Virginia Basketball vs. Manhattan Game Preview, Score Prediction

Matt Newton | 2 Hours Ago

Virginia Athletic

After suffering a couple of humbling losses against ranked opponents in The Bahamas, Virginia will look to get back on track when the Cavaliers host Manhattan on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Manhattan, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a prediction for Tuesday night's matchup.

Virginia vs. Manhattan Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (3-2) vs. Manhattan Jaspers (3-2)

When: Tuesday, November 26th at 7pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) in Charlottesville, VA

How to watch: ACC Network/ESPN+

How to listen: SXM App 371 | Virginia Sports Radio Network

All-time series: Virginia leads 1-0

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Manhattan 78-66 on March 19th, 1993 in Syracuse, New York.

Virginia vs. Manhattan Game Notes

• Virginia and Manhattan will meet on Tuesday night for just the second time ever and first time since March 19th, 1993, when the Cavaliers defeated the Jaspers 78-66 in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament.
• UVA is 9-0 against current members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
• Virginia's last game against a MAAC team was back in 2012, when the Cavaliers defeated Fairfield 54-45 at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA is 2-0 at John Paul Jones Arena this season and 3-0 against unranked opponents this season.

Opponent Scouting Report: Manhattan

2023-2024: 7-23, 4-16 MAAC (10th)
2024-2025: 3-2

Manhattan opened the season with a 30-point loss at Maryland (no shame in that one), then picked up a couple of wins over Mercy and Fordham before suffering a tough 85-82 loss at Fairleigh Dickinson. The Jaspers bounced back with a semi-miraculous victory over Army, winning 80-79 on a buzzer-beating floater by Wesley Robinson.

Manhattan's leading scorer is a freshman forward, Will Sydnor, who is averaging 15.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game and shooting 30.4% from three. At 6'8", Sydnor is the tallest player in Manhattan's starting five and the tallest player in Manhattan's rotation for that matter. Joining Sydnor in the starting lineup is 6'2" senior guard Shaquil Bender (14.8 ppg, 3.2 apg), 6'0" sophomore guard Jaden Winston (10.0 ppg, 4.4 apg, 1.8 spg), 6'3" junior guard Masiah Gilyard (8.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 37.5% from three), and the aforementioned 6'6" senior guard Wesley Robinson (6.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 42.9% from three), the hero in the Army win.

The best shooter and third-leading scorer for the Jaspers is a bench player in 5'10" sophomore guard Devin Dinkins, who is averaging 11.2 points per game and shooting 52.6% from three-point range on nearly four attempts per game. It wouldn't be surprising to see Dinkins, who plays more than 30 minutes per game off the bench, slide into the starting five on Tuesday night.

What to Watch For in Virginia vs. Manhattan

Virginia gets back on track
After a pair of humbling losses in The Bahamas to Tennessee and St. John's, the Cavaliers will look to get that bad taste out of their mouths with what should be a comfortable win against an inferior opponent. Regardless of the opponent, UVA needs to respond with a strong showing, particularly on the offensive end of the floor after the Volunteers and Johnnies successfully disrupted Virginia's offensive execution. Manhattan is ranked 321st in adjusted defensive efficiency on KenPom. If there's a game for the Cavaliers to rediscover their rhythm offensively, it's this one.

Does Virginia make any major adjustments?
It may be a knee-jerk reaction five games into the season, but you have to think Ron Sanchez and company are seriously considering making some systematic and/or personnel changes after the pair of beatdowns the Cavaliers suffered in The Bahamas. Does Virginia bench TJ Power in favor of Andrew Rohde or Jacob Cofie? Do the Cavaliers try any new offensive wrinkles after being stymied against elite competition? UVA has two "tune-up" games against Manhattan and Holy Cross before another big-time test in a true road game at Florida in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Hoos need to get some things figured out before then.

Virginia vs. Manhattan Prediction

Virginia's trip to The Bahamas certainly set off some alarms in the UVA fanbase about the fate of this season and the state of the program. But the Cavaliers should be able to temporarily calm things down and rebuild some confidence with a comfortable win against an overmatched opponent.

Score prediction: Manhattan 49, Virginia 68

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