Syracuse Game Notes | Watch Online | Listen Live | Live Stats | Buy Tickets | Game Notes | Virginia Master Plan

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 18 Virginia (11-3, 3-1 ACC) hosts Syracuse (8-7, 1-3) in ACC action Saturday (Jan. 11). Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 4 p.m. on ESPN.
 
For Openers
• No. 18 Virginia meets Syracuse for the second time in 2019-20.
• UVA (3-1) is tied for third in the ACC, while Syracuse (1-3) is tied 10th.
• Virginia has a four-game winning streak vs. Syracuse.
• The Cavaliers have not lost back-to-back games since dropping a home game vs. Duke (65-55) and road game at North Carolina (65-41) in the 2016-17 season.
 
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Syracuse game will be televised on ESPN and streamed live on WatchESPN.com and ESPN app.
• The game will also be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
 
The Head Coach
• Three-time National and four-time ACC Coach of the Year Tony Bennett has a 265-92 (.742) mark in 11 seasons at Virginia and 334-125 (.728) career mark in 14 seasons.
• In 2018-19, Bennett led the Cavaliers to their first NCAA national championship, a share of their ninth ACC regular-season title and school-record 35 wins.
• Bennett became the 80th active Division I head coach to win his 300th career game against Marshall on Dec. 31, 2018.
• Bennett was named the USBWA Henry Iba National Coach of the Year for the third time in 2018 to rank second all-time behind legendary John Wooden, who captured the award six times.
• UVA is 141-38 (.788) in non-conference action (79-7 at JPJ), 124-54 (.697) in ACC play and 151-27 (.848) at home under Tony Bennett.
• Bennett ranks fifth all-time in winning percentage at .697, among ACC head coaches with 100 or more ACC regular-season wins.
 
All-Time vs. Syracuse
• UVA is 8-5 all-time against Syracuse, including a 7-1 mark in ACC action, in the series that dates back to 1983-84.
• Virginia owns a four-game winning streak in the series, including a 48-34 win at Syracuse to open the 2019-20 campaign.
• The Cavaliers are 3-1 against the Orange at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA has held the Orange to 68 or fewer points in each of the last nine meetings between the teams.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 7-2 all-time against Syracuse.
 
Last Time vs. the Orange
• Kihei Clark tallied 10 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists as then-No. 11 UVA defeated Syracuse 48-34 in the season opener on Nov. 6.
• UVA won its seventh straight season-opening game and 12th straight ACC opener (11-0 in ACC openers under Bennett).
• Jay Huff added 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds for his first career double-double and Braxton Key added 10 rebounds as UVA had three players with 10 or more rebounds for the first time since 1993.
• Mamadi Diakite chipped in 12 points and six rebounds.
• UVA out-rebounded Syracuse 47-28, but committed 16 turnovers.
• UVA shot 40.8 percent and limited the Orange to 23.6 percent.
 
UVA in the National Rankings
• As of Jan. 10, Virginia ranks first in the nation in scoring defense (47.6), field goal percentage defense (34.7), second in fewest fouls (174), third in personal fouls per game (12.4) and ninth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (26.5).
 
UVA Ranked No. 18 in Latest Polls
• UVA is ranked No. 18 in the latest Associated Press poll and USA Today Coaches’ polls.
• UVA has been ranked in the AP poll for 44 straight weeks and has been ranked in the top 10 in 37 of the last 41 polls.
 
Holding Foes Under 50
• UVA is 9-0 when limiting opponents to fewer than 50 points.
• UVA is 96-2 when achieving the mark in the Tony Bennett era.
• Bennett-coached teams are 121-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points (25-1 in three years at Washington State).
• UVA is 4-0 when limiting opponents to fewer than 40 points (27-0 all-time under Bennett).
• UVA has three wins when scoring fewer than 50 points for the first time since 1981-82 (Maryland and NC State twice).
 
Last Time Out
• Jay Heath scored 17 points to lead Boston College (9-6, 3-1 ACC) to a 60-53 win over Virginia on Tuesday, Jan. 7 in Chestnut Hill.
• Braxton Key had 16 points and eight rebounds, Kihei Clark chipped in 12 points and Kody Stattmann added a career-best 11 points, for the Cavaliers (11-3, 3-1 ACC).
• UVA trailed 30-26 at the half, but used a 20-3 run to gain a 50-45 second-half lead.
• Jared Hamilton’s 3-pointer with 38 seconds remaining proved to be the game-winner, giving the Eagles a 56-53 lead.
• UVA shot a season-low 32.7 percent from the field (17 of 52) and was just 3 of 16 from 3-point range.
• Jared Hamilton (16), Steffon Mitchell (10) and Jairus Hamilton (10) also landed in double figures for Boston College.
 
On The Horizon
• No. 18 Virginia travels to No. 10 Florida State for an ACC contest on Wednesday, Jan. 15. Tipoff at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.