Eagles Will Try To Avoid The ACC Cellar By Beating Virginia Tech Monday
The men's basketball team at Boston College will play its final road game of the season when it faces Virginia Tech in Blacksburg Monday night at 9 p.m. After Saturday's victory at Conte Forum over North Carolina State, the Eagles are hoping to earn their first winning streak since winning four in a row last December. The win over the Wolf Pack snapped a season-high nine-game losing streak.
Both Boston College and Virginia Tech sit at the bottom of the ACC standings with identical 2-14 conference records, so this game may determine who finishes the season in last place. Georgia Tech is one-half game in front of both schools with a 3-14 record. The Eagles swept the Hokies in two games last year, extending their winning streak over the Hokies to three games. Boston College won the most-recent contest 76-52 at Conte Forum on January 29, 2014. Then-sophomore guard Joe Rahon, who has since transferred to St. Mary's, scored 20 points in that game with six assists and five rebounds.
The Hokies are currently struggling through a five-game losing streak. Their most-recent loss was 69-57 on the road at Virginia, which is currently ranked No. 2 in the AP poll. In that game, Virginia Tech shot only 38.3 percent from the field while Virginia shot 51.1 percent. Virginia leads the ACC with a 15-1 record, two games over second-place Duke.
Even though victories have been hard to come by for Boston College, junior guard Olivier Hanlan continues to play at a level that may earn him ACC Player of the Year honors. Against North Carolina State, Hanlan recorded 24 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He's currently the conference leader in points (22.6), three-pointers per game (3.0) and three-point shooting percentage (.457). He is also 4th in free throw percentage (.831) and 7th in field goal percentage (.485). Along with Florida State freshman guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Hanlan is one of only two players in the ACC to record multiple 30-point games this season.
"I don’t think anybody in the league has played any better than him once we started ACC play," said Boston College head coach Jim Christian. "I know that’s a very a big statement."
Hanlan is already 13th on Boston College's all-time scoring list with 1,648 points. He is the 41st player in Boston College history to score 1,000 points and the 15th to reach 1,500. He is also only the 3rd player in Eagles history to get to the 1,000-point plateau by the end of his sophomore season. The others are Troy Bell (1999-2001) and Craig Smith (2002-04), who are now first and second all-time in scoring at BC, respectively.
After meeting Virginia Tech, the Eagles will come home for their final game of the regular season Saturday against Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are currently 12th in the ACC with a 5-11 record. It will be BC's only meeting of the regular season against Wake Forest, but the Eagles won their only meeting last season 80-72 at Winston-Salem.
Gregory Hunt is a Boston native and a life-long fan of the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics. He's also particularly fond of lacrosse, IndyCar racing and women's college basketball. He currently works for Examiner.com where he serves as the Senior Manager of Content and Media Access. He also writes for Examiner.com as the New England Patriots Examiner. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
