Tale of the Tape: #2 Virginia at Syracuse

No. 2 Virginia has a chance to wrap up another ACC regular-season title by winning its final two games, beginning with a trip to Syracuse Monday at 7 p.m. (ESPN).

“You just have to be ready to go,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said of his team’s third tough Saturday-Monday turnaround in less than a month’s time. “You’ve gotta be smart with your preparation the day in between and then you’re in, usually, a hostile environment and it’s certainly a challenge.

“We’re in some important games, so I think it’s a healthy challenge.”

UVA will host Louisville in the finale Saturday.

“Of course, this last stretch of the regular season is going to be extra fun,” said Cavalier guard Ty Jerome. “We’ll be extra amped up, but one game at a time.”

The Cavaliers (26-2, 14-2 ACC) received 21 1st-place votes in the latest AP Top 25 poll (No. 1 Gonzaga got 42), and five 1st-place votes in the USA Today Coaches’ Poll (Gonzaga received 27).

Virginia still ranks 1st overall (2nd AdjD, 4th AdjO) according to KenPom and 2nd in the NET rankings. Syracuse is 32nd (19th AdjD, 62nd AdjO) in the KenPom ratings and 39th in the NET.

The Wahoos are 2-2 all-time at the Carrier Dome and won there by a score of 59-44 last February. The Orange (19-10, 10-6) have dropped five of the seven meetings with the ‘Hoos since joining the conference in 2013-14.

Jim Boeheim’s squad has had an up-and-down season, with big wins at Duke in January and against then-No. 18 Louisville last month, along with bad home losses to UConn (14-15) and Georgia Tech (13-17). The Orange is 3-6 against ranked opponents this season.

Junior Tyus Battle is Syracuse’s top offensive weapon, averaging a team-best 17.7 points per game. Junior forward Elijah Hughes (13.9 ppg) is the Orange’s best deep threat, sinking 2.5 triples a game.

Oshae Brissett, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward, is the team’s leading rebounder with 7.6 boards a night to go along with his 12.8 points per contest.

Senior point guard Frank Howard (8.1 ppg, 3.1 apg) and 7-2 senior center Pascal Chukwu (4.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) round out the starting unit, with freshman guard Buddy Boeheim and sophomore forward Marek Dolezaj providing a lift off the bench.

“We know they’re really talented,” Jerome said of the Orange, “they’re really long, they play that 2-3 zone and have a bunch of players that can make plays off the bounce, guys that can put the ball in the basket. And their place gets really crazy, too. It’s a whole different feel, that arena. So it will be a real fun game.”

The Orange’s patented 2-3 zone defense has been known to frustrate opponents, and a key to Virginia’s success — on both ends of the floor — could very well be how effective De’Andre Hunter can be from the free-throw line area on offense, as well as his defensive effort against Battle.

“You’re going to have to be able to knock down some shots, get on the glass, get the ball in the right spots, take care of the ball, and play the heck out of the defense,” Bennett said of Monday’s matchup. “That formula hasn’t changed.”

Jay Huff said there’s one thing he’s sure to expect Monday night.

“It’s going to be really cold,” Huff joked, before explaining how he’s seen steady improvement from the team lately. “I think we’ve gotten a lot of stuff down, like the zone that we’ve gone against, we’ve gotten used to it a little bit more,” said Huff. “We’ve figured out what works and doesn’t work against the 2-3 or 3-2, 1-3-1, anything like that, so I think it prepared us really well and I think if we finish out strong, we should be alright.”

Kyle Guy nailed five shots from long range against Pittsburgh Saturday, and he has a chance to pass a couple of Cavalier legends with a few more triples Monday night.

Guy’s next 3-ball will tie him with J.R. Reynolds for 5th in school history, while two more will match Sean Singletary’s 222 career makes. Guy remains focused on the big picture.

“Just trying to finish strong and get some momentum going, going into the ACC Tournament, NCAAs,” said Guy. “We know if we handle our business we can win the ACC.”