UVa goes on road for challenging matchup with Virginia Tech, which is looking for quality win, 1-1 ACC record

No. 8 Virginia at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. ACC Network

Ty Jerome scored a career-high 31 points, and the Cavaliers needed every single one of them.

It was not easy, but Virginia managed to eke out a 59-58 win over Boston College on Saturday to win its 10th straight ACC opener, ninth consecutive under Tony Bennett, who recorded his 200th win as a Wahoo. Jerome's big day included 6-of-9 shooting on 3-pointers.

The game ended amid controversy. With a couple minutes left, Virginia was up four when it looked like BC's Jordan Chatman traveled. Instead, Kyle Guy was called for a foul, and though he was close to him, it didn't look like he knocked Chatman down. Instead of getting the ball up four with time winding down, BC pulled within two on two free throws. And then the chaos really started. Devon Hall, who had a very off game with no field goals and just converting 1 of 3 free throws after coming into the game at better than 90 percent at the line, missed the front end of a one-and-one with 14 seconds left. UVa essentially turned away three BC chances at the victory. First, Ky Bowman went up

Ty Jerome could not be stopped against Boston College. Jerome
has 58 points his past three games after scoring just 24 in the
five before that.

for a layup that was swatted out of bounds by Isaiah Wilkins, who finished with four blocks and a career-high 14 rebounds. BC called timeout and ran a play where the inbounder threw it over his teammate's head. Wilkins stole the pass and took the ball the length of the court, dunking with what would have been no time left or very little time left. But a referee accidentally started the clock too soon, before Wilkins had touched the ball. By rule, the ball was supposed to go back to the last time there was clear possession, which was BC inbounding with 3.1 seconds left. On the Eagles' last attempt, Nik Popovic took the ball on the baseline but pushed off of Jack Salt, and an offensive foul was called.

That took a lot of explaining, and it would've taken even more for the ACC to explain to the JPJ crowd had the second (but really third) chance for BC resulted in an Eagles win. The booing was deafening, even on TV. Bennett did a great job of calming the players in the huddle as the referees figured out what was going on. Wilkins said after the game that Bennett told them there was a possibility that BC would get another crack at it, so the players were ready for that to happen. And then, as many Cavaliers teams have, they relied on defense to win it. It wasn't a vintage UVa performance by any stretch, with the team shooting under 40 percent and only Jerome having a stellar offensive game. Guy started out hot, but finished with just 11 points on 4-of-14 shooting (3 of 6 on 3s). But in conference play, a win is a win.

Hopefully UVa plays better than that in most of the ACC schedule, but it seems to be getting clearer that BC, which went a combined 16-48 (2-34 ACC) the past two seasons, is vastly improved after defeating Duke and getting very close to winning in a place that has been extremely hard for opponents to do so the past five-ish seasons.

The victory was an important one for the Wahoos, because the next few games are tough. At Virginia Tech hasn't been easy recently even with Tech down, and now it is better, home against defending national champion UNC, and home against Syracuse, which has rallied for two wins the past two years over Virginia, with of course the first one coming in the Elite Eight. Going 0-1 would've been tough. So kudos to UVa for finding a way without its "A" game. And thank you Jerome.

So, first up in this tough stretch is Virginia Tech. Here's a look at the Hokies so far this season:

Record: 11-3, 0-1 ACC

Scorers in double figures: Junior guard Ahmed Hill (15.6), senior guard Justin Bibbs (14.6), freshman guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (12.7), junior forward Kerry Blackshear Jr. (12.1), junior guard Justin Robinson (10.4)

Leading rebounders: Junior forward Chris Clarke (7.3), Blackshear (6.6), Alexander-Walker (4.3), Hill (3.6)

Assist leaders: Robinson (5.6), Clarke (3), senior guard Devin Wilson (2), Alexander-Walker (2)

Notable: Clark averages 8.6 points and about one steal. Freshman forward P.J. Horne averages 6.1 points. Robinson averages 1.6 steals. Blackshear and Alexander walker average one block each.

Best win: 103-79 over Washington in New York in November.

Worst win: Presbyterian, 63-55, at home Dec. 19

Other wins: Detroit, The Citadel, Houston Baptist, Morehead State, Iowa, Ole Miss, Radford, Maryland-Eastern Shore, North Carolina A&T

Best loss: at then-No. 8 Kentucky, 93-86, on Dec. 16

Worst loss: Saint Louis, 77-71, in New York in November

Other loss: Syracuse on Sunday

What Virginia Tech does well: Like last year, the Hokies can score (88.8 ppg - ninth in the nation) and want to get up and down the floor quickly. They have been shooting really well: 53.2 percent overall (best in the nation), 42.7 percent on 3s (sixth), and 73.5 on free throws (91st). They have attempted 355 free throws, which ranks 20th. They've moved the ball well in general, with 18.4 assists per game (13th).

What Virginia Tech doesn't do well: Neither Tech nor UVa have rebounded particularly well. Both average a +4.1 rebounding margin, which puts them about 90th. Considering their schedule, the Hokies have turned it over probably a little too much -- 13.2 times per game (tied-155th). They're giving up 70.1 ppg (136th).

Probably the weakest thing about Tech's overall profile is its strength of schedule, which ranks 287th

for its pre-ACC slate. Despite just two losses outside of the ACC, it will have to win quite a few conference games to get into the NCAA tournament conversation. Its ACC schedule is shaping up as one of the toughest, which could be both a blessing and a curse. Besides playing UVa twice, Tech also gets Louisville twice, Miami twice, and Duke twice. In addition to Syracuse, the Hokies have to travel to Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Boston College (suddenly looking like a tougher game) with no return game in Blacksburg. The Hokies do get North Carolina, Florida State, N.C. State, and Clemson at home only -- the Tigers and Seminoles just entered the top 25.

After falling to Syracuse in somewhat surprising fashion Sunday, an 0-2 hole would be tough for Tech to take. There's no doubt it will come out firing and confident against its archrival in order to quickly get back to an even record in the ACC. As I stated, though Virginia Tech has done some impressive things and put up some impressive offensive numbers so far, it has been against a weak schedule, so we aren't quite sure yet what this team is going to look like. Every game the Hokies lose in the ACC to a ranked team will be a missed opportunity. In the end, I do think Tech will make the tournament for a second straight season, though it could get interesting come March. Conference plays always shows strengths and weaknesses, and we are just getting to know all these teams -- even UVa.

I think Tech will edge Virginia in Blacksburg. Coming back home after a loss will push it to play well. Tech has a bunch of excellent outside shooters -- Hill, Bibbs, Alexander-Walker, and Robinson are all at 40 percent or above (Hill is at 50.6) -- who only shot 33 percent from beyond the arc at Syracuse, and coming back home is probably just what they need to get on track. And let's be honest. Virginia doesn't get to the line a lot, and Virginia Tech does, so the whistles will probably go Tech's way a bit. The Hokies have won this meeting in Blacksburg the past two seasons. It should be a tight game throughout, and Tech needs a win, while a loss probably wouldn't end up hurting UVa too much, because Tech should at least end up being a bubble team.

Gut feeling: Virginia Tech wins by 1-5 points.