Syracuse (10-5, 3-1) at No. 11 UVa (10-3, 2-2)

5 p.m., ACC Network

After a disappointing loss at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night, the Cavaliers return home for their next two contests, starting with a showdown against Syracuse on Saturday afternoon. Virginia’s loss at Pitt dropped the Hoos to 2-2 in league play, having played three of their first four games away from home. Now, they turn their attention to another team ahead of them in the standings, as they attempt to gather some momentum and string wins together.

Syracuse doesn’t have superb resume at this point by any stretch, but the Orange have been winning games of late. After a 3-4 start to the campaign, they have now won seven of their last eight with a lone loss by two points against aforementioned Pitt. Syracuse survived a scare against Louisville on Tuesday night to move to 3-1 in ACC play, already holding conference wins over Boston College and Notre Dame.

Virginia has had a lot of success against Syracuse in recent years and has a chance to get back on track on its home floor in the first home game of the New Year. Syracuse hasn’t beaten a single top-100 KenPom team in its hot stretch that dates back to the beginning of December, so while UVa is looking to take care of business, the Orange are trying to make a statement that they are turning things around.

Despite a solid 10-5 mark overall and a 3-1 ACC record, the Orange haven’t shot up the KenPom rankings, at least so far. Syracuse ranks 92nd overall, 10th best among ACC programs. Syracuse hasn’t been elite on either end of the floor, ranking 79th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency and 116th nationally in their 2-3 zone.

With the basketball, the Orange have been solid though not spectacular, in many categories. They have an effective field goal percentage of 51.1 percent, and shoot the same percentage on two-pointers. Syracuse makes 34.1 percent of its 3-pointers, but doesn’t take many of them, with just 29.4 percent of shots coming from beyond the arc. Syracuse does a good job taking care of the basketball and is 58th nationally in turnover rate. The Orange are also a decent free-throw shooting team and can be opportunistic on the offensive glass at times as well.

On defense, they do a nice job protecting the rim. The Orange rank second nationally in block rate and allow opponents to make just 46.2 percent of their two-point field goals. Syracuse also does a decent job taking the ball away, ranking 70th in turnovers forced per possession and 48th nationally in steal rate. The zone also keeps the Orange from getting into foul trouble quite often. They are 25th nationally in free throws-to-field goal attempt ratio. Conversely, the zone does make it harder to rebound, and they are near the very bottom nationally in offensive rebounds allowed, ranking 348th.

Syracuse gets a good deal of production from a talented backcourt that blends experience with young talent. It feels like senior guard Joe Girard has been playing in the “Carrier” Dome for a decade, and through 15 games, he’s leading the Orange in scoring. Averaging 16.7 points per contest, Girard has long been a capable outside shooter, and is making 37.3 percent of his 3s after going over 40 percent last season. He is hot coming to Charlottesville too, off of a 24-point effort in the win over BC on New Years Eve, and a 28-point game in the narrow win at Louisville on Tuesday. Girard is joined in the backcourt by freshman Judah Mintz, who is off to a great start to his collegiate career. Mintz is averaging 15.8 points per contest along with 4.2 assists, playing nearly 32 minutes per game. He has scored in double figures in each of the last seven games, including a pair of 24-point efforts.

In the frontcourt, Syracuse has some experience that can make an impact on the scoreboard. Senior center Jesse Edwards has developed from a seldom-used role player to a key contributor over his four years with the Orange, and is averaging a double-double at 13.9 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. Edwards put up a 12-point, 11-rebound effort at Louisville, and earlier this season against Bryant he hauled in a whopping 21 rebounds in a narrow loss. Sophomore forward Benny Williams is another significant contributor in the frontcourt, averaging 8 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. Freshman Chris Bell has had some flashes as well, averaging 6.7 points per game including a 13-point effort against Cornell last month.

Finally, Charlottesville native Justin Taylor’s play may be of interest to some local Cavalier fans. Taylor, who starred at St. Anne’s-Belfield, is playing nearly 17 minutes per game, scoring 4.4 points per contest and making 37.9 percent of his 3s.

Virginia has demonstrated a knack for letting teams hang around and Syracuse has enough talent to do that tomorrow. UVa needs to start the game strong and try to take command of the scoreboard early, and whether they’re able to do that or not, the Hoos need to finish strong, too. If they can put 40 solid minutes together, they’ll win. If they don’t, they still might, but I wouldn’t advise it after how Tuesday’s game went.

Syracuse is a hot team but the Orange haven’t beaten anyone truly good during that stretch. They beat some of the worst teams in the ACC, at least as of now, and cleaned up against overmatched non-conference opponents. The Cuse will have to prove itself in Saturday’s game, and we’re not quite buying them as a true ACC contender just yet.

That, coupled with the fact that Virginia usually has it’s way with Syracuse regardless of year, means we have to take the Wahoos at home.