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Virginia Hosts Boston College Thursday Night
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CHARLOTTESVILLE-The Virginia men’s basketball team looks to bounce back from its first home loss of the season when the Cavaliers host Boston College on Thursday night (Jan. 26) at John Paul Jones Arena. The game is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m.
Virginia enters the game with an overall record of 15-3 and a 2-2 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers are coming off their first home loss of the season, a 47-45 setback to Virginia Tech on Sunday (Jan. 22) at JPJA.
In this week’s national rankings, UVa is ranked 19th in The Associated Press poll and 21st in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.
Boston College enters the game with an overall record of 7-12 and a 2-3 record in the ACC. The Eagles are coming off a 71-56 loss to Wake Forest at home on Saturday (Jan. 21).
Single-game tickets for Virginia’s game with Boston College are available and can be purchased online at VirginiaSports.com/tickets. Tickets may also be purchased on game day at the JPJA box office starting at 7:30 p.m.
Fans may also purchase tickets for the Virginia-Boston College game through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office by telephone and in person. The Athletics ticket office is located in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium and open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).
Thursday’s game will be broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. It will also be televised by ESPNU and carried on ESPN3.
Virginia’s loss to Virginia Tech on Sunday ended a 10-game home winning streak for the Cavaliers, their second longest at JPJA. The 45 points UVa scored in the game were the fewest the Cavaliers have scored this season and Virginia shot a season-low 32.6 percent (15-46) from the field. Senior forward Mike Scott, junior guard Jontel Evans and sophomore guard Joe Harris each scored 10 points in the game for UVa.
Scott continues to lead Virginia in scoring and rebounding. He is averaging 16.6 points and 8.7 rebounds a game, while shooting 57.8 percent (108-187) from the field and 80.4 percent (78-97) from the free-throw line. Scott ranks first among ACC players in field goal percentage, fifth in scoring, sixth in rebounding and eighth in free throw percentage through games of Jan. 24.
Harris is also averaging in double figures in scoring for UVa with an average of 12.5 points a game and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski is averaging 9.0 points a game.
Evans leads Virginia in assists (63) and steals (32). He ranks fourth among ACC players in steals (1.8 spg.) and fifth in assists (3.5 apg.).
As a team, Virginia ranks first in the ACC in scoring defense (50.2), rebounding defense (27.5), turnover margin (+2.0) and defensive rebounding percentage (76.9 percent).
Nationally the Cavaliers rank first in defensive rebounding percentage and fewest assists allowed per game (7.0), second in scoring defense and points allowed per possession (0.83), third in opponents’ assist-to-turnover ratio (0.53) and 22nd in field goal percentage defense (38.6 percent). Virginia has allowed points on just 42.3 percent of their opponents’ possessions this season and rank second nationally in that department.
Virginia leads the series with Boston College 7-6, but the Eagles have won five of the last six games, including the last four regular season meetings. The Cavaliers have won three of the five games played in Charlottesville and Boston College has won two of the three games played at JPJA. The Eagles won both games between the two teams last season, 70-67 in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and 63-44 in Charlottesville.
Boston College features balanced scoring with five players averaging between 10.1 and 7.4 points a game. Freshman center Dennis Clifford is the Eagles’ leading scorer and second leading rebounder. He is averaging 10.1 points and 5.2 rebounds a game.
Three players are averaging 9.6 points a game including freshman forward Ryan Anderson, junior guard Matt Humphrey and freshman guard Patrick Heckmann. Freshman guard Lonnie Jackson is averaging 7.4 points a game. Anderson averages 6.4 rebounds a game to lead the Eagles in that department.
Steve Donahue is in his second season as the head coach at Boston College. The Eagles compiled a 21-13 record under Donahue’s direction last season and participated in the NIT. He was the head coach at Cornell for 10 years before assuming his current responsibilities at Boston College. Donahue’s Cornell teams compiled an overall record of 146-138 and participated in the NCAA Tournament three times.
After the game with Boston College, the Cavaliers return to action on Saturday (Jan. 28) at NC State. That game is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN2.