A rough week on the road continues for Syracuse when they travel to Virginia

The schedule does not ease up for Syracuse, as they make their second straight road trip to face a ranked opponent, this time playing at #18 Virginia on Saturday. While the Orange (13-10, 4-6 ACC) have been struggled over the last three weeks, the Cavaliers (19-3, 8-2) have won eight of nine after dropping their conference opener with the only stumble coming at home against North Carolina.

It has been a quick turnaround this season for Virginia under new coach Ryan Odom. The Cavs finished under .500 last season after the sudden retirement of former coach Tony Bennett, but Odom seems to have quickly righted the ship.

While a strong all-around offensive team, the Cavaliers have one truly outstanding facet

Virginia is around the top 20 of the nation at KenPom in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies, making them one of the toughest opponents SU has seen this year. While they shoot the ball well, their greatest offensive strength has been collecting misses, as they are third in the nation in offensive rebounding rate.

That looks to be a significant advantage for the Cavaliers, as Syracuse has struggled to protect their own backboard, ranking outside the top 260 in defensive rebounding rate. Cleaning the glass will be paramount for the Orange.

One of those excellent board men is Thjis De Ridder, who paces the Cavaliers in scoring (16.7 points/game) and rebounding (6.6 per game). An excellent offensive rebounder, De Ridder also has some outside in his game, as well, shooting 36.5 percent from behind the arc.

Seven-footers Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso are strong rebounders on both ends of the floor with Grünloh being the better of the duo on the offensive glass. While neither is a featured player on the offense, the duo is more than competent, averaging over 14 points per game combined. They also form a formidable backbone to the Virginia defense, combining to block nearly five shots per game.

A fleet of guards helps run the Cavs' offense from the outside

Point guard Dallin Hall steers the ship for the Cavaliers while fellow guards Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, and Chance Mallory each average in double figures and combine for nearly 34 points per game. While Dallin is not much of a shooting threat, the other three have made over 100 3-pointers this season with Thomas making 40 and Lewis 38 (at a 39.6 percent rate).

Top 3-point shooter Jacari White has returned from missing multiple weeks due a broken left wrist, but has struggled with his shot in that time, making just 4-of-18 3’s during that time to bring his season-long percentage down to 43.6 percent.

Virginia’s excellent defense does a great job slowing down opponents inside the arc. They sport a top-ten block rate in the country, which helps drive their top-ten mark in 2-point field goal percentage allowed.

It will be interesting to see if SU utilizes a similar offensive plan to what they did on Monday against North Carolina, taking a number of mid-range shots when denied access to the rim. It was not particularly successful then, as Syracuse shot 10-of-27 (37.0 percent) on 2-point shots other than lay-ups and dunks.

Not only does Virginia present a tough matchup for the Orange in general, one of their greatest strengths directly correlates with one of SU’s weak spots. The Cavaliers’ excellence at offensive rebounding could make this a very frustrating day, especially if the Orange do not have an offensive plan to effectively counteract it.

Virginia 82, Syracuse 68.

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