Terry Holland as UVA's all-time winningest head coach with his next win
• Jayden Gardner needs one more rebound to reach 1,000 career rebounds, making him the only active Division I men's basketball player with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds

Prediction

This game will be won and lost at the guard position, as both teams run most of their offense through their guards - Joe Girard III and Judah Mintz for Syracuse and Reece Beekman and Kihei Clark for Virginia. UVA's guards did not have a good game at Pittsburgh on the defensive end, as the Panthers aggressively attacked the paint, leading to the open layups and threes that allowed Pitt to come back and beat Virginia in the second half. In a program where defense is priority No. 1, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cavaliers play with a bit of an extra edge on the defensive end on Saturday, as they'll be eager to get the taste of the Pitt loss out of their mouths. Furthermore, Virginia will once again be looking to give Tony Bennett his 327th victory at UVA, making him the program's all-time winningest head coach. Virginia gets that job done and wins a close one over Syracuse on Saturday. 

Score prediction: Syracuse 65, Virginia 70