Virginia vs. Syracuse: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Regular Season

It's not always pretty, but you can't argue with what Virginia does on the basketball court.

The Cavaliers overcame an ugly start to Monday's game at Syracuse to walk away with a 59-47 victory. The win clinched the top seed in the ACC tournament for Virginia and further solidified its case for a No. 1 seed in the impending NCAA tournament.

Anthony Gill led the way with 17 points, but four different Cavaliers scored in double figures. London Perrantes tallied a double-double with 10 points, 10 assists, five rebounds and three steals.

Syracuse only shot 38.3 percent from the field but did get 14 points from Trevor Cooney and 10 points from senior Rakeem Christmas in his final home game of an impressive career.

That the contest got off to a slow start offensively should come as no surprise in a game featuring Virginia's defense. The Cavaliers swarmed the Orange's best player in the early going, as Donna Ditota of The Post-Standard noted:

However, it was Syracuse's defense that made the most waves in the opening minutes. John Kekis of The Associated Press pointed out just how poorly things were going for Virginia's offense after it fell behind, 6-0:

Ken Pomeroy then weighed in as things got even uglier, but he eventually got to eat more than eight minutes into the game when Virginia finally scored. Cavs Journal broke the news of the elusive first Virginia basket:

Things only got worse for Virginia as it entered the under-eight-minute timeout in the first half with a whopping two points. Nicole Auerbach of USA Today let everyone know that they were actually (and incredibly) watching a No. 1 seed in action:

Suddenly, Virginia's offense exploded and cut it to 20-14 with less than three minutes left until halftime. Whitelaw Reid of The Daily Progress observed what was an unorthodox strategy:

The Cavaliers rode that momentum all the way to a 23-20 lead at intermission. Wahoos247 of 247Sports noted the difference in the final six minutes of the half as compared to the first 14:

It wasn't a pretty half of basketball, but if his comments on his radio show were any indication, Virginia coach Tony Bennett probably didn't care, via Scott Allen of The Washington Post:

"

You can’t control what people think. The opinions of others do not matter. We’re trying to play as good as we can. I’ve talked about this before; that’s the beauty of college basketball — there’s different styles. There’s not a cookie-cutter style. This is not the NBA. We don’t have the NBA talent and you win different ways.

That’s one man’s opinion, maybe it’s a lot of people’s opinion, but we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing to the best of our abilities and try and be successful. That’s what matters. I can’t get too wrapped up in that.

"

Virginia picked up right where it left off with that swarming defense in the second half. ESPN's Myron Medcalf was certainly impressed with its ability to simply beat the Orange to the ball in the open court:

The Cavaliers stretched their lead to 35-25 by turning those defensive stops into offense. Considering Virginia scored two points in the first 14 minutes, the fact that it was able to flip the switch and seize a double-digit lead is a testament to how dangerous it can be in March.

Ditota put things in perspective:

As the beginning of the second half dragged on, Virginia just seemed to suck the life out of the crowd and Syracuse. ESPN's Jay Williams likened the Cavaliers to the Memphis Grizzlies because of that stifling defensive ability:

The Cavaliers pushed their lead to 42-31 at the second media timeout after halftime, and Adam Rowe of 247Sports acknowledged that maybe it was time to simply give Virginia credit for what it has done this season instead of always trying to find its flaws:

Just when it looked like the game was over at 45-31, the Orange turned up the defensive pressure and got out in transition. That woke the crowd up and helped them trim the deficit. 

Douglas Doughty of The Roanoke Times described the action, while Ditota pointed out one source of much-needed offense:

However, after Syracuse picked up some brief momentum, the Cavailers went right back to Gill in the paint and took control once again. At the under-eight-minute timeout, it was 49-35 in favor of the Cavaliers, which was an even more insurmountable deficit when taking their defense into consideration. 

That represented the last chance the Orange really had to come away with a victory. Virginia's defense continued to swarm almost every shot Syracuse had at the rim, and the offense gradually built the lead. 

Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis had good news for Cavaliers fans:

The Cavaliers stretched their lead to 53-38, and Ditota identified one of the problems for Syracuse:

Jason Horowitz of SiriusXM described just how incredible the turnaround was from the first half:

The final few minutes were simply a formality, as Virginia slowly milked the clock and claimed yet another victory, taking another step toward a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

What's Next?

Nick Lisi/Associated Press

Syracuse goes to North Carolina State on Saturday to play a Wolfpack team that is smack-dab in the middle of the bubble and will be looking for a win over a blue-blood program late in the season. The Orange cannot play in the postseason after self-imposing a ban, which means it can only play the role of spoiler this March.

A Syracuse victory over North Carolina State would certainly please plenty of teams on the bubble.

As for Virginia, it travels to Louisville on Saturday to play in one of the most difficult venues in the ACC and across the country. The Cavaliers will be tested and are looking to secure one of the four No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament with yet another victory.

A road win over the Cardinals would go a long way toward helping them do just that.