Defending NCAA Champion Virginia Opens Basketball Season With Victory at Syracuse

Virginia’s basketball teams under coach Tony Bennett are known for their stifling defenses and their opening game of the 2019-20 season was no exception. The defending NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions held Syracuse to 34 points in a 48-34 victory over the Orange in Syracuse on November 6th in both the season opener and ACC Conference opener for both teams.

Syracuse hit just 13 of 55 shots, and was outrebounded 47-28. Virginia lost three underclassmen to the NBA who were big parts of last season’s champions–Ty Jerome (Phoenix Suns), D’Andre Hunter (Atlanta Hawks) and Kyle Guy (Sacramento Kings). They were the team’s top scorers last year. The team added six freshmen, and Bennett tends to get the most out of his players. A repeat championship won’t be in the cards, but Virginia will again be very competitive in the very competitive ACC.