Virginia Tech begins the second half of the ACC schedule this Saturday with a road trip to Boston College. The Hokies made it through the beginning of the schedule with a 5-3 record and if they can beat the Eagles in Conte Forum they will sit at 6-3 with only 3 road games left. However, Tech must first get by the veteran Eagles, who have who have delivered crushing defeats to the Hokies in Boston in recent memory.
| Starting Lineups | ||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | Boston College | |||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG |
| G | Green | 6’4” | So. | 10.9 | 2.3 | Jackson | 6’3” | Jr. | 18.0 | 4.3 |
| G | Delaney | 6’3” | Sr. | 18.3 | 3.0 | Paris | 6’1” | Sr. | 10.9 | 2.1 |
| G/F | Bell | 6’7” | Sr. | 6.6 | 5.8 | Raji | 6’6” | Sr. | 12.7 | 6.5 |
| F | Allen | 6’7” | Sr. | 12.6 | 9.6 | Trapani | 6’8” | Sr. | 14.6 | 7.4 |
| F | Davila | 6’8” | Jr. | 7.7 | 5.4 | Southern | 6’10” | Sr. | 7.4 | 4.2 |
Game notes:
| Team | VT | BC |
|---|---|---|
| ACC Record | 5-3 | 4-4 |
| RPI | 62 | 43 |
| PPG | 71.3 | 74.0 |
| Opp. PPG | 61.1 | 71.4 |
| Reb. Margin | +1.6 | -1.2 |
| Turn. Margin | +2.2 | -0.1 |
| FG% | 46.7% | 46.7% |
| Def. FG% | 40.1% | 45.1% |
| 3PT% | 33.0% | 38.7% |
- Boston College has 3 active players with 1,000 or more career points.
- BC is being outscored in the second half this season 863-854.
- The Eagles average 9.2 made 3-pointers per game, good for 12th best in the nation.
- Five Eagles have attempted 70 or more 3-point shots on the season. Only Malcolm Delaney has attempted more than 50 for the Hokies.
- With a combined 532 games played, BC’s starting lineup is the most experienced in the ACC.
- Only 2 players in Division I basketball play a greater percentage of their team's minutes than Malcolm Delaney (93.8%).
After being picked to finish 10th in the conference, Boston College was a bit of a surprise under first year coach Steve Donahue. Despite early season loses to Yale and Harvard, the Eagles raced out to a 4-1 start in the ACC, which included a win at Maryland. Although they’ve lost 3 in a row, Boston College is still a dangerous team led by some of the most experienced players in the ACC. Reggie Jackson has been making a push for player of the year honors, leading the Eagles with 18 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.3 boards, all while shooting a cool 50.4% from the field. The rest of the Eagles' starting lineup is a cast full of veterans, including senior Joe Trapani who is a sharpshooter from the 4 position.
Boston College is one of those teams that will live and die by the three-point shot. The Eagles are extremely efficient on the offensive end, shooting the ball well and valuing the basketball. BC is a difficult team to defend because when Joe Trapani is on the court the Eagles have 4 guys that can and will jack up a 3 and sink it at a pretty good clip. What Boston College doesn’t do well is defend. The Eagles force very few turnovers and aren’t spectacular on the defensive glass. As a result, BC has given up an average of 95 points in their last two games.
Looking at this game I see a lot of similarities to the game the Hokies just played versus NC Sate. While NC State forced the Hokies to contain the likes of Tracy Smith on the inside, Boston College will challenge the Hokies perimeter defense on Saturday. Boston College is another team that is inferior to the Hokies defensively, and we know how that turned out last time (Tech had just 6 turnovers and grabbed 17 offensive boards versus State). What is concerning to me is that the Hokies have shot just 38.7% from the field in their last 3 trips to Conte Forum. However, Tech is shooting much better this season, largely thanks to the improvement of big men Jeff Allen and Victor Davila. If the Hokies can prevent a barrage of threes from Boston College’s sharpshooters, Tech should be able to control the glass and the game.
Prediction: Hokies 77 Boston College 71
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