Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Goes Ice-Cold in 63-48 Loss at Boston College
Virginia's season-long resume may be deserving of a No. 6 ranking, but for the last week, the Cavaliers haven't looked like a team that belongs anywhere near even the top 25 teams in college basketball.
After getting by with a pair of slim victories over the two worst teams in the ACC by a combined five points, the Cavaliers' offensive struggles finally caught up to them. No. 6 Virginia shot an abysmal 32.2% from the floor and suffered its worst loss of the season, falling at Boston College 63-48 on Wednesday night in Chestnut Hill.
It was clear from the beginning that Virginia had yet to fix the offensive problems that had flared up in the team's close-call wins over Louisville and Notre Dame last week. After Jayden Gardner scored the first four points of the game, Boston College responded with a 9-0 run as UVA endured the first of many scoring droughts.
The Cavaliers shot a horrific 1/10 from beyond the arc in the first half, but their offensive woes extended across all areas of the floor. Boston College defended Virginia well on dribble drives and the Eagles were simply more physical than the Cavaliers when contesting shots in the paint and at the rim. UVA made just eight shots and was 27.6% from the floor in the first half. Jayden Gardner had eight of Virginia's first 13 points, but was held scoreless for the remainder of the first half.
For a while, there was little separation between the two teams as Boston College also struggled to crack Virginia's defense and turned the ball over 11 times in the first half. But, the Eagles gradually found cracks in the UVA defense with Quinten Post making quick and accurate passes to cutting teammates when Virginia tried to double team him down low. Makai Ashton-Langford was the primary beneficiary of that spacing, as he led all scorers with 11 points on 4/6 shooting in the first half.
Boston College ended up shooting 52.2% from the field in the first half and built a lead as large as nine at multiple points. It was UVA's lack of offensive production that resulted in the Eagles taking a 28-21 lead into the halftime break.
The second half was very much the same story as the first half. Jayden Gardner was the only consistent source of scoring for the Cavaliers. He added eight more points in the second half and led UVA with 16 points overall, but the rest of the team was just 13/47 (27.7%) from the floor. Virginia's guard unit of Kihei Clark, Reece Beekman, and Armaan Franklin was especially disappointing. The trio shot a combined 1/10 from beyond the arc and had just 17 total points between the three of them on 24.1% shooting.
The Eagles gave the Cavaliers plenty of opportunities to get back into the game, going on short droughts of their own on the offensive end of the floor. But by the time Virginia could get a bucket or two, Boston College had settled back in. While Makai Ashton-Langford paced the Eagles in the first half, it was Jaeden Zackery in the second. Zackery had 12 points after halftime, including a pair of three-pointers, to help Boston College keep Virginia at arm's length.
Isaac McKneely hit back-to-back threes and Jayden Gardner scored four-straight to get UVA back with seven points, but that was the closest the Cavaliers would get. McKneely missed a three that would have made it a four-point game with less than nine minutes to play and then Zackery went on a personal 5-0 run to put Boston College back up by 12 points. Virginia would get no closer than eight points after that.
As the celebration began in Conte Forum, the brother duo of Makai Ashton-Langford and DeMarr Langford Jr. hit back-to-back threes in the final minute with the game well in hand. That gave the Eagles a brief 17-point lead before Kihei Clark hit a short jumper to make the final score 63-48.
Even with a late three-pointer from Ben Vander Plas, Virginia shot just 19.0% from beyond the arc (4/21) and 32.2% from the floor (19/59). Boston College was 52.0% from the field and 40.0% from downtown. The Eagles outscored the Cavaliers 34-20 in the paint.
Virginia got away with some ugly basketball over its last two games. On Wednesday night, UVA's luck ran out as Boston College took advantage of yet another subpar performance from the Cavaliers on both ends of the floor and sent them back to Charlottesville with a bad and consequential loss.
With the defeat, Virginia slides out of first place in the ACC standings and into a tie for second place with Pittsburgh at 13-4. Miami takes over first place at 14-4.
Now 21-5 overall and 13-4 in ACC play, Virginia has just a couple of days to get its issues sorted out before heading to Chapel Hill to face a North Carolina team desperate for a big win. UVA will play at UNC on Saturday at 6pm.
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN
See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
