The Virginia Cavaliers return home after a two-day road trip to take on the Syracuse Orange. The game is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on the ACC Network.
UVA comes from an embarrassing breakdown against Pitt as they fell 68-65. The Cavaliers dominated the first half as they held Pitt to 23 points on 32 percent shooting. The Panthers averaged just .767 points per possession.
Then the Cavaliers fell apart. Virginia allowed Pitt to score 45 points in the second half while shooting 51.7 percent from the field. The Panthers scored 1.50 points per possession as UVA held them on only nine (out of 30) goalless possessions. Pitt was 10-15 on layups in the second half and 1-3 on dunks. They consistently broke the UVA defense as the Cavaliers all seemed upset.
UVA’s offense was solid as the Cavaliers shot 42.9 percent from three and 47.3 percent from the field. Virginia attempted a season-low four free throws (her previous low was 16). The loss dropped UVA to 10-3 overall and 2-2 in the ACC.
UVA was led by Kihei Clark, who had a team-high 17 points with eight assists. He was joined in double figures by Kadin Shedrick (10 points), Reece Beekman (12 points) and Armaan Franklin (14 points).
Syracuse goes into the game on Saturday with a 10-5 record overall and a 3-1 record in the ACC. The Orange won Tuesday 70-69 when they defeated ACC for Louisville on the road. The Orange had to fight to avoid the Cardinal’s angry offer.
Louisville led by as much as nine in the first half and they were sixth with less than eight minutes to go. An 11-4 run helped Syracuse take a 66-64 lead with 1:35 in the game. From there, the Orange would survive as the Cardinals had a shot at winning but turned the ball over on their last possession.
Syracuse was led by Joseph Girard, who had 28 points on a 7-18 shooting. He was joined in double digits by Judah Mintz (16 points) and Jesse Edwards (12 points).
Virginia has beaten Orange three times in a row and leads the all-time streak 11-6. Bennett remains tied with Terry Holland for most coaching wins in UVA history. Bennett’s record in his 14th season with UVA is 326-120, while Holland’s is 326-173 in 16 seasons with the Cavaliers.
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