Virginia Basketball vs. Boston College Game Preview | ACC Tournament
Follow along with score updates and play-by-play for Virginia vs. Boston College here: Virginia vs. Boston College Live Updates | ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
For the second time in 15 days, the Virginia Cavaliers and Boston College Eagles will go head-to-head, this time in the quarterfinals of the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. There's a lot at stake in this one, as in addition to contending for a spot in the semifinals, UVA will be playing to secure its positioning for the NCAA Tournament, while BC is looking to make it three wins in three days and make running the table to the ACC title game a real possibility.
Read on for a full preview of the ACC Tournament quarterfinal between No. 3 seed Virginia and No. 11 seed Boston College, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and what's at stake.
First, here's a look at the updated bracket for the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament.
2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinal Update
ACC
Game Details
Who: No. 3 seed Virginia Cavaliers (22-9) vs. No. 11 seed Boston College Eagles (19-14)
When: Thursday, March 14th at 9:30pm ET
Where: Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
How to watch: ESPN/ESPN2
How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
How to listen: SiriusXM 371 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates
All-time series: Virginia leads 20-9
Last meeting: Virginia defeated Boston College 72-68 on February 28th in Chestnut Hill.
Notes & History on Virginia at the ACC Tournament
- Virginia earned the No. 3 seed at the ACC Tournament for the fifth time ever and first time since 2000.
- UVA is 2-4 as the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament
- Virginia owns a 46-65 all-time record at the ACC Tournament and a 27-37 record in the quarterfinals.
- UVA is looking for its fourth ACC Tournament Championship and third under Tony Bennett, having won the title in 1976, 2014, and 2018.
- Virginia has reached the semifinals in seven of its last nine ACC Tournament appearances.
- UVA is 15-10 at the ACC Tournament under Tony Bennett.
Notes on Virginia vs. Boston College
- Virginia holds a 20-9 advantage over Boston College in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1971-1972 season.
- UVA is 1-1 against Boston College in the ACC Tournament, with the most recent meeting coming in the first round of the 2010 ACC Tournament.
- Virginia has won 13 of the last 16 games in the series with Boston College, with the most recent being a 72-68 victory over the Eagles on February 28th in Chestnut Hill.
- UVA is 14-6 against Boston College under Tony Bennett.
Opponent Scouting Report: Boston College
2023-2024: 19-14
When Virginia knocked off Boston College in a back-and-forth 72-68 affair just a little over two weeks ago in Chestnut Hill, the Eagles were in the midst of a four-game losing streak that was capped by a 25-point home loss to Pittsburgh a few days later. Boston College hasn't lost since then, rattling off four-consecutive wins with the last two coming in the last two days here in Washington, D.C. While having to play on Tuesday at the ACC Tournament drastically lowers a team's chances of running the table and winning the title, there is something to be said for the advantage gained by getting settled into a rhythm before the teams who gained byes or double-byes.
That much was evident on Wednesday night, as Boston College blitzed a very good Clemson team right from the jump, building a lead as large as 15 in the first half, leading by 12 at halftime, and eventually running away with the game for a 21-point win. It was the Claudell Harris and Jaeden Zackery show for the Eagles, as the junior guards combined for 49 points, nine of Boston College's 10 three-pointers, and 18 of the team's 25 made baskets. Of course, they benefited greatly from the space created by versatile big man Quinten Post, who had a quieter night scoring the ball with 11 points, but showed his passing skills by dishing out seven assists and also collected eight rebounds. The seven-footer remains the focal point of the BC offense, but the Eagles have a number of capable scoring threats on the perimeter, giving opposing defenses a tough choice on how to play them defensively.
Even though the Cavaliers won the first meeting two weeks ago, they didn't exactly solve that puzzle, but rather used a flurry of three-pointers, five of them in the last nine minutes of the game to be precise, to outpace the Eagles and got a couple of critical stops late in the game to seal it. Reece Beekman had 18 points and eight assists and Isaac McKneely and Jake Groves each hit three three-pointers in the game and the Cavaliers needed every one of them to hold off Boston College. Quinten Post recorded a 24-point, 10-rebound double-double and was a perfect 11/11 from the free throw line. 20 of those points and all 11 free throws came in the second half as Earl Grant clearly made an effective adjustment to put Post in position to score more often. And while he made only one three-pointer, Post remains a dangerous threat from beyond the arc at 43.3% on the season.
Post is one of three Eagles shooting at least 40% from three - Jaeden Zackery (40.8%) and Mason Madsen (40.0%) - and one of five shooting 36% or better - Claudell Harris (36.3%) and Donald Hand Jr. (36.2%). It can be any of those players heating up from the perimeter on any given night for the Eagles. In the first round win over Miami, Harris knocked down four threes, Post hit three, and Madsen had two threes and Boston College made 11 triples as a team. Contrast that with Virginia's game against BC in which the Eagles went 5/22 from three, a product of UVA's emphasis on limiting their chances from three. But that decision opened things up for Post inside and neither Jordan Minor nor Blake Buchanan could consistently neutralize him without fouling. It'll be interesting to see if Tony Bennett adjusts his strategy in the rematch.
What to Watch For
Rest vs. Rust
Virginia hasn't played since Saturday. Boston College will be playing its third game in a 50-hour span. That favors the Eagles at the beginning of the game, as they're more likely to be sharp early on, but stamina could be an issue for them later in the second half. The Cavaliers can't afford a slow start, which brings us to our second point...
The first 10 minutes are critical.
Virginia has suffered many blowout losses this season in which the game was essentially over after 10 minutes with the Cavaliers already trailing by a significant margin. That will be Boston College's best path to winning this game: attacking early, catching the Hoos before they can get settled in, and making them play from behind, a notorious weakness for all Tony Bennett teams but one that seems to be particularly disastrous for this team. Virginia must be the aggressor early on and not wait around for things to click.
Battle of the Bigs.
Quinten Post outscored Jordan Minor and Blake Buchanan 24-13 in the first meeting. The Cavaliers don't necessarily need their center tandem to outscore Post, but must contain him so as to allow the rest of the UVA defense to stay at home on the shooters and cutters. How well Minor and Buchanan can defend Post without fouling will be a key determinant in who wins this game.
What's at Stake
Boston College
Even after crushing an NCAA Tournament team in Clemson, a win that improved Boston College's NET ranking by 11 spots from No. 91 to No. 80 (and caused Clemson's to drop from No. 26 to No. 35), the Eagles are still far from consideration for the Big Dance. Reaching the NCAA Tournament was always going to require BC to win five games in five days, but the Eagles are enjoying their stay in Washington, D.C. and have likely already earned themselves a spot in the NIT. Earl Grant and company are playing good basketball right now and have nothing to lose, a dangerous combination as they look to knock off Virginia and advance to Friday's semifinals.
Virginia
The ACC Tournament title is still a meaningful prize and one the Cavaliers would love to make a run at winning this weekend, but the stakes for this one game against Boston College go well beyond that. Virginia is playing for its NCAA Tournament life right now. As of 2am early on Thursday morning, ESPN's Joe Lunardi still has Virginia as the third to last team in the projected field of 68 in his latest Bracketology. It's a simple "win and you're in" situation for UVA according to Lunardi. There's debate about whether the Cavaliers will receive an at-large bid even with a loss to Boston College, but that would make the rest of the week leading up to Selection Sunday very uncomfortable and stressful for UVA at the very least. Interestingly enough, Virginia's NCAA Tournament resume might actually improve if Boston College wins, as the Eagles would likely move up into the top 75 of the NET rankings, which would make UVA's road win in Chestnut Hill a Quad 1 victory. But, there seems to be a consensus among most Bracketologists that Virginia will be safely in the NCAA Tournament with a win over BC, so the Cavaliers should make things nice and simple and just do that.
CavaliersNow will be on site at Capital One Arena this week providing complete coverage of the Virginia Cavaliers at the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament.
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