No. 18 Virginia reaches 20 wins, takes down fading Syracuse
- - No. 18 Virginia reaches 20 wins, takes down fading Syracuse
Field Level MediaFebruary 8, 2026 at 8:05 AM
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Feb 7, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Syracuse Orange guard JJ Starling (2) shoots the ball while Virginia Cavaliers guard Dallin Hall (30) defends during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images (Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images)
Sam Lewis scored 16 points and No. 18 Virginia reached 20 wins with a 72-59 victory against Syracuse on Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference action at Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers (20-3, 9-2 ACC) won their fourth straight game and improved to 12-1 at home. Ugonna Onyenso added 10 points and eight rebounds and Virginia knocked down 10 3-pointers for its 14th game this season with double-digit triples.
Virginia coach Ryan Odom reached 20 wins for the fourth straight season at three schools: Utah State in 2022-23 and VCU in both 2023-24 and 2024-25. He needs one more win to tie Jeff Jones' 1990-91 record for the most by a first-year Cavaliers coach.
Naithan George scored a game-high 19 points to lead the Orange (13-11, 4-7), who have lost six of their last seven games and are now 1-4 against Top 25 opponents.
J.J. Starling and Nate Kingz added 13 points each for Syracuse, which shot 49.0% from the field and fell just short of becoming the first team to shoot 50% against Virginia this season. Highly touted freshman Kiyan Anthony did not see the court for the Orange.
The Cavaliers led 59-48 after a goaltending call on Thijs DeRidder's basket with 8:42 remaining.
The Orange made a final push to get within 61-57 on Starling's free throw with 5:10 to play.
Virginia finished the game on a 11-2 run, including Chance Mallory's 3-pointer with 2:17 left to make it 68-59.
The Cavaliers shot 41.3% overall and 33.3% (10 of 30) from 3-point range. They had a 29-7 edge in bench points.
Syracuse trailed 38-35 at halftime after being down by as many as 12 points.
Virginia surged ahead 16-8 with an early 12-0 run capped by Martin Carrere's dunk.
The Cavaliers' lead reached 28-16 on Jacari White's 3-pointer with 8:33 remaining before halftime.
An 8-0 Orange run, finished by George's three-point play, made it 33-33 with 3:20 left in the half.
--Field Level Media
Source: “AOL Sports”
