Preview: Hoos open ACC play tomorrow against the Orange

Syracuse (5-2, 0-0 ACC) at Virginia (6-1, 0-0 ACC)

Noon, ESPN2

After grabbing its best win of the season on Wednesday, UVa will turn its attention, albeit briefly, to ACC play this weekend. The Hoos open up conference play on Saturday afternoon when they host the Syracuse Orange at JPJ.

Before Virginia completes the non-conference slate with games against North Carolina Central, Northeastern, Memphis and Morgan State later this month, the Cavaliers get a little ACC teaser of sorts.

The opponent tomorrow also won their inaugural ACC/SEC challenge game this week, as the Orange blew out LSU 80-57 at home on Tuesday. The win over the Tigers was the biggest for the Orange this season following a 1-2 trip to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational.

The schedule in that tournament did Syracuse no favors, as the Orange lost big to national contenders Tennessee and Gonzaga on back-to-back days before winning the consolation game against Chaminade.

Overall, Syracuse is 5-2 to begin the season, and Saturday will be its first true road game.

It will take some getting used to, but after decades of seeing Jim Boeheim on the sideline for the Orange, and his famous 2-3 zone on the court, Syracuse is beginning a new era. First-year head coach Adrian Autry was promoted to the head job from Boeheim’s staff and inherits a high-ceiling job with a program that has frankly underperformed since joining the ACC.

Syracuse ranks 99th in KenPom and is the fourth top-100 team the Hoos have faced this season, with West Virginia just outside at No. 106. The Orange have a talented team that likes to get out and run, ranking 39th-fastest in the nation but they haven’t been the most efficient team thus far.

With the basketball, Syracuse ranks 123rd nationally in offensive efficiency. They’ve struggled to make shots consistently, making just 29.9 percent of their 3s and 47.4 percent on twos. They also don't’ get to the line much, ranking 249th in free throw to field goal ratio. When they are at the stripe, the Orange have been solid, though, making 73.3 percent of their attempts. Syracuse has done a good job taking care of the basketball, ranking 92nd in turnover rate, something worth watching against the suddenly steal and block happy Cavalier defense.

Defensively, Syracuse has been a bit more efficient. Ranking 84th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency, Syracuse has forced quite a few turnovers (27th in turnover rate) which has allowed more chances to get out and run. Many of those takeaways are steals and those live-ball turnovers have become points for the Orange in transition. Syracuse’s defense has defended the 3-point line well, with opponents making 30.8 percent of their shots from long range. The one area where Syracuse really struggles is an area where UVa is unlikely to hurt them, which is on the offensive glass. The Orange rank 330th nationally in offensive rebound rate allowed.

Judah Mintz, Guard

For the second straight game, UVa will have to square off with a guard averaging better than 20 points per game. Mintz (20.4 ppg) is an athletic guard who showed flashes as a freshman, and has taken his game to another level. He is shooting nearly 43 percent from deep and is coming off of a 33-point effort against LSU on Tuesday night, where he got to the free-throw line 15 times. Mintz is also a very good distributor, averaging 4.1 dimes per game.

J.J. Starling, Guard

Mintz’ running mate in the backcourt is a player UVa has faced, but not at Syracuse. Starling made an inter-league transfer in the offseason, leaving Notre Dame for Syracuse, and he’s made a significant impact thus far in his sophomore year. He is averaging 11.3 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and has scored in double figures in five of Cuse’s seven contests.

Justin Taylor, Guard

Yet another sophomore in the backcourt, Taylor is still working on consistency, but has the tools to become a capable scorer with the Orange. The Charlottesville native is averaging 7.6 points per game but has three games in double figures and two where he failed to score in more than 26 minutes per game. Taylor is a decent outside shooter, though he has only made 32.4 percent of his tries this season, an average that will likely improve as the year wears on.

Chris Bell, Forward

The fourth sophomore profiled here, Bell is Syracuse’s top scoring forward, though he’s more of a wing than a traditional big. He is averaging 14.6 points per game, and scored 20 against LSU. Bell isn’t afraid to shoot the long ball, and has taken 10+ 3s in three games this season, and made six in two separate games (LSU and Colgate).

This should be an interesting start to ACC play for the Hoos. Obviously, UVa has had Syracuse’s number in recent years but we’ll see if the coaching change does anything to boost the Orange in these matchups.

The Cuse is certainly a talented team that is capable of giving the Cavaliers a tough one, but they may also not be designed to take advantage of UVa’s biggest weaknesses. Still, Virginia needs to do everything they can to avoid giving some solid shooters more than one opportunity per possession.

UVa’s health will also be worth watching, as Reece Beekman nursed a knee injury on Wednesday and Dante Harris was on crutches. If the Wahoos are healthy, meaning only missing Harris, we like their chances to go 1-0 this weekend and open conference play with a victory.