The Virginia Tech loss was a tough one to swallow. Virginia played about as bad as it possibly could on offense and still almost came out with a win thanks to another gutty performance by the defense. But the Hokies' Dorenzo Hudson made a big 3 with 16.5 seconds left to put Tech up four, and they held on from there. Virginia made just 1 of 14 from 3-point land and got just two points from Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins combined, the replacements for injured center Assane Sene. Interestingly enough, the Hokies are the top 3-point defense in the land, holding opponents to just 25.4 percent from beyond the arc.Virginia held Tech to just 47 points in the 47-45 loss but the Hokies still shot 45 percent and I think the Cavs did miss the presence of Sene defensively inside. It wouldn't have taken much for Sene to make the difference, even with the Cavs being as bad on offense as they were. If Sene had just two points and altered two Hokie shots and turned them into misses, Virginia might have won 47-43.
Even without more 3-pointers, UVa could have won the game with better free-throw shooting. The team made just 14 of its 22 attempts while Virginia Tech shot just seven and made four of them.
Virginia finally gets to move on from that loss and will try to get back on the winning track tonight at JPJ against Boston College, which has perhaps been the worst team in the ACC this season. But if UVa continues to struggle shooting the ball (32.6 percent overall against the Hokies) then the Cavaliers are definitely capable of losing this game. Boston College (7-12, 2-3 ACC) has beaten Virginia Tech and Clemson somehow, but has also had some truly terrible losses. The Eagles lost to Rhode Island, Providence, Boston University, Penn State, and Holy Cross, all teams that have struggled this season. In the ACC, Boston College has already proven it will probably compete in the cellar with a 15-point loss to Wake Forest.
BC has no one scoring in double figures per game, but has four players (7-foot freshman Dennis Clifford, junior Matt Humphrey, freshman Ryan Anderson, and freshman Patrick Heckman) all scoring at least 9.6 points per game. You might have noticed the plethora of first-years. BC has six freshmen receiving at least 10 minutes per game. So while the Eagles are struggling this season, this could be a team to contend with in years to come. BC is averaging just 61 points per game, 306th in the country, and shoots 41.3 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from 3, and 66.8 percent from the line, all pretty bad numbers. BC is coached by Steve Donahue, who is in his second year with the program. Donahue is known for building a successful program at Cornell, and is looking to do the same at Boston College. Last year, he led BC to a 21-13 record (9-7 ACC) and a berth in the NIT, where the team went 1-1. Virginia has struggled with BC recently, and last year was no exception. BC beat UVa 70-67 at BC and 63-44 at UVa. Virginia shot just 32.1 percent from the field in that second game.
This is certainly a game where it would seem like it would be ok to feel comfortable, much like the Georgia Tech game, but you never know. I think Virginia is capable of winning by 20 and also of losing by just a few points. It will depend on how well the team shoots and how motivated the team is to bounce back from the tough loss to the Hokies. Hopefully, there won't be any lingering effects from that loss. Virginia needs to come out fired up for this and create its own energy, because there won't be a ton of fans at this game. BC on a weeknight at 9 p.m. after a devastating loss won't exactly draw a big crowd. As of now, the team is probably still in the NCAA tournament but a loss to the Eagles would be very damaging, so UVa needs to come out and grab control of this game and focus on playing better than Sunday.
Even without more 3-pointers, UVa could have won the game with better free-throw shooting. The team made just 14 of its 22 attempts while Virginia Tech shot just seven and made four of them.
Virginia finally gets to move on from that loss and will try to get back on the winning track tonight at JPJ against Boston College, which has perhaps been the worst team in the ACC this season. But if UVa continues to struggle shooting the ball (32.6 percent overall against the Hokies) then the Cavaliers are definitely capable of losing this game. Boston College (7-12, 2-3 ACC) has beaten Virginia Tech and Clemson somehow, but has also had some truly terrible losses. The Eagles lost to Rhode Island, Providence, Boston University, Penn State, and Holy Cross, all teams that have struggled this season. In the ACC, Boston College has already proven it will probably compete in the cellar with a 15-point loss to Wake Forest.
BC has no one scoring in double figures per game, but has four players (7-foot freshman Dennis Clifford, junior Matt Humphrey, freshman Ryan Anderson, and freshman Patrick Heckman) all scoring at least 9.6 points per game. You might have noticed the plethora of first-years. BC has six freshmen receiving at least 10 minutes per game. So while the Eagles are struggling this season, this could be a team to contend with in years to come. BC is averaging just 61 points per game, 306th in the country, and shoots 41.3 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from 3, and 66.8 percent from the line, all pretty bad numbers. BC is coached by Steve Donahue, who is in his second year with the program. Donahue is known for building a successful program at Cornell, and is looking to do the same at Boston College. Last year, he led BC to a 21-13 record (9-7 ACC) and a berth in the NIT, where the team went 1-1. Virginia has struggled with BC recently, and last year was no exception. BC beat UVa 70-67 at BC and 63-44 at UVa. Virginia shot just 32.1 percent from the field in that second game.
This is certainly a game where it would seem like it would be ok to feel comfortable, much like the Georgia Tech game, but you never know. I think Virginia is capable of winning by 20 and also of losing by just a few points. It will depend on how well the team shoots and how motivated the team is to bounce back from the tough loss to the Hokies. Hopefully, there won't be any lingering effects from that loss. Virginia needs to come out fired up for this and create its own energy, because there won't be a ton of fans at this game. BC on a weeknight at 9 p.m. after a devastating loss won't exactly draw a big crowd. As of now, the team is probably still in the NCAA tournament but a loss to the Eagles would be very damaging, so UVa needs to come out and grab control of this game and focus on playing better than Sunday.
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