Game Preview: Half the battle for Syracuse will be getting to #13 Virginia

Syracuse was supposed to be playing #13 Virginia in Charlottesville at noon Saturday. But as of noon Saturday, the Orange were still in upstate New York, and when they’d be able to get to Charlottesville was still very much at question.

The Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport is closed through Sunday morning, and the airport in Richmond is closed until late Saturday night, and of course even flying into Richmond would involve an hour-plus drive, in good weather.

A report on Syracuse.com has the team practicing back in New York Saturday, and it’s assumed that the Orange will eventually get on a plane in the direction of Virginia.

(Maybe.)

 

Inside Syracuse

• Not a deep rotation for the ‘Cuse. Michael Gbinije is one of five players averaging 30+ minutes per game. Gbinije averages a team-best 17.1 points per game on 45.1 percent shooting from the floor and 36.8 percent shooting from three-point range.
• Gbinije and teammate Tyler London each have 1.3 Defense Win Shares, tied for third in the ACC. London’s 94.2 defense rating is ninth in the ACC.
• Trevor Cooney is a volume shooter. Cooney averages 14.0 points per game, but is shooting just 36.2 percent from the floor, though he is at 37.0 percent from three. Cooney puts up 7.5 three-point attempts per game.
• Tyler Roberson averages 10.2 points per game on 51.2 percent shooting with 9.1 rebounds per game.
• Only one bench player averages double-digit minutes: DaJuan Coleman is at 16.4 minutes per game, averaging 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
• Syracuse shoots 41.8 percent from the floor (14th in the ACC) and 35.4 percent from three (eighth in the ACC). Opponents shoot 39.8 percent from the floor (second in the ACC) and 28.9 percent from three (best in the ACC).
• Team Efficiency: 1.091 points per possession on offense (63rd nationally), .952 points per possession on defense (36th nationally). Tempo: 65.0 possessions per game (336th nationally).
• Leaders in Win Shares Per 40 Minutes: Gbinije (.175) and London (.174). Cooney is at .122.

 

Inside Virginia

• Malcolm Brogdon takes roughly a quarter of Virginia’s shots from the field (24.6 percent), but he ranks seventh in offensive efficiency (117.2) on the team. Anthony Gill (131.7) has the team’s best offensive rating.
• Brogdon averages 16.8 points on 43.3 percent shooting from the floor and 37.4 percent from three-point range. Gill is scoring 14.8 points per game on 60.0 percent shooting (second in the ACC) and a team-best 6.1 rebounds per game.
• London Perrantes is shooting 55.6 percent from three-point range, tops in the ACC. LP is scoring 11.7 points per game and dishing out 4.2 assists per game.
• Virginia is shooting 49.4 percent from the floor (second in the ACC) and 40.2 percent from three-point range (tops in the ACC). Opponents shoot 42.8 percent (ugh, eighth in the ACC) from the floor and 35.0 percent from three (ugh, again, 10th in the conference).
• Team Efficiency: 1.185 points per possession on offense (eight nationally), .957 points per possession on defense (42nd nationally). Tempo: 62.0 possessions per game (349th nationally).
• Win Share Per 40 Minutes numbers: Gill (.249, fifth in the ACC), Mike Tobey (.231), Brogdon (.192), Perrantes (.189), Isaiah Wilkins (.167).

– Game Preview by Chris Graham