Virginia Basketball vs. Boston College Game Preview, Score Prediction

Check out our live blog for regular updates throughout tonight's matchup between Virginia and Boston College here: Virginia vs. Boston College Live Updates | NCAA Men's Basketball

Virginia will look to a snap its longest-losing streak in 15 years when the Cavaliers host Boston College on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Boston College, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a score prediction for Tuesday night's matchup.

Virginia vs. Boston College Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (8-10, 1-6 ACC) vs. Boston College Eagles (9-9, 1-6 ACC)

When: Tuesday, January 21st at 7pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) in Charlottesville, VA

How to watch: ACC Network

How to listen: SiriusXM 371, SXM App 371 | Virginia Sports Radio Network | Boston College Sports Network

All-time series: Virginia leads 21-9

Last meeting: Virginia defeated Boston College 66-60 on March 14th, 2024 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament in Washington, D.C.

Virginia vs. Boston College Game Notes

Virginia leads Boston College 21-9 in the all-time series that dates back to 1971.
UVA is 11-2 all-time against Boston College in Charlottesville and 9-2 against the Eagles at John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia has won the last eight home games against Boston College.
Virginia faced Boston College twice last season, with the Cavaliers beating the Eagles 72-68 on the road in Chestnut Hill and then again 66-60 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament at Capital One Arena.
UVA comes into the game on a five-game losing streak, its longest stretch of consecutive losses since dropping nine straight ACC contests from February 6th to March 6th, 2010.
Virginia and Boston College are tied for 16th in the ACC standings with a 1-6 conference record.

Scouting Report: Boston College

2023-2024: 20-16, 8-12 ACC (11th)
2024-2025: 9-9, 1-6 ACC (16th)

Tuesday night's matchup will feature two of the worst teams in the ACC. The Cavaliers have lost their last five games and the Eagles come into this game on a four-game losing streak. In year 4 under Earl Grant, Boston College won six of its first seven games to open the season, but has gone 3-8 since then with losses to Dartmouth, South Carolina, Wake Forest, SMU, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Notre Dame, and Duke. The team's lone win against an ACC team was at home against Miami.

Boston College is led by a Virginia native and the son of former UVA basketball star Donald Hand, who was a three-year captain at Virginia from 1997-2001. Donald Hand Jr. is one few holdovers on this year's BC team who actually played a key role for the Eagles last season, though this is his first season being a full-time starter. Hand, a 6'5" guard, leads Boston College in scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (6.8 rpg) and is the team's best volume three-point shooter, converting on 36.7% of his triples on five attempts per game. He is one of just four players to rank in the top 20 in the ACC in both scoring and rebounding.

Joining Hand in the starting back court is Clemson transfer Joshua Beadle, who averages 6.8 points per game and who makes 50% of his threes but on very few attempts, and UMBC transfer Dion Brown, who averages 6.2 points per game and who shoots decently from beyond the arc (34.5%), but again on very few attempts. Other than Donald Hand Jr., the front court does the bulk of the scoring for the Eagles.

St. Bonaventure transfer Chad Venning is the heir to Quinten Post at the center position for Boston College. Venning is listed at 6'9", 270 pounds on the BC roster and averages 12.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. He has been playing very well of late, scoring 16.3 points per game and shooting 63.1% from the floor over the last six games, including a 19-point performance last time out against Duke. Venning ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage at 57.8%. Joining Venning in the front court is 6'8" forward Elijah Strong, who averages 10.5 points per game and shoots 34.8% from beyond the arc. Look out for 6'5" guard Chas Kelley off the bench. Kelley has started nine games this season and is BC's top facilitator at 2.2 assists per game.

What to Watch For in Virginia vs. Boston College

Battle of the Bad
We've already noted the standing of these two teams (tied for 16th in the ACC) as well as the trajectory (five-straight losses for Virginia, four-consecutive losses for Boston College). Here are some other notes: Virginia has the lowest-scoring offense in the ACC at 61.3 points per game. Boston College is second-lowest at 70.2 points per game. These are also the two worst overall shooting teams in the ACC, as UVA is last at 42.9% from the floor and BC is 17th at 43.2%. Virginia is 16th in the ACC in turnover margin (-1.72), while Boston College is 15th (-1.67). This has all the makings of a "first one to 50 points" type of game.

Can Isaac McKneely get back on track?
McKneely is still among the ACC leaders in three-point percentage at 40.7% on the season, but he went ice-cold in the last two games. McKneely went 0/6 against SMU, a winnable game had he connected on even one of those attempts, and then followed that up with a 1/5 showing at Louisville on Saturday, not hitting that one three until late in the game. That's particularly concerning for McKneely, who has off-games every now and then, but almost never back-to-back poor shooting performances.

Can UVA's front court contain Chad Venning?
Virginia's front court has been a work in progress this season, to put it mildly. Ron Sanchez said on his Zoom press conference Monday that one of the main challenges the Cavaliers have had this season is trying to get the likes of Blake Buchanan, Elijah Saunders, and Jacob Cofie, who have each had individual quality performances on their own this season, to have those good games on the same night. Look for Sanchez and Co. to throw the kitchen sink at Venning to stop him in the paint and keep an eye on Anthony Robinson getting more minutes off the bench as well.

Virginia vs. Boston College Prediction

This will be one of the few games remaining on the schedule that Virginia is favored to win. I'll hesitantly join the oddsmakers in their optimism and predict that the Cavaliers snap their five-game losing streak with a win over the Eagles on Tuesday night.

Score prediction: Boston College 51, Virginia 55

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