Boston College 61, Virginia Tech 59: Young Eagles Win Two Straight
by A.J Black on Jan 14, 2012 6:17 PM EST
in Boston College Basketball
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PrintIt took only three ACC games for BC to win consecutive games against their in conference foes. Fresh off an exhilarating win against Clemson, BC battled in front of a quiet crowd of 5,038 fans--it looked like half of that on TV--the Eagles defeated a struggling Virginia Tech team 61-59.
The big news going into the game was that Hokies leading scorer Erick Green was out with a sprained left knee. It was clear that VT was off their game from the beginning as they struggled to put together quality offensive sets, and were atrocious beyond the arc (4-14). But VT's inability to stop Boston College when it mattered most is probably what doomed them.
BC and the Hokies kept the game close to start the game, but Jordan Daniels scored 5 quick points for the Eagles in the final minute of the half, and BC stormed out to an 11 point lead after half mostly on some great shots by Matt Humphrey and Dennis Clifford. VT at one point only scored 6 points in the second half, but made it close near the end hitting three pointers that trimmed the lead from 10 to the final of 61-59.
Individually Clifford was the star of the game. He handled his own in the paint against a solid ACC center in Victor Davilla, scoring 15 points and bringing in 4 boards. Clifford has an excellent shot, and great poise. If he develops a mean streak, and continues to bulk up, BC may have their next superstar. The other star of the game has to go to Matt Humphrey. As frustrating as he can be at times, Humphrey can be brilliant at others, and today was no exception. He dropped 14 points, yet on the other hand he turned over the ball 5 times.
There were a lot of reasons to get excited about the way BC played today. They played tough, shot well from the field, and were solid on the defensive and rebounding end. The turnovers were still there (BC had 17), but the Eagles' did a great job of causing turnovers as well. Another tough moment was an injury to John Cahill, who appeared to dislocate his shoulder guarding a defender. He returned to the bench shortly after with a giant ice wrap on his arm. Hopefully he will be healthy again soon.
Virginia Tech is now 0-3 in the ACC, and a loss to BC can not look good on their postseason resume. Going into the game VT was #40 on Kenpom's list, but this loss will skyrocket them down the charts. Before this game, there was a lot of chatter about Seth Greenberg's job security. Guessing that chatter could turn into "Fire Spaz" like screams relatively soon if the Hokies continue to struggle.
True this has only been two games, but BC has looked like a completely different team. They look confident, they are making plays when they need to, and aren't settling for bad shots. In the span of two games our expectations have gone from bleak, to excited. BC is well coached, and Steve Donahue has the Eagles' in position to win. Their next matchup is at NC State. Could another upset be in the cards?
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First chance to see Eagles in person today
Obviously, you take any win you can, but the big thing that stuck out to me was not necessarily how well the Eagles played, because to be honest, they weren’t that good, but how poorly prepared and poorly coached Virginia Tech was.
Seth Greenburg, who in general I think does a good job, fell right into what Steve Donahue’s game plan was. The game was played at a snail’s pace allowing a team that has struggled to score in BC to hang around. Donahue spent most of the game visibly telling his team to take it slow and by not pressing, not running, not forcing the issue until the last minute of the game, Greenburg allowed the strategy to work. BC took only 42 shots for the entire game, VT only 47. It couldn’t have worked out any better.
I do wonder though if BC could have held on for even one more minute once VT went to some full court pressure. The game certainly ended at an opportune time.
Certainly BC needs to be recognized for areas where they have struggled in the past: rebounding (-2), turnovers (-2) and FTs (15-19 in the second half). Just the ability to stay essentially even in those areas made a huge difference.
Good games for Jordan Daniels and Ryan Anderson. Dennis Clifford continues to improve but is still a huge liability in Donahue’s high post, big men handle the ball offense. He officially only had three turnovers, but I counted at least four in the first half alone. Matt Humphrey, as he usually does, is either very positive, or very negative, sometimes in the same possession. He plays with really good energy, but needs to let the game come to him. He forces the issue on every possession and is clearly struggling to adjust to playing with a younger team around him. Thankfully, he saved some of his positive plays for the end.
Atmosphere at Conte was pretty awful. Most people are there with small kids now as it is a cheap take and they spent more time trying to get a picture taken with Baldwin or get on the video screen than anything else.
The Norwood High School band even filled in for the BC pep band..I kept wondering why it sounded so much like a…well, high school band and that answered it.
Happy for the win, they are even with the win total I thought they would get for the entire conference schedule now and have some more definite opportunities down the road, including next Saturday against Wake Forest, which by the way is the Alumni Basketball weekend..a great chance to see some of the heroes of BC teams of old in the house.
Hold the phone
True this has only been two games, but BC has looked like a completely different team. They look confident, they are making plays when they need to, and aren’t settling for bad shots. In the span of two games our expectations have gone from bleak, to excited. BC is well coached, and Steve Donahue has the Eagles’ in position to win. Their next matchup is at NC State. Could another upset be in the cards?
WHAT.
They didn’t make a field goal the last 5 minutes. They had 2 shot clock violations and three turnovers.
VT played without their point guard and #1 scorer and assist guy. If he plays VT wins by 10.
And if Reggie Jackson had stayed....!
But he didn’t. Green didn’t play 2. And the Eagles won. By 2.
by polarbearbrother on Jan 14, 2012 9:18 PM EST up reply actions
Excuses. Good teams win period. Going into this game VT has a Ken Pom of 40 BC had one in the 280’s. One player shouldnt cause a team to lose.
Writer at BC Interruption SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
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by A.J Black on Jan 14, 2012 9:30 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Yeah RPI’s matter 2 games into the conference season.
Yeah RPI was 40 with their best player who averages 16 and 4.
And yep when we play down at VT in Feb and Green plays let’s lay some money down on the that one
And yep Good teams beat UMass, BU , Harvard, Holy Cross………………………
Please
All AJ said was that this was a completely different team. I tend to agree with him. I think the win over Clemson gave this team a lot of needed confidence. Plenty of woulda, coulda, shouldas on both sides yesterday.
No one thinks BC is winning the ACC. But betting against BC when they play at Virginia Tech? C’mon. You’re either a self-loathing Eagles fan or a Donahue hater. Can’t tell.
Editor, BC Interruption
Can’t we all just enjoy watching this team sit at 2-1 in the ACC? Especially when many had BC pegged for 0-16?
No need to piss in everyone’s Cheerios.
Editor, BC Interruption
Agree
I’m still skeptical about Donahue, and even I’ll admit the team has gotten much better over the past two games. Rebounding, trying to establish a game in the post and defense have all improved.
Like I said, I’m still skeptical about Donahue. The rotation and the subbing still needs to improve. Moton in crunch time? Wonder why you almost gave up a 11 point lead in the last five minutes. Donahue’s line up is the # 1 reason.
However, he has done a number of good things with this squad as well. Clfford’s development, adjusting his offensive to a half court game, establishing the post and relying less on the three and the defense has gotten much better over the season.
I’ll say it again, you also have an Ivy league coach adjusting tot the ACC. Donahue has some learning to do and the best thing about the past two games is that he has adjusted to the talent he has and has made some good coaching decisions.
by tmcgoldrick80 on Jan 15, 2012 10:16 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
That’s all I meant. Thank you.
Writer at BC Interruption SBN's Boston College Eagles blog
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Harvard at 14-2.
Helping our strength of schedule.
by polarbearbrother on Jan 14, 2012 10:43 PM EST reply actions
All Aboard the Stevie D. Train -- DANCING TO THE NINES!
I always said this was a Coach’s Coach and if he recruited well BC could eventually make a Final Four 4 and I consider this year 1.
GDF did so well with this hire. Very well
Our 9 freshman will get better and will be Dressed to and “Dancing to the Nines” one day (lol) and get an NCAA 68 spot soon.
BC needs that “Providence” recruiting luck where we get 2 real high rated Stevie D. type of coachable stars, preferrably a big beast in the paint, and then pull a Butler, since we have the Coach.
Gonna be fun to watch, but what is disgustiad is the empty Conte?
Gotta fill that barn!
GO EAGLES!
Serious Query
Are you being sarcastic with "GDF did so well with this hire. Very Well’? With all the GDF bashing that goes on here, it’s tough to differentiate positive comments from negative ones.
by polarbearbrother on Jan 15, 2012 2:06 PM EST up reply actions
All right. I share in your enthusiasm
by polarbearbrother on Jan 15, 2012 3:35 PM EST up reply actions
Donahue was a good hire; still have my doubts about when Gene fired Skinner. Certainly didn’t have to throw the all-time winningness BC coach under the bus.
Also think Cooley would have been an equally good hire.
Editor, BC Interruption
Re: Empty Conte
Maybe if there was tailgating? When do classes start?
by formereagledad on Jan 15, 2012 10:03 AM EST reply actions
There was kind of a more important game yesterday....
….around the same time, at Fenway Park.
My Twitter @totheights
Agree
This was a well-coached game, for the most part. But at the end, around the time of an 11-point lead I counted three wild passes, including an in-bound when they should have played more conservatively. That is certainly correctable. Big improvement on free-throws but there’s room for more — could be the difference-maker in such close games.
by formereagledad on Jan 15, 2012 10:16 AM EST reply actions
Battling back issues, apparently
Editor, BC Interruption
by Brian Favat on Jan 15, 2012 1:16 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
team of the week
3 lines from Katz in weekly watch: two nice, one not so nice. I’ll take it
by cwm2005 on Jan 16, 2012 12:57 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
tmcgoldrick80
And you coached last in the ACC when? Glad you can feel that a guy who won the IVY three years in a row and crushed Wisconsin as just one win among many to get to the sweet sixteen is questionable as a hire for BC. You feel his lineup is the # 1 reason why they gave up an 11 point lead in the last 5 minutes. The lineup that is four freshmen and many times a sophomore thrown in for good measure to make the starting five? Southern was a great kid, but do you really think he was better as a senior than Clifford as a freshman? Do you recall Rakim Sanders being punished for team rules being violated two years in a row? Players not going on the floor for a loose ball? Do you see those things now? Freshmen, were talking freshmen and you are glad to see Donahue learning? Wow…
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