No. 2 Virginia (26-2, 14-2) at Syracuse (19-10, 10-6), 7 p.m ESPN
As expected, the Wahoos had no issue with Pittsburgh on Saturday, plastering the Panthers and cruising to a 73-49 victory.
The Big Three again all had great games, with Kyle Guy leading the way with 17 points. He was "on" in this one, sinking 5 of 7 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Ty Jerome recorded 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting (1 of 1 on 3s), and Hunter finished with 12 points and was 1 of 2 from distance to go along with five assists and three rebounds. Jack Salt started after not starting against Georgia Tech but just got eight minutes and did not score. Jerome said after the game Salt is dealing with some more back issues, but you also have to wonder if Mamadi Diakite and Jay Huff are just taking more minutes that would go to Salt. Salt hasn't played more than 20 minutes since the Duke home game and hasn't made a field goal since the Notre Dame home game.
Still, Jerome offered up a huge compliment to Salt after the game in the postgame news conference.
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| Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and Kihei Clark celebrate a teammate's 3-pointer -- I'm betting Austin Katstra's. |
"If you ask them to play 30 minutes one game and five the next, I don't know if any other guy in the country will give you their all, and he does, and he continues to lead every day. He continues to fight through back pain, he's a warrior, and I'll go to battle with him any day."
Diakite (20 minutes) and Huff (17 minutes) both came off the bench, with Diakite contributing six points and two rebounds, with Huff putting up five points, six rebounds, an assist, three steals, and a block.
Kihei Clark got another start, and he looked good, dishing out four assists with no turnovers while scoring six points and tallying three rebounds and two assists. After drawing some fans' ire, Clark has all of a sudden put some good games together. Over the past three contests, Clark has 14 assists and zero turnovers. Zilch. Plus 14 points. Not bad for a true freshman.
Braxton Key had five points, but just made 2 of his 8 shots, many of which were up close, but also had his usual five rebounds and a pair of steals, a hard-nosed contribution. Marco Anthony, Kody Stattmann, Austin Katstra, and walk-on Grant Kersey got in the game. Anthony played nine minutes, made a 3, and had six points, his best game since Dec. 3 when he scored eight points vs. Morgan State. Katstra made a 3, too, his first time scoring since Dec. 3 as well.
It was just an all-around solid effort, and for the second game in a row, Virginia did exactly what it was supposed to do against an inferior team. UVa limited itself to 10 turnovers and helped force Pitt into 15. The Cavaliers tied a season high with nine steals. The starters got plenty of rest. No one played 30 minutes, and Jerome tied for his lowest number of minutes this season (25), and Guy did play his fewest minutes (25).
Next up is a tougher challenge: Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. It's Big Monday on ESPN, and a high-ranked team coming into the Dome is always a big deal. Here's the statistical profile for the Orange:
Scorers in double figures: Junior guard Tyus Battle (17.7), junior forward Elijah Hughes (13.9), sophomore forward Oshae Brissett (12.8)
Leading rebounders: Brissett (7.5), senior center Paschal Chukwu (5.4), Hughes (4.5), sophomore forward Marek Dolezaj (3.6)
Assist leaders: Senior guard Frank Howard (3), Battle (2.6)
Notable: Nine players double-figure minutes. Howard averages 8.1 points, freshman guard Buddy Boeheim (yep, coach Jim Boeheim's son) puts up 5.8 points per game, Dolezaj 4.3, and Paschal 4. Howard records 1.5 steals per game, and Hughes, Battle, Dolezaj, and Brissett each average about one. Chukwu averages 1.6 blocks, and Brissett blocks about one shot per game.
Best win: At No. 1 Duke, 95-91
Worst win: Vs. Cornell, 63-55. The Big Red, who are in the Ivy League, are 13-15.
Other wins: Eastern Washington, Morehead State, Colgate, Oregon, Ohio State, Northeastern, Georgetown, Arkansas State, Stony Brook, Notre Dame, Clemson, Pittsburgh (twice), Boston College (twice), Miami, Louisville
Best loss: At No. 5 North Carolina, 93-85
Worst loss: Vs. Georgia Tech, 73-59 (this was immediately preceding the win at No. 1 Duke)
Other losses: Connecticut, Oregon, Old Dominion, Buffalo, Virginia Tech, Florida State, N.C. State,
Duke
What Syracuse does well: Like normal, Syracuse has a solid defense. The Orange are giving up 65.2 ppg (37th), a 39.4 percent field goal percentage (16th), and a 31 percent 3-point percentage. Syracuse also picks up 7.9 steals per game (tied, 27th), forces 15.6 turnovers per game (37th), and blocks 4.9 shots per game (tied, 19th). The Orange take good care of the ball, averaging just 12.1 turnovers (tied, 86th). Syracuse gets to the line a lot, having taken 594 attempts (81st).
What Syracuse doesn't do well: The Orange's offensive numbers aren't the best. They score only 70.3 ppg (248th) and shoot 42.2 percent from the field (285th), 32.6 percent on 3s (275th), and 68 percent from the charity stripe (266th). Syracuse records just 12.4 assists per game (tied, 270th), and thus, possesses just a 1.02 assist-turnover ratio (182nd). The team is also weak on the glass, with a -1.7 rebound margin (257th).
Of course, any discussion of Syracuse starts with its vaunted 2-3 zone. Virginia should have the weapons to attack it: Hunter can play in and shoot from the high post, and Huff could also be inserted and disrupt the zone's structure with his ability to catch the ball up high with his long frame in the high post and shoot from almost anywhere or catch alley-oops with guards throwing over top of the zone. UVa also boasts a number of good 3-point shooters, which can help break down the zone as well.
Since Bennett arrived at UVa, Virginia has averaged 65.4 points against Syracuse, and Jim Boeheim's Orange have recorded 58.1 points per game against the Pack Line. Virginia has probably its most diverse offense it has had under Bennett, so maybe a point total closer to 70 can be achieved.
The 3-point shooters the 'Hoos need to be on the lookout for are Hughes (35.6 percent), Boeheim (35.3), Battle (31.9), and Howard (31.3). Dolezaj has made 43.5 percent of his long-range shots, but only attempted 23. Battle and Howard are good players that are going to try to create their own shots. If they get hot, the Orange could be tough to beat. But often, the one-on-one game does not take down Virginia as players tire and difficult shots inevitably come up short.
Syracuse is an 8-seed in ESPN.com's latest Bracketology from Joe Lunardi. So the Orange are probably going to make the tournament and don't need a huge win to put their resume over the top. They already got that by winning at Duke. As mentioned earlier, that upset victory came a game after this same team lost at home to Georgia Tech, so in some ways, who knows what will happen in this game. Virginia is a 6.5-point favorite on ESPN.com as of late Sunday night, and that sounds about right.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
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