Virginia Basketball Double Bonus: Syracuse

Virginia Cavaliers
Reece Beekman finished with 2 3-pointers and 7 assists in the UVA win. ~ Photo by Mike Ingalls/TheSabre.com

The Virginia basketball team claimed a 73-66 win against Syracuse on Saturday. The Hoos led wire to wire and held a three-possession lead for the final 30 minutes of the game.

UVA had five players in double figures and logged assists on 22 of 23 made baskets. Among the statistical standouts were Armaan Franklin (16 points, 3 assists), Reece Beekman (13 points, 7 assists), and Kihei Clark (5 points, 11 assists).

Let’s take a look at a few details in the latest of Tony Bennett’s 327 wins.

More On Virginia Assists

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim noted after the game that a high assist rate is common against a zone, which is true to some degree and helps explain the high rate for the Hoos with helpers on all but one basket. With that said, UVA has been cranking out assists at a high rate all season long. The team currently owns a 69.6% assist rate and that’s good enough for second in the country behind Lafayette’s 70.5% rate.

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