Boston College Men's Basketball Comes Up Short Against No. 17 Virginia

The Eagles put up a fight, but could not overcome the Cavaliers at home on Saturday afternoon.

Boston College men's basketball guard Donald Hand Jr. with the ball against the Virginia Cavaliers on Jan. 31, 2026. Photo Credit: John Sexton / Boston College Eagles On SI | John Sexton / Boston College Eagles On SI

CHESTNUT HILL Mass.— The Boston College Eagles (9-12, 2-6 ACC) men’s basketball team suffered a 73-66 home loss to the No. 17 Virginia Cavaliers (18-3, 7-2 ACC) on Saturday afternoon inside a packed Conte Forum. 

Final. pic.twitter.com/g7AU4jjcVt

— BC Men's Basketball (@BCMBB) January 31, 2026

Boston College jumped out to an early 10-9 lead with 15:22 to go in the opening half. Eagles guard Fred Payne led the charge as he scored six of the Eagles’ first 10 points which included an and-1 on a made three-pointer. 

The Eagles’ hot start to the contest continued as they maintained their lead over the Cavaliers 16-15 with 11:46 left in the first. In between timeouts, Boston College made three of its five shot attempts while the Cavaliers made two of their five attempts. 

Boston College struggled with turnovers and fouls early as the team committed four fouls and turned the ball over four times in the first 10 minutes of the contest, but Virginia only made one of its four attempts from the charity stripe and could not capitalize off BC’s turnovers, scoring just three points. 

Both offenses slowed by the midway point of the first half, but the Eagles held their lead over the Cavaliers 23-19 with 7:28 to go in the first after going on a small 7-4 run. 

Through the final seven minutes of the half, Boston College outscored Virginia 9-6 and went into halftime with the 32-27 advantage. 

In the half, Boston College shot 50 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from behind the arc while Virginia shot 36.4 percent from the floor and 12.5 percent from three-point range. 

Coming out of the break, Virginia went on an 11-6 run and tied things up at 38 with 15:36 to go in regulation. In the opening minutes of the second, Boston College made just one of its six baskets while the Cavaliers made five of their eight attempts. 

The Cavaliers gained their first lead of the day 41-38 with 15:30 to go on a jumper by guard Sam Lewis. Lewis also drew a foul on the bucket and hit the free throw to go up by three. 

Virginia increased its lead to as many as seven points, but Boston College fought back and got within one 50-49 after guard Donald Hand Jr. banked in a layup with 11:32 to go. Jayden Hastings gave the Eagles the lead back 51-50 with a second chance layup 31 seconds later.

The Eagles and Cavaliers went back-and-forth for the remainder of the game. Virginia regained its lead 55-52 on a three-pointer by guard Jacari White with 9:52 left in the contest. 

Boston College got within one point 55-54 with 9:32 remaining, but that was as close as the Eagles got to overcoming the Cavaliers down the stretch. 

In the second half, Boston College shot 43.5 percent from the field, but missed every three-point attempt (0-for-6). Virginia shot 51.6 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from behind the arc. 

“We needed to get some stops, we just didn't get them,” said Boston College head coach Earl Grant. “But we played a great game. We had a good plan. We got better. We didn’t win, but we got better. And now we gotta learn from it and try to figure out how we can get ready for the next game.”

Next up, Boston College travels to Durham, N.C., to take on the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils on Tuesday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ACC Network.