Virginia will look to move one step closer to a share of the ACC regular season title, but it won’t be easy with a road trip to Syracuse to take on a tough Orange squad.
Tony Bennett’s squad has been a ruthlessly efficient team all season long, going 26-0 against teams not named Duke. The latest triumph for Virginia was a 73-49 rout of hapless Pittsburgh, with the Cavaliers’ offense shooting 58.6% from the floor.
Kyle Guy paced the Virginia attack, scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting, including an impressive 5-7 from downtown. While questions still remain about whether Virginia has enough offense to make a deep March run, the Cavaliers are in prime position to end up with a top seed once again.
Virginia heads to upstate New York today for a matchup with a tough Syracuse team and Jim Boeheim’s signature 2-3 zone. The Orange cruised to a 79-54 win over Wake Forest on Saturday, a nice bounce back effort after consecutive losses to Duke and North Carolina, with the latter coming on the road.
Juniors Tyus Battle and Elijah Hughes combined for 39 points on 17-25 shooting, making it look easy for the Orange. Syracuse has probably done enough to be safely in the field come Selection Sunday, but a victory over the Cavaliers would pretty much lock up an at-large bid.
How to watch Virginia vs. Syracuse
- Date: Monday, March 4
- Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Syracuse, NY
- Venue: Carrier Dome
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
This is the only matchup of the season between the Cavaliers and the Orange thanks to the unbalanced ACC schedule. Virginia swept a pair of matchups with Syracuse last season, including a 59-44 win at the Carrier Dome on Feb. 3, 2018.
The stakes are high for Virginia, which is tied with North Carolina atop the ACC with identical 16-2 conference records. North Carolina’s next game is at Boston College tomorrow.