No. 18 Virginia rides stingy defense into clash vs. Syracuse
Syracuse will attempt to solve No. 18 Virginia's underrated defense in Saturday afternoon's Atlantic Coast Conference contest in Charlottesville, Va.
Defense was the calling card for the Cavaliers (19-3, 8-2) throughout the Tony Bennett coaching era, but an offense that averages 83.3 points per game -- the most in a quarter-century at Virginia -- is grabbing most of the attention under first-year head coach Ryan Odom.
The Cavaliers have not allowed any opponents to shoot 50% from the field this season and have held 12 to under 40%, including Pitt (37.0%) in Tuesday's lopsided 67-47 victory.
"A lot of it's a mindset, a willingness to play to a good level and give max effort on every possession," Odom said of his team's defensive philosophy.
Syracuse (13-10, 4-6) is 7-0 this season when sinking at least 50% of its field-goal attempts, including conference wins last month against Florida State (59.7), Notre Dame (57.1) and Pitt (55.8).
The Orange shot 44.6% overall and 33.3% (6 of 18) from 3-point land in Monday's 87-77 loss at No. 14 North Carolina. It was the fifth loss in six games for Syracuse, which fell to 1-3 against Top 25 teams this season.
Virginia is on a three-game winning streak and has won eight of its past nine contests. The Cavaliers are 11-1 at home and are looking to give Odom his fourth straight 20-win season at three different schools: Utah State in 2022-23 and VCU in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Virginia's stingy defense is keyed by superior size, led by 6-foot-9 Thijs De Ridder and 7-footers Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso. De Ridder leads the team in scoring (16.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.6), and Onyenso and Grunloh have combined for 103 blocked shots. Seven Cavaliers have double-digit steals, led by sixth man Chance Mallory with 43.
In Tuesday's win against the Panthers, Virginia forced 17 turnovers and finished with 12 steals and six blocks.
"We wanted to kind of wrap our arms around the game as best we could on the defensive side of the ball," Odom said. "We knew they were an awesome rebounding team, offensive rebounding team. We knew it was going to be a big key to the game."
One key to Saturday's game for Syracuse against Virginia's formidable frontcourt may be the 3-point shot. In both of the Cavaliers' conference losses, to Virginia Tech and North Carolina, they allowed at least nine triples. The Orange are 4-1 when they make nine or more buckets from beyond the arc.
In Monday's loss to the Tar Heels, Syracuse trailed by as many as 32 points before getting within six with 42 seconds remaining. Donnie Freeman, who leads the team with an averagse of 18.6 points per game, had a game-high 23 in the loss.
"On both sides, we have to get better and more consistent," Orange coach Adrian Autry said. "That's what we have to do. For us to go where we want to go, this is part of the season, this is part of the journey. It's more games to be played. I like this group. We just have to be more consistent in what we're trying to do."