BLACKSBURG – Back at the friendly confines of Cassell Coliseum to being a three-game homestand, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team will play host to Boston College Saturday at noon ET.
The Hokies (14-9, 5-7 ACC) will go up against the Eagles (11-12, 5-7) for the second time this season, and both being teams are coming off losses this past Tuesday.
Tech is down in the all-time series to BC 19-13, but has won five of the last six games. The last time these two teams faced off, the Eagles took a lead with five minutes to go and would hold on to the win, 61-56.
Tech coach Mike Young is 0-2 all-time against Jim Christian. The two faced each other when Young was at Wofford and Christian was at Ohio on Nov. 18, 2012, with Christian's Bobcats winning handily, 73-50, in Athens, Ohio, before Christian winning the last matchup as well in Chestnut Hill last month.
The matchup will be broadcast on regional sports networks (click here), with Tom Werme (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (analyst) on the call, while Jon Laaser (play-by-play) and Mike Burnop (analyst) will broadcast on Virginia Tech Sports Properties.
GAME INFORMATION
Sat. | Noon ET vs. Boston College | Stats | Watch | Radio | Notes
The last time out, the Hokies once again fell into a double-digit deficit early in the first half (10-minute mark) and could not recover, falling by 19 at Georgia Tech (11-12, 5-7). Behind a balanced attack, the Yellow Jackets had four players score in double figures, while the Hokies' bench had 22 compared to Georgia Tech's 16.
Turning in his 21st game of scoring in double figures this past Tuesday, Landers Nolley ranks fourth in the ACC in points per game with a tally of 17.2 a contest. Owning a 12-10 assist-turnover clip last game at Georgia Tech, the Hokies have the third-best assist-turnover ratio in the nation with a mark of 1.55, which is second in the ACC.
Over 20 former Tech men's basketball players will be back this weekend for a reunion, including Bimbo Coles. They will be honored at halftime.
SCOUTING BOSTON COLLEGE
• The Eagles are coming off an eight-point loss at home to No. 7/7 Duke (19-3, 9-2) despite jumping out to a 12-2 lead to begin the game. Point guard Derryck Thornton, playing against his old team, posted a team-high 21 points in 36 minutes of play. Both programs couldn't quite connect from downtown, with the teams shooting a combined nine percent (3-of-33).
• Jim Christian enters his sixth season as the head coach in Chestnut Hill, following a two-year stint as head coach at Ohio and six years before that as the head guy at Kent State, racking up the best winning percentage in MAC history (.700). With BC, Christian developed one of the better scorers in the ACC in recent memory in Ky Bowman.
• Boston College is paced by Steffon Mitchell, who is third in the ACC in offensive rebounds per game with 3.23, and Thornton, who owns a team-high 13.1 points and team-best 3.57 assists per game.
• The top two things the Eagles do in the national rankings are commit very few fouls, averaging just 16.0 per game to rank 77th nationally, and swipe quite a few steals, owning 8.4 steals a game to rank 29th and third in the ACC.
