What channel is the Syracuse basketball game on at Virginia?

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse basketball (8-7, 1-3 ACC) seeks to snap a two-game losing streak when it visits the No. 18 Virginia Cavaliers (11-3, 3-1 ACC) on Saturday afternoon.

The game tips off just after 4 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia and will be shown nationally on ESPN. Jason Benetti and Dan Dakich will be the announcers.

Syracuse, currently ranked 95th in the NCAA’s NET Ratings, is coming off a pair of tough losses at home against Notre Dame and Virginia Tech, respectively, where the Orange coughed up second-half leads.

Virginia (18th in the polls, but No. 64 in NET) enters off a 60-53 road loss at Boston College on Tuesday night. The defending national champion Cavaliers are struggling to score this season, averaging just 55.7 points a game. But they’re surviving by locking down opponents, surrendering just 47.6 points per contest. Four teams have failed to top 40 points against Virginia this season, including the Orange.

Saturday’s matchup is the 14th all-time meeting between Syracuse and Virginia. The Cavaliers lead the series 8-5 and have captured the last four games against the Orange. Virginia beat Syracuse 48-34 on Nov. 6 to start this season. It was the lowest point total for the Orange since 1945.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) gives Syracuse only a 22.5 percent chance of beating the Cavs. The projected point differential is 6.9 points.

Contact Rombel at arombel@cnybj.com

Photo by Adam Rombel/CNYBJ