Syracuse Falls Hard to Virginia in First ACC Match Up
While the first half seemed promising for the Orange, it wasn’t enough to finish with a win.
They fell to the Virginia Cavaliers 84-62 at the John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville, V.A. This was the first ACC battle for both teams, exciting fans for what’s to come for the remainder of the season. The Cavaliers are a premier defensive team with an arsenal behind the three point line in Isaac McKneely.
After a stellar performance against LSU, sophomore guard Judah Mintz was held to just five points against the Cavaliers. Virginia’s head coach Tony Bennett said that they were fully aware of Mintz’s talents and made a point to stop him at all costs.
“We talked about it before the game, it’s not Reece (Beekman) or whoever is matched up on Judah, it’s us versus him and we have to make it tough.”
Syracuse head coach Adiran Autry said that the style of defense Virginia plays is consistently one of the best, making it tough for players like Mintz to come in and take over a game.
“They have the number one defense year in and year out. They just change players, different names, but it’s the same system. They have a very good understanding of having 10 eyes on the ball and knowing where everyone is at.”
That defense didn’t just affect Mintz. Sophomore forward Chris Bell had only five points compared to the 20 points he scored against LSU. Coach Autry said he missed shots that he usually makes.
“I think he had a couple of wide-open looks that he typically makes, but I think that’s just the way basketball is.”
The environment in John Paul Jones Arena certainly didn’t help. Cavaliers guard Isaac McKneely, who scored a career high of 22 points, received cheers that became louder and louder every time he chipped in another one.
Mintz and junior forward Benny Williams both airballed shots in the second half, causing the crowd to chant “airball” every time either one touched the ball.
Coach Autry didn’t speak on the environment in which his players has to endure, but he did say that this game wouldn’t deter them from success in the near future.
“We have another game coming up. You can’t dwell on that (loss) whether you win or lose. That’s just always what you have to do. It’s the early part of the season, we still have a lot of games left. So we got to put this game behind us and get ready for our next opponent.”
Syracuse will face Cornell at home on Tuesday December 5th at 8 p.m. where all eyes will be watching to see if they can come out of this loss stronger.