The No. 7 Virginia Cavaliers (16-3, 8-2 ACC), one of the nation’s top scoring defenses, are on the road to face the Syracuse Orange (13-9, 6-5 ACC) on Monday. Virginia outplayed the Boston College Eagles 76-57 at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday, their sixth win in a row. Jayden Gardner had a standout performance with 18 points.
The Cavaliers are second in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Syracuse came up short on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum, falling to the Virginia Tech Hokies 85-70. Judah Mintz had 21 points and eight assists in the loss to lead the team. The Orange remain eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
This is the final meeting of the season between the teams. Virginia will be looking for a season sweep against Syracuse after winning the only previous game 73-66 at John Paul Jones Arena on January 7, their fourth straight head-to-head victory. Armaan Franklin led the Cavaliers with 16 points, while Reece Beekman was a key contributor with 13 points and seven assists.
Joseph Girard III had 19 points in the loss. The Cavaliers have been led this season by Franklin and Kihei Clark, who are averaging 13.1 and 11.3 points per game, respectively. Clark also has dished 5.8 assists per game.
Meanwhile, Gardner is grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game. Girard III (17.0 ppg) and Mintz (15.2) have powered the Orange on offense. Mintz also has doled out 4.5 assists per game. Jesse Edwards has averaged 10.4 rebounds per game.
The Cavaliers are holding opponents to 60.1 points per game, ranking as one of the toughest scoring defenses in the NCAA (9th).Virginia is 8-2 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +9.4 (70.4-61.0). Syracuse has split the last 10 (5-5), scoring 75.3 points per game on average while holding opponents to 73.8 (+1.5 margin).
CAVALIERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Armaan Franklin: 27.0 | 19.1 | +7.9
Kadin Shedrick: 2.4 | 11.4 | -9.0
Points per game:
Armaan Franklin: 18.0 | 13.1 | +4.9
Rebounds per game:
Armaan Franklin: 7.6 | 4.7 | +2.9
Jayden Gardner: 3.2 | 4.7 | -1.5
ORANGE HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Maliq Brown: 15.6 | 9.9 | +5.7
Benny Williams: 7.6 | 11.4 | -3.8
Points per game:
Benny Williams: 4.4 | 6.5 | -2.1
Rebounds per game:
Maliq Brown: 5.2 | 4.0 | +1.2
Benny Williams: 2.8 | 3.9 | -1.1
Assists per game:
Judah Mintz: 6.2 | 4.5 | +1.7
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Virginia -5.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
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