No. 7 Virginia Battles Syracuse on Big Monday
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 7 Virginia (16-3, 8-2 ACC) travels to Syracuse (13-9, 6-5 ACC) for a Big Monday (Jan. 30) contest at JMA Wireless Dome. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
For Openers
• No. 7 Virginia (16-3) is second in the ACC at 8-2, while Syracuse (13-9) is tied for eighth at 6-5.
• The Cavaliers have a six-game win streak and are 6-2 away from John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA has a four-game win streak vs. Syracuse and four-game win streak at JMA Wireless Dome.
• Armaan Franklin is averaging 16.8 points during his nine-game double figure streak.
• Freshman Ryan Dunn (Freeport) is a native of New York
• UVA ranks first nationally in assist/turnover ratio (1.78), fourth in turnovers per game (9.2), ninth in scoring defense (60.1 ppg), 22nd in assists per game (16.4), 23rd in 3-point percentage (38.2%), 26th in fouls per game (14.4), 30th in turnover margin (3.3) 33rd in scoring margin (10.5) and 36th in blocks per game (4.7).
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Syracuse game will be televised on ESPN and streamed online at WatchESPN.com.
• The game will also be broadcast on 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
• Dean and Markel Families Head Men’s Basketball Coach Tony Bennett has a 332-120 (.735) mark in 14 seasons at UVA and 401-153 (.724) career mark in 17 seasons as a head coach.
• Bennett passed Terry Holland (326-173, 16 seasons) as the all-time winningest coach at UVA with the win over Syracuse (1/7/23).
• Bennett recorded his 400th career win at Wake Forest (1/21/23).
• Bennett has guided the Cavaliers to five ACC regular-season titles (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2021), two ACC Tournament titles (2014 and 2018) and one NCAA national championship (2019).
• The three-time National (2007, 2015 and 2018) and four-time ACC Coach of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018 and 2019) guided UVA to its 10th consecutive postseason berth in 2021-22.
UVA Ranked No. 7 in Jan. 23 AP Poll
• UVA is ranked No. 7 in the Jan. 23 AP national poll and has been ranked in the top-20 in all 12 polls.
• UVA’s No. 2 ranking on Dec. 12 as UVA’s highest since spending the last four weeks at No. 2 in 2018-19.
• UVA returned to the top-5 for the first time on Nov. 21 since a No. 4-preseason ranking in 2020-21.
• The Cavaliers were ranked No. 18 in the AP Preseason poll.
• UVA was ranked in the preseason AP top-25 for the fifth straight year and ninth in the last 10 seasons.
About The Cavaliers
• UVA returned all five starters from last season’s team, which finished 21-14, 12-8 ACC (sixth) and advanced to the NIT.
• We play defense, take quality shots, pass the basketball, limit turnovers and transition points, rebound and play more defense.
• The Cavaliers return 91.4 percent of its scoring from last season, most among all NCAA Division I teams.
• Kihei Clark (11.3 ppg, 5.8 apg), Reece Beekman (9.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 5.2 apg), Jayden Gardner (10.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg), Armaan Franklin (13.1 ppg, 42.9% 3FG) and Ben Vander Plas (7.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg) have started the past four games.
• Isaac McKneely (6.6 ppg, 42.1% 3FG), Ryan Dunn (3.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg), Kadin Shedrick (7.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg), Francisco Caffaro (1.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and Taine Murray (1.5 ppg) provide depth off the bench.
• UVA used the starting lineup of Clark, Beekman, Franklin, Gardner and Shedrick in 14 games.
• Isaac Traudt and Leon Bond III are redshirting this season.
All-Time vs. Syracuse
• UVA is 12-6 all-time against Syracuse, including a 10-2 mark in ACC action, in the series that dates to 1983-84.
• Virginia has a four-game winning streak against the Orange, including a 73-66 win on Jan. 7 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA is 5-2 vs. Syracuse at JMA Wireless Dome, including a four-game win streak.
• UVA has held the Orange to 69 or fewer points in each of the last 14 meetings between the teams.
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 11-3 all-time against Syracuse.
Last Time vs. The Orange
• In front of an amped-crowd at John Paul Jones Arena, Tony Bennett became the winningest head coach in University of Virginia men’s basketball history.
• Then-No. 11 UVA never trailed Saturday (Jan. 7) in a 73-66 win over ACC rival Syracuse. The Cavaliers shot 12 of 26 from 3-point range against the Orange.
• Armaan Franklin led five Cavaliers in double figures with 16 points. Franklin and Isaac McKneely (12 points) each buried four 3-pointers.
• Reece Beekman added 13 points and seven assists and Kadin Shedrick had 11 points and seven rebounds.
• Jayden Gardner (10 points) grabbed three rebounds to become the lone active player in Division I with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
• Joe Girard III led Syracuse with 19 points and rookie Judah Mintz added 18.
Player Notes
• Shooting guard Armaan Franklin (26, 25, 21, 20, 20) leads Virginia with five 20-point games, while Jayden Gardner (26), Kihei Clark (20) and Ben Vander Plas (20) have also registered 20-point efforts.
• Franklin has led UVA in scoring in eight contests this season and reach 1,000 career points vs. Boston College.
• Franklin registered his first career double-double with 25 points and career-best 10 rebounds at Wake Forest.
• Franklin is averaging 7.6 rebounds over the last five games.
• Vander Plas is averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds the past five games and is 10 of 25 from 3-point range during that span.
• Gardner (12 points, 11 rebounds) registered his 37th career double-double vs. Michigan and snared his 1,000th career rebound vs. Syracuse.
• Gardner’s 18 points against Boston College were his most since scoring 26 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore on Nov. 25, 2022.
• Isaac McKneely matched a career high with four 3-pointers vs. Syracuse and has made at least one 3-pointer in 15 games.
• McKneely has a scored 11 or more points in four of the past six games and is shooting 54.3 percent (19 of 35) from 3-point range during his eight-game 3-pointer streak.
• Reece Beekman registered his fifth career game with five or more steals vs. North Carolina (1/10).
• Beekman is shooting career bests from 3-point range (44.7%) and charity stripe (83.7%).
• Ryan Dunn has registered four games with three blocks.
Last Time Out
• No. 7 Virginia (16-3, 8-2 ACC) outscored Boston College (10-12, 4-7 ACC) in both halves and cruised to a 76-57 win Saturday afternoon (Jan. 28) at John Paul Jones Arena.
• The Cavaliers notched their sixth consecutive victory, marking the longest active win streak by an ACC team.
• Despite shooting 29 percent from 3-point range, Virginia managed to shoot 51 percent from the field.
• Including Saturday’s win, the Cavaliers have now shot over 50 percent in two of its last three games.
• Jayden Gardner and Armaan Franklin led the Cavaliers with 18 points apiece. Isaac McKneely (12 points) and Reece Beekman (11 points, 8 assists) also scored in double figures.
On The Horizon
• No. 7 Virginia plays at in-state rival Virginia Tech in a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash Saturday, Feb. 4. Tipoff at Cassell Coliseum is set for Noon on ESPN2.