Mar. 3. 2030: Virginia Cavaliers (18-13, 8-11) vs #8 Boston College Eagles (23-7. 14-5) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA
RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds
In a tune-up for the ACC Tournament, the Boston College Eagles hosted the Virginia Cavaliers who were in a dogfight with the Eagles for 2nd place until the Cavaliers went into a bit of a tailspin in the past 3 weeks.
For the 2nd straight game, BC started slowly. Their sluggish start in which they shot horribly, committed far too many turnovers and were charged with numerous fouls resulted in Virginia achieving a 7 point lead midway through the half. It was obvious to all that Coach Aura was aggravated with his team’s punchless effort. Aura’s chastisement apparently worked. Corey Graham led the team to their first lead with 3:54 remaining in the half. But after moving ahead by 3 points, the Eagles faltered badly in the final 2 minutes to trail 36-28 at the break.
Coach Aura's prodding in the locker room resulted in his team scoring the first 9 points of the 2nd half to edge ahead. But Virginia again recaptured the lead. Midway through the half the Eagles offense caught fire. The team jumped on top and then gradually pulled away to score an 80-67 victory.
The Eagles 2nd half turn-around produced a 55% to 37% shooting advantage for BC over the Cavaliers. Boston College also out-rebounded Virginia 41-26.
In the post-game interview, Coach Aura said, “In the first half we fizzled, but in the 2nd half we sizzled.”
Leading the scoring for Boston College was SG Corey Graham with 19 points. PG Bobby Grannum contributed 15 points and C Courtland Reese added 10.
The Eagles finished in 2nd place in the ACC standings.
Duke…20-0
Boston College…15-5
Florida State…13-7
North Carolina…13-7
Clemson…11-9
Notre Dame…10-10
North Carolina State…10-10
Miami (FL)…10-10
Georgia Tech…9-11
Syracuse…8-12
Virginia…8-12
Pittsburgh…7-13
Virginia Tech…7-13
Louisville…5-15
Wake Forest…4-16