If there ever were a time for this year's men's basketball team to take a stand to salvage its season, this evening's home contest against No. 13 Boston College (21-5, 8-4 ACC) would be it.
After suffering a disheartening 76-62 loss in Tallahassee to Florida State over the weekend, the Cavaliers (13-10, 6-6 ACC) have fallen back into a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference. Saturday's surprising double-digit defeat -- the team's fourth-straight road loss -- makes tonight's contest a virtual must-win. With a home game against Maryland and two tough road matchups in Clemson and Chapel Hill looming in the final two weeks, a loss tonight could be the fatal blow to the team's fading hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid.
As poorly as this year's squad has played in road games, the team has been almost unstoppable on their home court. In the last month alone, Virginia has won five straight at U-Hall, including three particularly impressive showings against North Carolina, Miami and Virginia Tech. The team has dropped only two home games all year, the most recent coming at the hands of Florida State Jan. 11.
On the other side of the scorer's table, the Eagles have been riding a recent hot streak of their own, winning 10 of their last 11 and five straight on the road. The team has relied on the talented frontcourt duo of senior Craig Smith (16.7 ppg, 8.5 rpg) and junior Jared Dudley (16.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) in big wins over North Carolina, Clemson and Miami.
If Virginia is to have an answer for the conference's third-best team, it may come from junior guard T.J. Bannister. Bannister, who has missed the better part of the season due to a sports hernia, logged 14 minutes in Saturday's loss and could be a major factor in the final four games of the season.
"Since I got healthy I've just been trying to prove myself," Bannister said. "Coach [Leitao] gave me a chance, and I'm trying to take advantage of it."
Bannister's offensive spark should help shift attention away from Sean Singletary as the Cavaliers attempt to penetrate a Boston College defense that has allowed only 57 points per game in its last four outings. Moreover, as a co-recipient of last year's "Hardest Worker Award," the junior guard also exhibits the intangible skills that appear to have made the difference during the team's last few big losses.
"We're going to have to play with a ton more energy than we did today," Leitao said after Saturday's loss.
If nothing else, the return of Bannister may be a step in the right direction for a team in desperate need of a win.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. this evening at University Hall.
Read More
With last-second three-pointer, SMU silences men’s basketball
By Michael Liebermann and Thomas Baxter | 15 hours agoThe late shot crushed a bouncing arena.
With dominance and high hopes, women’s tennis opens the spring season
By Gracie Genereux | 16 hours agoA commanding opening victory set the stage for the season to come.
No. 6 women’s squash falls to No. 5 Stanford in first match of the new year
By Peter Kratz | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers fall to 0-1 in conference play after their first clash with the Cardinal.
