No. 2 Virginia at Boston College, 2 p.m. Comcast SportsNet
The Cavaliers dumped Clemson on Tuesday at home, 65-42. The game started kind of slowly and the Tigers even led, 13-12, midway through the first half. Virginia was ahead, though, 25-19 at halftime and opened the second half on a long 29-6 run that put the game way out of reach for the Tigers. Virginia made a season-high 10 3s during the game, with three from Malcolm Brogdon, who led the team with 16 points, three from Justin Anderson (15 points), and one each from London Perrantes, Marial Shayok, Isaiah Wilkins, and B.J. Stith, the first career 3s for those last two.
Saturday, Virginia travels to Boston College to take on the Eagles, a team that hasn't been as good as UVa in recent seasons but sometimes gives the Wahoos problems. Last season, BC was one of just a handful of ACC teams to keep UVa within 10 points as the Wahoos won at home, 77-67. Overall, however, Boston College went just 8-24 and 4-14 in the ACC. Two years ago, Virginia beat BC 65-51 at home but lost, 53-52, at BC in a damaging loss when Virginia could have maybe sewn up an NCAA tournament berth.
Now, here's a closer look at this year's Eagles:
Record: 8-7, 0-3 ACC
Scorers in double figures: Junior guard Olivier Hanlan (16.4) and senior forward Aaron Brown (14.4), a transfer from Southern Miss.
Rebounding leaders: Junior center Dennis Clifford (6.1), senior guard Patrick Heckmann (4.5), and Hanlan (4.1)
Assist leaders: Hanlan (4.9), Heckmann (2.1), and Brown (1.9)
Notable: Clifford (8.3), Heckmann (7.7), and senior guard Demitri Batten (7.9), a transfer from ODU, all score more than seven points per game. Batten made five 3s and scored 23 points when ODU upset Virginia two seasons ago. He is the Eagles' only true threat from long range as he is making 37.1 percent from 3. Aaron Brown makes 31.8 percent and Hanlan makes just 26.1 percent.
Best win: On Wednesday, BC beat Harvard, 64-57, in overtime at home.
Other wins: New Hampshire, New Mexico, Marist, Providence (a team that Notre Dame lost to), Maine, Binghamton, and Massachusetts Lowell.
Best loss: 70-66 to West Virginia (currently ranked No. 16) on a neutral floor.
Worst loss: Home against USC, 75-71, a squad that is now 9-8.
Other losses: Massachusetts, Dayton, Duke, Pittsburgh, Miami
What Boston College does well: The Eagles are solid, but not particularly great, in any one category it seems. They rank 225th in points per game (65.8), 224th in rebounds, 172nd in assists, 136th in field-goal percentage (44.3), 123rd in points allowed per game (63.3), 211th in blocks, and 124th in steals. They rank seventh in the ACC in free-throw shooting (68.2). One thing that stands out is they rank third in the league at defending the 3-point line (28.7 percent).
What Boston College doesn't do well: The Eagles' 3-point percentage, 29.4, is just 12th in the ACC and their rebounding margin ranks 13th in the league.
Why Virginia shouldn't be worried: Like I said, BC isn't great at any one thing and it can't shoot well from beyond the arc, a place Virginia is sometimes vulnerable. BC got blown out by Duke by 23 and has a couple bad losses against UMass and USC. The fact that BC is good at defending the 3-point line but only ranks 11th in the ACC (42.1 percent) in field-goal percentage defense tells me there are holes in the defense overall and the Eagles can be had inside so hopefully that means a big day for Anthony Gill, Darion Atkins, and Mike Tobey.
Why Virginia should be worried: The fact that the Eagles aren't great at one thing but solid at a lot gives me pause. BC could go off in any one category that Virginia didn't expect. A solid all-around team is probably harder to prepare for than a team that is particularly good at a couple things. Hanlan is a dynamic player that can carry the team. Jim Christian is a new coach with a good track record at both Kent State, TCU (he beat Virginia as TCU's coach three seasons ago), and Ohio that will be hungry for his first ACC win as will be his team, which is playing at home and has been close to wins in its past two ACC games, a 61-60 OT loss to Pitt and a 60-56 defeat to Miami. The crowd will probably be hyped for the No. 2 team in country paying a visit. I mentioned Batten. Maybe he can remember how he got off from 3 as a Monarch two seasons ago against the Wahoos and channel that feeling again. So, while I feel good about Virginia's chances overall (and how can you not when talking about the No. 2 team in the country), there are certain aspects of this matchup that make me think BC can pull the upset or at least make it close.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10.
The Cavaliers dumped Clemson on Tuesday at home, 65-42. The game started kind of slowly and the Tigers even led, 13-12, midway through the first half. Virginia was ahead, though, 25-19 at halftime and opened the second half on a long 29-6 run that put the game way out of reach for the Tigers. Virginia made a season-high 10 3s during the game, with three from Malcolm Brogdon, who led the team with 16 points, three from Justin Anderson (15 points), and one each from London Perrantes, Marial Shayok, Isaiah Wilkins, and B.J. Stith, the first career 3s for those last two.
Saturday, Virginia travels to Boston College to take on the Eagles, a team that hasn't been as good as UVa in recent seasons but sometimes gives the Wahoos problems. Last season, BC was one of just a handful of ACC teams to keep UVa within 10 points as the Wahoos won at home, 77-67. Overall, however, Boston College went just 8-24 and 4-14 in the ACC. Two years ago, Virginia beat BC 65-51 at home but lost, 53-52, at BC in a damaging loss when Virginia could have maybe sewn up an NCAA tournament berth.
Now, here's a closer look at this year's Eagles:
Record: 8-7, 0-3 ACC
Scorers in double figures: Junior guard Olivier Hanlan (16.4) and senior forward Aaron Brown (14.4), a transfer from Southern Miss.
Rebounding leaders: Junior center Dennis Clifford (6.1), senior guard Patrick Heckmann (4.5), and Hanlan (4.1)
Assist leaders: Hanlan (4.9), Heckmann (2.1), and Brown (1.9)
Notable: Clifford (8.3), Heckmann (7.7), and senior guard Demitri Batten (7.9), a transfer from ODU, all score more than seven points per game. Batten made five 3s and scored 23 points when ODU upset Virginia two seasons ago. He is the Eagles' only true threat from long range as he is making 37.1 percent from 3. Aaron Brown makes 31.8 percent and Hanlan makes just 26.1 percent.
Other wins: New Hampshire, New Mexico, Marist, Providence (a team that Notre Dame lost to), Maine, Binghamton, and Massachusetts Lowell.
Best loss: 70-66 to West Virginia (currently ranked No. 16) on a neutral floor.
Worst loss: Home against USC, 75-71, a squad that is now 9-8.
Other losses: Massachusetts, Dayton, Duke, Pittsburgh, Miami
What Boston College does well: The Eagles are solid, but not particularly great, in any one category it seems. They rank 225th in points per game (65.8), 224th in rebounds, 172nd in assists, 136th in field-goal percentage (44.3), 123rd in points allowed per game (63.3), 211th in blocks, and 124th in steals. They rank seventh in the ACC in free-throw shooting (68.2). One thing that stands out is they rank third in the league at defending the 3-point line (28.7 percent).
What Boston College doesn't do well: The Eagles' 3-point percentage, 29.4, is just 12th in the ACC and their rebounding margin ranks 13th in the league.
Why Virginia shouldn't be worried: Like I said, BC isn't great at any one thing and it can't shoot well from beyond the arc, a place Virginia is sometimes vulnerable. BC got blown out by Duke by 23 and has a couple bad losses against UMass and USC. The fact that BC is good at defending the 3-point line but only ranks 11th in the ACC (42.1 percent) in field-goal percentage defense tells me there are holes in the defense overall and the Eagles can be had inside so hopefully that means a big day for Anthony Gill, Darion Atkins, and Mike Tobey.
Why Virginia should be worried: The fact that the Eagles aren't great at one thing but solid at a lot gives me pause. BC could go off in any one category that Virginia didn't expect. A solid all-around team is probably harder to prepare for than a team that is particularly good at a couple things. Hanlan is a dynamic player that can carry the team. Jim Christian is a new coach with a good track record at both Kent State, TCU (he beat Virginia as TCU's coach three seasons ago), and Ohio that will be hungry for his first ACC win as will be his team, which is playing at home and has been close to wins in its past two ACC games, a 61-60 OT loss to Pitt and a 60-56 defeat to Miami. The crowd will probably be hyped for the No. 2 team in country paying a visit. I mentioned Batten. Maybe he can remember how he got off from 3 as a Monarch two seasons ago against the Wahoos and channel that feeling again. So, while I feel good about Virginia's chances overall (and how can you not when talking about the No. 2 team in the country), there are certain aspects of this matchup that make me think BC can pull the upset or at least make it close.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10.
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