Virginia vs Syracuse Predictions & Odds (Jan. 30)

Virginia Betting Trends

Virginia’s vaunted Pack Line defense has vaulted the Cavaliers into the top 10 again this season. The Cavaliers are allowing just 60.1 points a game, which ranks ninth in the nation, and they are 48 in field goal defense (40.7%).

Virginia forced Boston College into 16 turnovers in Saturday’s win. The Cavaliers also shot 50.8% (30 of 59).

Senior guard Armaan Franklin and junior guard Jayden Gardner each scored 18 points to lead Virginia. Franklin had seven rebounds and three assists while Gardner made 8-of-12 field goal attempts.

Franklin is Virginia’s leading scorer with a 13.1 average.

Ball movement is the key to Virginia’s offense with senior guard Kihei Clark and junior guard Reece Beekman ranking second and third in assists in the ACC. Clark is averaging 5.8 a game and Beekman is dishing at a 5.3 clip.

Clark is also averaging 11.3 points a game and junior forward Jayden Gardner has a 10.5 scoring average for Virginia, which is 25 in Division I with a 38.2 three-point percentage.

Freshman guard Isaac McKneely added 12 points on Saturday. Beekman had 11 points and eight assists.

Syracuse Betting Trends

Poor defense and an off day by leading scorer Joseph Girard III doomed Syracuse on Saturday in its loss to Virginia Tech.

Virginia Tech shot 53.3% (32 of 60) overall and 40.6% (13 of 32) from three-point range. The Hokies made 11 of 20 from beyond the arc in the first half when they built a 52-33 lead.

Girard is fifth in the conference in scoring with an average of 17.0 points a game. However, the senior guard was limited to seven points on 2-of-8 shooting Saturday and did not score his first field goal until there was 7:12 left.

Girardi is also dishing 3.3 assists a game.

Freshman guard Judah Mintz led Syracuse with 21 points and eight rebounds but also had five of the Orange’s 15 turnovers. Mintz leads the ACC in steals with a 2.0 a game and is averaging 15.2 points and 4.5 assists.

Senior center Jesse Edwards is first in the ACC in blocked shots (2.8), second in field goal percentage (59.2) and third in rebounding (10.4). He is averaging 13.4 points but had nine points and five rebounds against Virginia Tech as the Hokies outrebounded Syracuse 37-26.

Freshman guard Justin Taylor scored 12 points off the bench on four three-pointers and freshman forward Maliq Brown contributed 11 points. Syracuse is shooting 37.1% from distance as a team, standing 48 in the nation.

Virginia vs Syracuse Prediction

Virginia has dominated the series in recent years, winning four games in a row and eight of nine. The Cavaliers beat the Orange 73-66 on Jan. 7 at home as Franklin scored 16 points for Virginia and Girard had 19 for Syracuse.

Look for Virginia to win again, even on the road, against a struggling Syracuse team.

Pick: Virginia -4.5 (-120)

Season record: 23-19 (+2.1 units) ATS, 1-6 (-4.5 units) ML