Game Notes: #2 Virginia goes to Syracuse on Saturday

No. 2 Virginia (21-1, 10-0 ACC) travels to Syracuse (15-7, 4-5 ACC) in ACC men’s basketball action on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff at Carrier Dome (35,012) is set for 4 p.m.

For Openers

• UVA is first in the ACC at 10-0 and Syracuse is tied for 10th at 4-5.
• UVA’s 13-game winning streak is its longest since winning 19 straight to start the 2014-15 season.
• The 13-game winning streak is currently the third longest in NCAA Division I.
• UVA is 10-0 in the ACC for the first time since starting 12-0 in 1980-81.
• UVA’s 21-1 record is its best record since starting 28-1 in 2014-15.
• As of Feb. 1, UVA ranks first nationally in scoring defense (52.7 ppg), turnovers per game (9.1) and winning percentage (95.5%), second in fouls per game (13.7), third in field goal percentage defense (37.6%), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.7%), sixth in turnover margin (5.4), seventh in scoring margin (16.8), 13th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46) and 22nd in free throw percentage (76.8%).

Broadcast Information

• The Virginia-Syracuse contest will be televised on the ACC Network and streamed online on ACC Network Extra (ESPN3.com) and ESPN App, and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Athletics mobile app on iTunes or Android.

The Head Coaches

• Virginia: Tony Bennett (Green Bay, 1992), 208-84 in nine seasons at UVA and 277-117 in 12 seasons overall.
• Syracuse: Jim Boeheim (Syracuse, 1966), 918-364 in 42 seasons at Syracuse.

UVA Remains No. 2 in Latest National Polls

• UVA is ranked No. 2 for the third straight week in the latest polls.
• The No. 2 ranking is UVA’s highest since March 2, 2015 (No. 2).
• UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for 10 straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the past six polls.
• Virginia is the fifth team in ACC history to move from unranked in preseason to the top 3, joining Miami (2012-13), Georgia Tech (2003-04), Wake Forest (1980-81) and North Carolina (1972-73).
• UVA is the lone ACC team to be ranked in the top 3 in four of the past five seasons.
• The Cavaliers received votes in the first three AP polls, snapping a streak of 64 consecutive weeks in the AP rankings since Feb. 3, 2014.
• UVA was ranked in the top 10 in the preseason polls from 2014-16.

UVA in Ken Pom Efficiency Ratings

• As of Feb. 1, UVA ranks Nos. 1, 2 and 38 in the KenPom.com adjusted defense, overall and adjusted offense efficiency ratings.
• UVA is shooting 46.8 percent, 39.3 percent from 3-point range (2nd best in school history) and 76.8 percent from the free throw line (best in school history).
• UVA has shot 50 percent or better in nine games and limited its opponents to less than 50 percent shooting in 21 games.

Last Time Out

• Kyle Guy scored 22 points and No. 2 Virginia held off hot-shooting Louisville to win its 13th straight, 74-64on Wednesdaynight.
• Louisville made nine of 10 shots at one point down the stretch, closing to within 62-57 on a long 3-pointer by Ryan McMahon with3:44left, but Jerome answered with back-to-back 3s for the Cavaliers.
• Ty Jerome added 16 points and Devon Hall 12 for the Cavaliers (21-1, 10-0 ACC).
• Marco Anthony hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored a season-high 10 pointsin 18 minutesoff the bench in place of Nigel Johnson.
• UVA shot 53.7 percent, marking its second ACC game shooting 50 percent or better.
• The Cavaliers made nine 3-pointers and committed seven turnovers.
• Isaiah Wilkins added a game-high 10 rebounds for UVA.
• Ray Spalding scored 16 points and Deng Adel had 15 for Louisville.
• The victory gave Virginia a three-game lead in the conference.

All-Time Against Syracuse

• UVA is 5-5 all-time against Syracuse, including a 4-1 mark in ACC action, in the series that dates back to 1983-84.
• The Cavaliers ended Syracuse’s two-game winning streak in the series with their 68-61 win earlier this season in Charlottesville.
• UVA is 1-2 vs. the Orange at the Carrier Dome with its lone win (59-47) coming during the 2014-15 season.
• The Cavaliers have held the Orange to 68 or fewer points in each of the last six meeting between the teams.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 4-2 all-time against Syracuse.

Last Time Against the Orange

• Kyle Guy scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 15 and then-No. 3 Virginia beat Syracuse 68-61 on Jan. 9.
• Guy made five 3-pointers as UVA attempted a season-high 27 3s and made nine.
• Devon Hall added 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
• Frank Howard scored 18 points to lead the Orange, while Oshae Brissett added 16 points and Paschal Chukwu scored nine points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
• The Orange shot under 40 percent against the nation’s top scoring defense and managed just three assists on 23 baskets.
• Virginia led 29-26 at halftime and eventually led by as many as 14 in its seventh straight win.

Getting Defensive

• UVA has limited its foes to 52.7 points per game (2nd best in school history) and has held 10 opponents to fewer than 50 points (UNCG, Austin Peay, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Savannah State, Hampton, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson).
• Six opponents (UNCG, Austin Peay, Savannah State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech & Clemson) have committed more turnovers than made field goals.
• UVA has held 17 opponents to 60 or fewer points.
• UVA has held 17 foes to less than 43 percent shooting.
• The Cavaliers have held 12 opponents to less than 30 percent shooting from 3-point range.
• The Cavaliers are 74-2 when limiting their opponents to fewer than 50 points under head coach Tony Bennett (10-0 in 2017-18).
• Bennett-coached teams are 99-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points during his 12-year coaching career.
• In 2016-17, Virginia led the nation in scoring defense (56.4 ppg) for the third time under Bennett.
• Bennett-coached teams have led the nation in scoring defense four times and finished in the top-five nationally in eight of 11 seasons.

About the Cavaliers

• UVA is led by tri-captains Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and Jack Salt.
• The announcement of Hall, Wilkins and Salt marked the first time in Bennett’s 12-year head coaching career where he officially named team captains.
• UVA has averaged 69.2 points per game (second most under Bennett) on offense, while yielding a nation-leading 52.7 ppg (second lowest in school history) on defense.
• UVA has started Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, Hall, Wilkins and Salt in each of its 22 games.
• UVA is one of eight schools to have the same starting five this season (Army West Point, Duke, Elon, Nebraska, Purdue, UNLV and UTSA).
• Guy leads the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game and has reached double figures in 19 games, including a career-high 29 points at VCU (11/17/17).
• Hall has averaged 12.7 points, which is 4.3 points higher than last year’s average of 8.4 points.
• Wilkins is averaging team-highs in rebounds (6.8), blocked shots (1.5) and steals (1.3).
• Jerome is averaging 9.8 points and a team-leading 3.6 assists.
• Salt has chipped in 3.9 rebounds per game and 19 blocked shots.
• Redshirt freshman De’Andre Hunter (8.0 ppg) has reached double figures in six ACC games, including team highs at Georgia Tech (17) and Virginia Tech (14).
• Graduate transfer Nigel Johnson, who is serving a three-game suspension for violation of team rules, is averaging 5.5 points and Mamadi Diakite has added 4.9 ppg & 3.0 rpg.
• Jay Huff and Marco Anthony provide depth and fellow rookie Francesco Badocchi is redshirting the 2017-18 season.

The Long and Winning Road

• Virginia is 5-1, including a 4-0 mark in ACC play, in true road games.
• UVA has posted wins at VCU, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Duke and a loss at West Virginia.
• UVA aims for its first five-game ACC road winning streak since winning eight straight road league games in 2014-15.
• UVA’s 30-19 (.612) ACC road record over the past six seasons ranks first ahead of North Carolina (28-22, .560) and Duke (27-23, .540).

On the Horizon

• No. 2 Virginia plays at Florida State on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Tipoff at the Donald L. Tucker Center is set for7 p.m.The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network.