Men's College Basketball
Preview
Boston College at Virginia
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 21, 2025
Where: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, Virginia

Two teams hoping to claw their way into Atlantic Coast Conference tournament contention meet on Tuesday night when Virginia welcomes Boston College to Charlottesville, Va.

Only 15 of the league's 18 members will make the field for the league tourney on March 11-15 in Charlotte, N.C. As this week began, both the Cavaliers (8-10, 1-6 ACC) and Eagles (9-9, 1-6) were on the outside looking in.

Virginia has a five-game losing streak, with four of those setbacks by at least 14 points. Boston College has lost four in a row and is 0-3 in road games.

The Cavaliers remained winless in 2025 with Saturday's 81-67 setback at Louisville.

After falling behind by 11 at the half, Virginia shot 65 percent from the floor in the second half but also shot itself in the foot repeatedly with 12 turnovers and 7-of-13 free-throw shooting over the final 20 minutes.

"No one makes a mistake on purpose, so I'm never going to think negatively of a player trying to make a play that's going to help the team," interim coach Ron Sanchez said. "Those aren't selfish plays. Everything that they're doing is trying to help this team win. So, I'm going to continue to encourage them ... teach them through their mistakes."

Boston College shot 58.3 percent (14 of 24) from the field in the first half on Saturday against No. 3 Duke, the highest clip by any opponent in either half against the Blue Devils this season.

"We had to play four guards, which was not something we've had to do a lot," Eagles coach Earl Grant said, per MassLive.com. "We focused on preparation and came out with a good plan and got more confident."

Duke, however, opened the second half with a 9-2 run and rolled to an 88-63 victory in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Donald Hand Jr. (14.7 points per game) and Chad Venning (12.7) lead Boston College in scoring, while Virginia's top scorers are Elijah Saunders (12.1) and Isaac McKneely (11.8).

Virginia is 21-9 all-time against Boston College, winning six of the past seven meetings. The Cavaliers won 66-60 in overtime in the quarterfinals of last year's ACC tourney in Washington, D.C.

--Field Level Media

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Neutral Day Night Conf
Boston College 9-9 L4 6-5 0-3 3-1 3-5 6-4 1-6
Virginia 8-10 L5 7-3 0-5 1-2 4-4 4-6 1-6
Last Meeting
Boston College Virginia
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
3/14/24 BC 60 UVA 66 60 36 36.4 66 39 40.3
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Boston College Q. Post 23 45.0 2
Virginia J. Groves 15 38.5 2
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Boston College Q. Post 13 4 9
Virginia J. Groves 11 4 7
Assists Player  
Boston College J. Zackery 5
Virginia R. Beekman 11
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Boston College D. Hand Jr. 264 38.1 83
Virginia E. Saunders 217 45.4 49
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Boston College D. Hand Jr. 122 21 101
Virginia E. Saunders 97 18 79
Assists Player  
Boston College C. Kelley III 40
Virginia A. Rohde 60
Quickchart Matchup
blue bar Boston College Off vs  red bar Virginia Defense
blue bar 70.2 Points For
red bar 64.4 Points Against
blue bar 43.2 FG%
red bar 41.2 FG%
blue bar 32.1 Reb
red bar 31.4 Reb
red bar Virginia Off vs  blue bar Boston College Defense
red bar 61.3 Points For
blue bar 73.9 Points Against
red bar 42.9 FG%
blue bar 45.5 FG%
red bar 27.9 Reb
blue bar 30.2 Reb