Eagles blow Hokies out, keep NCAA hopes alive

I think we all expected a close, hard-fought game. What we got instead was a Boston College blowout victory which lifted them back onto the right side of the NCAA bubble. More on the bubble implications tomorrow, and the return of the resume tracker.

The Hokies were 9-point favorites heading into this game, and yet, the Eagles were victorious on their Senior Night by a score of 76-61. The win moves BC to 18-11 (8-7) with one very winnable home game left against Wake Forest, plus what will probably be a winnable game in the first game of the ACC Tournament. On a side note, it is BC’s first win at Cassell Coliseum since 2006, snapping a four-game losing streak.

Boston College played good, aggressive basketball for most of the game, while the Hokies had their moments. In the end, however, Virginia Tech had extended stretches of very poor play, including the middle of the first half and much of the last quarter of the game, and the end result was this. You could blame a Duke hangover, or you could give BC their due credit for playing well in a game they absolutely had to have, but whatever the case, it is a pivotal victory. Think about how deflating their terrible performance in the Miami game was, and how they responded: with consecutive double-digit road wins in the ACC. Suddenly, the Eagles are in a much more reasonable position.

It’s OK to be stunned. I know I am.