Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.
Syracuse had another calamitous display Tuesday, falling to Southern Methodist University 77-75. The result was the latest of three straight road capitulations in the past three weeks. On Feb. 18, SU let an 11-point second-half lead slip against Pittsburgh. Last Saturday, the Orange led by 13 with 11 minutes remaining before losing in overtime to Virginia Tech. This time, the Orange blew a 12-point lead in their final road game of the season.
SU led for the majority of the game but didn’t make a field goal for the final 5:12. SMU kept the lead from ballooning and tied the game with a chance to hit the last shot. Boopie Miller drove the lane and missed, but Keon Ambrose-Hylton secured the game-winning putback to hand the Orange another heartbreaking defeat.
Syracuse closes out the regular season by welcoming Virginia to the JMA Wireless Dome Saturday, a program SU’s notoriously struggled against. The Orange have lost six straight games to the Cavaliers. Their last win came in 2020, and their most recent home victory was in 2017.
Here’s everything to know about Virginia (15-15, 8-11 Atlantic Coast) ahead of Syracuse’s (12-18, 6-13 Atlantic Coast) final regular-season game:
All-time series
Virginia leads 14-6.
Last time they played …
Virginia defeated Syracuse for a sixth straight time, beating it 84-62 in Charlottesville on Dec. 2, 2023. For the opening 15 minutes, SU remained competitive until UVA turned up the heat to close the half. The Cavaliers outscored the Orange 18-6 over the final 5:02 of the first. They led by 13 at the break and didn’t look back.
Isaac McKneely scored a game-high 22 points, shooting 6-of-8 from 3. J.J. Starling led the way for Syracuse with 16 points, but Maliq Brown was the only other player in double figures with 10. The Orange went 5-of-20 from beyond the arc, while Virginia was 12-for-21.
KenPom odds
Syracuse has a 57% chance of winning, with a projected score of 70-69.
The Cavaliers report
Virginia has consistently been a top program in the Atlantic Coast Conference for over a decade, but it’s on pace for its worst season since 2009-10. Less than a month before the season, long-time head coach Tony Bennett retired. Bennett coached the Cavaliers for 15 seasons, making 10 NCAA Tournaments and winning the 2019 National Championship.
Ron Sanchez took over as interim head coach in October and has had mixed results. UVA has beaten many below-average teams, yet it doesn’t have a marquee win. Virginia is 0-6 against ranked opponents this season with an average defeat margin of 16 points. Its longest winning streak in conference play is three games, but since then, it’s 2-3.
The Cavaliers are led by McKneely, the best 3-point shooter in the ACC. The junior knocks down 41.7% of his 3s while attempting over seven per game and averages 14.2 points per game. Outside of him, UVA doesn’t have much firepower. Andrew Rohde joins McKneely in the backcourt as UVA’s primary ball handler, while Elijah Saunders is its main post presence with 10.6 points per contest.
Virginia doesn’t boast much else. Under Bennett, the program became known for its slow-paced offense and pack-line defense. With Sanchez, its offense has fallen off a cliff. The Cavaliers are the only team in the ACC averaging less than 65 points per game. NC State is the next worst offense at 69.6 points.
How Syracuse beats Virginia
If Syracuse can defend the 3-point line well, it should have no problem downing Virginia. For how dreadful UVA is on offense, it is strong from beyond the arc. The Cavaliers knock down 38% of their 3s, and 39% of their points come from beyond the arc, which is top 25 in the country, per KenPom. Syracuse is below average at defending the 3-point line, with its opponents knocking 34.7% of their looks. That will have to change on Saturday.
The Orange also need to execute better down the stretch. It starts with Starling being more efficient after shooting 8-for-31 across Syracuse’s last two games. SU’s seemed frazzled in the final minutes recently, which can’t be the case against UVA.
Stat to know: 51
In Syracuse’s last six losses, it’s been outscored in the second half by a combined 51 points (271-220). Playing consistently after halftime has been a constant problem for Syracuse in the final third of its season. SU’s loss to North Carolina on Feb. 15 was the first time since Jan. 22 against Clemson it outscored its opponent across the final 20 minutes. Even against the Tar Heels, the Orange gave up 46 points in the second half.
Player to watch: Andrew Rohde, guard, No. 4
Rohde is coming off a career-best game, where he set a personal best in points (17) and 3-pointers (four) against Florida State in his two seasons at UVA, including hitting the game-winning shot. With under a minute remaining, Rohde caught the ball in the corner at the end of the shot clock and hurled up an off-balance prayer, which fell to help UVA win.
Rohde isn’t known for his scoring prowess, but he’s reached double figures in four of Virginia’s past five games. His size, standing at 6-foot-6, makes him a tough cover. The guard leads Virginia in assists with 4.4 per game and has 32 more assists than McKneely, who has the second most.
The post Previewing SU’s regular-season finale vs. Virginia appeared first on The Daily Orange.