Progress has been delayed for the Boston College Eagles, who have dropped their last two games in Atlantic Coast Conference play. The Eagles will look to reverse their fortune when they battle the No. 19/21 ranked Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena at 9:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday night (TV/Radio: ESPNU/WRKO 680 AM).
Boston College and Virginia have met 13 times in school history, with the Cavaliers holding a 7-6 advantage. The Eagles' six victories have all come in ACC play, which BC joined in the 2005-06 season. BC has won two games in a row and five of the last six games against the Cavaliers.
The Eagles are coming of back-to-back losses to ACC opponents, losing to both the N.C. State Wolfpack and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. In BC's latest lost to Wake Forest last Saturday, Ryan Anderson had a 13 points and 11 rebounds but the Eagles shot 31.1 percent in a 71-56 loss. Jordan Daniels scored 12 and Lonnie Jackson added 10 points.
Clifford is the Eagles' leading scorer, averaging 9.8 points, and is also the team's second-leading rebounder with 5.2 boards per game. Anderson averages 9.6 points and a team-leading 6.4 boards while Matt Humphrey averages 9.6 points and 3.3 rebounds for Boston College, which is shooting 41.3 percent from the field as a team this season.
Virginia has dropped tow of its last three games, but had won 12 in a row prior to that and 14 of its first 15 games. The Cavaliers were defeated by the Virginia Tech Hokies, 47-45, on Sunday. Mike Scott, Jontel Evans, Joe Harris all scored 10 points for the Cavs, who shot 32.6 percent from the floor.
Scott is the Cavaliers' leading scorer, averaging 16.6 points and a team-leading 8.7 boards. Harris is the team's second-leading scorer an is the only other Cavalier to average double-digit scoring with 12.5 points per contest. The Cavaliers are shooting 45.4 percent for the game.
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