Virginia vs. Syracuse Picks, Predictions, Odds

Since winning the national championship four years ago, the Virginia Cavaliers have been a fringe NCAA Tournament team. Although the Wahoos have won at least 11 ACC games annually since the end of the 2011-12 campaign, they have typically had some trouble early in the season, and that has either kept them out of the NCAA Tournament or led to them being bounced in the first round since they cut down the nets in 2019.

Tony Bennett has changed that this year though, as the Cavaliers went 8-1 in non-conference play with victories over Baylor, Illinois, and Michigan. The Cavaliers have their eyes on a potential No. 1 seed, and they will look to take care of business on the road against the Syracuse Orange on Monday night.

The Syracuse Orange are 9-4 at home and will welcome the Virginia Cavaliers to upstate New York on Monday, January 30, 2023. This game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN from the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York.

The Cavaliers are starting to roll in 2023, winners in six straight games. (Getty)

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Syracuse Orange Betting Prediction

We saw Virginia coast to an easy victory over Syracuse three weeks ago. The Cavaliers led the Orange by 20 points with 10 minutes to play and should have covered the spread. However, the Orange ended up scoring 29 of their 66 points in the final 10 minutes to rally and cover the number. The number will be shorter with Virginia on the road, and the Cavaliers will cover since they won't have the same cushion they did in Charlottesville.

Score Prediction: Virginia 69 Syracuse 61
Best Bet: Virginia -4.5

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Syracuse Orange Betting Odds

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Syracuse Orange Betting Resources

Date: Monday, Jan. 30, 2023
TV-Time: ESPN, 7:00 p.m. ET
Venue: JMA Wireless Dome
Location: Syracuse, New York
Matchup
Expert Picks

ACC Championship Odds

Virginia Cavaliers vs. Syracuse Orange Betting Stats

Virginia Cavaliers
SU: 16-3
ATS: 8-11
O/U: 11-8
PPG: 70.6
OPPG: 60.1

Syracuse Orange
SU: 13-9
ATS: 12-10
O/U: 14-8
PPG: 75
OPPG: 70.1

Straight Up (SU), Against the Spread (ATS), Over-Under (O/U)
Points Per Game (PPG), Opponents Points Per Game (OPPG)

Virginia Cavaliers Betting Analysis

This is a typical Tony Bennett team. The Cavaliers are slow and pragmatic on offense, and they have one of the most frustrating defenses to play against in the Pack Line. That has allowed Virginia to win six straight games, and Baylor is the only team that has been able to score 70 or more points on them this season.

Indiana transfer Armaan Franklin is the leading scorer on this team. Franklin is averaging 13.1 PPG, and he is the second leading rebounder on the Wahoos to boot. He is a solid three-point shooter, hitting 41% of his threes, and he doesn't turn the ball over. Franklin ranks in the top 100 in turnover rate according to Ken Pomeroy, alongside Jayden Gardner.

Gardner is averaging 10.5 PPG and 4.7 RPG as the top frontcourt player on the team. He is making 52.6% of his field goals, but he is shooting less than 62% from the free throw line. Kadin Shedrick has been a very efficient scorer off the bench, shooting 68.6% from the floor, yet Ben Vander Plas has been disappointing. Vander Plas is shooting 33/41/63 from the floor, and that's not great for a 6'8 forward.

Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman are the leaders of this team. Clark was a freshman on the national championship squad, and he is the main ball handler on UVA. The fifth-year senior is averaging 11.3 PPG and leads the team with 5.8 APG. Clark ranks 14th in assist rate according to Pomeroy too. Beekman is averaging 9.9 PPG and is the other distributor to watch on the Wahoos. He is averaging 5.3 APG (ranking 20th in assist rate), and he is hitting a team high 44.7% of his threes.

The Orange have dropped two straight and three of their last four games. (Getty)

Syracuse Orange Betting Analysis

Jim Boeheim is one of two head coaches with more than 1,000 wins in Division I basketball in his career. Boeheim has been the head coach of Syracuse since 1976, and he has had a ton of success with the Orange. However, it's fair to say he's losing his touch and his 2-3 Zone is not nearly as effective as it was in the past with the way the game has changed. That's why Syracuse hasn't advanced past the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament since 2016 and has yet to win a conference tournament or regular season championship in the ACC.

The Orange are led by seniors Joseph Girard III and Jesse Edwards. Girard is the team's leading scorer, averaging 17.0 PPG while shooting 41% from the floor and 38.2% from beyond the arc. Meanwhile, Edwards is one of the top big men in the conference, averaging 13.4 PPG and 10.4 RPG. He is also averaging 2.8 blocks a game, and that ranks 8th nationally in block rate by Pomeroy's numbers.

Freshman Judah Mintz is the future for Syracuse. Mintz is averaging 15.2 PPG and leads the team with 4.5 APG. However, he has been an abysmal three-point shooter, making just 21.4% of his threes. He has had some turnover issues too, and that's not a good thing heading into a showdown with a team like Virginia.