Hosting a struggling Syracuse, No. 18 Virginia took to the court Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, looking for its 20th win of the season and of Coach Ryan Odom’s tenure in Charlottesville. Playing against a puzzling zone defense and a trio of high-octane guards, the Cavaliers (20-3, 9-2 ACC) pulled away in the second half for a back-and-forth 72-59 win over the Orange (13-11, 4-7 ACC).
Shooting 14-36 from the field in the second half, Virginia was still able to string baskets together due to its offensive rebounding and strong defense on Syracuse’s frontcourt. The Cavaliers held sophomore forward Donnie Freeman to 2-for-11, ramping up their defensive intensity and energy down the stretch and finding ways to navigate the zone defense and occasional full-court traps.
“They had a good plan coming in and kept us off balance offensively with the switching of the presses and then the zone a little bit,” Odom said. “I thought they did a nice job overall. And every time we would stretch it a little bit, they were coming right back, and it was a tight game, obviously, and could have gone either direction.”
Despite Virginia building a double-digit lead over the first 12 minutes, the pace and physicality of play also put it at a disadvantage. Committing their sixth personal foul barely seven minutes into the half, a 12-point Cavalier lead slowly evaporated, as Orange guards junior Naithan George, senior Nate Kingz and senior J.J. Starling continued to attack the paint, evening the game at 35 apiece with 100 seconds left in the half.
A three-pointer from graduate guard Jacari White gave Virginia a small cushion heading into the half. The Orange were on a 15-4 run over five minutes towards the end of the half before White’s timely three-pointer.
“Yeah, we needed that basket, there's no doubt about it,” Odom said. “They were on a major run there, and had closed it all the way to a tied game and needed a bucket. And that's what winning and losing is — can you get the stop when you need it? Can you get the bucket when you need it? And going into the half, we certainly needed a basket there. And Jacari stepped up.”
In the second period, although the Cavaliers were unable to pull away, their physicality and aggression ramped up coming out of the break. Virginia out-rebounded Syracuse by a notable 25-14 margin, including 12 offensive rebounds and just 10 defensive rebounds by the Orange.
“I definitely thought that physicality was a difference,” Syracuse Coach Adrian Autry said. “Virginia is a very big, physical team, an older team and has a lot of experience. So I thought that that physicality really bothered our frontcourt guys.”
An inflection point in that second period came on a possession where freshman guard Chance Mallory notched two offensive rebounds, leading to a downtown bucket from junior guard Sam Lewis, extending the lead to seven with 14:31 left in the game. From there, Virginia never let the game get closer than a two-possession lead, hitting shots at crucial times to prevent Syracuse from working its way back into the game, thanks in part to Mallory’s disruption on both ends.
“He's just a winner,” Odom said. “He started the initial run with this steal on the inbounds play, just tipping it and getting it, and then Sam gets the three in the corner, so he made plays throughout the game and helped this team. He doesn't always have to score to be impactful, and you know he's just a good player.”
Led by senior center Ugonna Onyenso’s 10, the Cavaliers’ bench scored 29 points to the Orange’s seven. Mallory and Onyenso combined for the final seven points of the game, pulling away late with a three-pointer and a pair of dunks to punctuate what had been a narrow second half.
George led all scorers with 19, shooting 8-9 from the field, but his offensive efforts were ultimately constrained in the second half, taking only four shots. Syracuse struggled from deep throughout the game, shooting 3-for-11 on the day and 1-for-6 in the second half, ultimately giving Virginia just enough room to secure the win.
Next, the Cavaliers will travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for a Tuesday evening game against Florida State — their first fixture of a three-game road trip. The Seminoles (11-12, 4-6 ACC) opened conference play 0-5 — including a 44-point loss at home against NC State — but have since won four of their last five, rebounding well and limiting opponent free throw attempts. That game will be streamed on ESPNU.
Read More
Under suboptimal conditions, No. 10 Virginia drops season opener to No. 16 Navy
By Emory Huffman | 1 hours agoPerhaps the circumstances played a role, perhaps not. Either way, Virginia faltered to open the campaign, falling 12-10 to No. 16 Navy.
In 2026, men’s lacrosse is on the road to redemption — and Scott Stadium
By Sam Chun | 9 hours agoThe road to redemption is set for the Cavaliers.
Cavaliers find solace in pair of upsets during loss to rival Hokies
By Joe Schwiesow | 10 hours agoGarland hopes the performances of standouts Porter, Denkins and Washleski will not only continue, but also inspire and embolden their teammates that they can take the same strides.
