VT vs Boston College Preview

Virginia Tech hosts the Boston College Eagles in a 9:00pm tilt on ESPNU. The Hokies are coming off of a 12 point road loss suffered at the hands of the #2 Virginia Cavaliers, while the BC Eagles had a weekend victory against the NC State Wolfpack.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Hokies host Eagles in first of two home games: Tech, BC meet Monday night at 9 p.m. on ESPNU <a href="http://t.co/qGuSGUkGxz">http://t.co/qGuSGUkGxz</a></p>&mdash; VT Men&#39;s Basketball (@VT_MBBall) <a href="https://twitter.com/VT_MBBall/status/572191395374624768">March 2, 2015</a></blockquote>

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Boston College is led by Olivier Hanlan and Aaron Brown who combine for nearly 35 points per contest, just over 50% of the teams scoring. However, the Eagles have had other players step up and score when needed to including Patrick Heckmann, Dennis Clifford and Dimitri Batten. Overall, as an offense the Eagles shoot 44% from the field.

Defensively, the Eagles may cause the Hokies some problems as they are a much bigger lineup. In most cases this size would help on the offensive end, but for BC it will help in limiting the Hokies offensive rebounding and second chance opportunities. The "bigs" for BC are not scoring big men, but do have the ability to rebound missed shots and put them back up or pass them to the perimeter.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>GAME ON! Hokies vs BC. 9 pm. Join us on HokiesXtra, <a href="https://twitter.com/tunein">@TuneIn</a>, Sirius93, XM193, &amp; these stations:<a href="http://t.co/H0xuNNylMt">http://t.co/H0xuNNylMt</a> <a href="http://t.co/ZQHUFYGEH7">pic.twitter.com/ZQHUFYGEH7</a></p>&mdash; Bill Roth (@VTVOICE) <a href="https://twitter.com/VTVOICE/status/572471260195770368">March 2, 2015</a></blockquote>

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The battle for last place begins. The Hokies don't particularly matchup well against BC, but the same can be said for the Eagles. The Hokies have the opportunity to spread the floor and get into the passing lanes/open spaces to exploit an average defensive basketball team. The Hokies will get shots, but the game will come down to how well the Hokies play defensively. BC is bigger and stronger, as are most teams, but the Hokies will need to get after loose balls and limit second chance put backs. If VT can rebound the ball, push the tempo and knock down 45-50% of their shots they should win.

Television

ESPNU - Bob Picozzi & Malcolm Huckaby

Radio

Virginia Tech IMG Sports Network - Bill Roth & Mike Burnop

Go Hokies