Men’s Basketball Preview: Boston College vs. Virginia Tech

What

The Eagles fell to Pitt Tuesday night in heartbreaking fashion but have a chance to rebound Saturday against the Hokies of Virginia Tech. The most consistent word used to describe this year’s BC team has been inconsistency. That inconsistency slapped the Eagles in the face in their loss to Pitt and brought with it all of the other problems that have haunted BC this season: turnovers and bad shoot selection. The road doesn’t get any easier for BC as they play host to the ACC’s 4th best Hokies.

When

January 25rd, 2020

2:00 pm EST

Where

Conte Forum

Chestnut Hill, MA

How to Watch

The game will be broadcast on ESPNU

How to Listen

WEEI 850 AM

Previewing the Hokies

The Hokies are coming in hot after a big win (big win for them) over North Carolina on Tuesday night. The team also currently sits at 4th place in the ACC with 5-3 conference record, and 14-5 overall. The team has lost to three ACC teams (Duke, UVA, and Syracuse) but also lost to teams like Dayton and BYU. The team is averaging 72.2 points per game and shooting 43.6% per game from field and 37.4% from beyond the arc, a mark that is second best in the conference. The Hokies combine that proficiency from 3 with solid ball movement ranking 4th in the ACC with 15.8 assists per game, their junior guard Wabissa Bede has the third best mark in the conference 6.3 assists per game. Even with how much they move the ball around Virginia Tech makes very few mistakes with the rock, committing an ACC fewest 9.47 turnovers per game. The Hokies also have the second best field goal shooter in the conference in Tyrece Radford who is shooting 63.6% from the field in 19 games. The Hokies have 6 players shooting better than 40%. Radford along with fellow guards PJ Horne, Jalen Cone, Landers Noley II and Nahiem Alleyne fill a guard rotation that does a lot of Tech’s scoring. This is not a particularly high scoring offense at only 8th in the ACC but their combination of good ball movement and good three point shooting is a combination that could give BC real problems.

Player to Watch

Landers Noley II. Noley is just a freshman but he is still the third leading scorer in the ACC with 18 points per game, shooting 40.6% from the field and 37.6% from 3-pt land. Noley is also second on the team with 2.7 assists per game and second in rebounds with 5.7 per game.

BC’s Best Chance to Win

Consistency. Have we seen a complete game from the Eagles all season? Consistency was the fatal flaw in BC’s loss to Pitt and the lack of it has been a phrase that has been uttered far too often in relation to this BC squad. It’s been hard to judge how good this team really is because of the lack of consistency. Can the Eagles beat Virginia Tech? Maybe, I think if they play their best basketball for a full four quarters who knows what is possible. It does not matter if they rebound well, shoot well, or avoid turnovers, if they only do those things well for a half or part of a half.

Score Predictions

BC - 67 / Virginia Tech 74