Cavs and Eagles meet in ACC affair

Published January 26, 2012

| Sports Network

Charlottesville, VA – The 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will look to bounce back from its first home loss of the season as they host the Boston College Eagles for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the John Paul Jones Arena.

This will be the 14th meeting in the all-time series. The Cavaliers still hold a 7-6 advantage in the rivalry despite Boston College winning five of the last six meetings, including the last four regular season encounters.

Boston College lost its second game in a row its last time out as it fell 71-56 to Wake Forest on Saturday. The loss dropped the Eagles record to 7-13 and gives them a 2-3 record in league action. The Eagles shot just 31.1 percent from the field, and allowed Wake Forest to make 44.1 percent of its shots in the contest on Saturday. It was the second-straight contest Boston College allowed its opponent to shoot better than 40 percent from the floor. The Eagles have the worst scoring offense (61.2 ppg) in the conference and have the third worst scoring defense in the league with an allowed average (68.5 ppg).

Four different players are averaging just under 10 points per game for Boston College. Ryan Anderson is the team's leading rebounder with 6.4 rpg, and recorded his fourth double-double of the year his last time out with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman center Dennis Clifford has been a serviceable big man since entering the lineup 10 games ago. During his span as a starter, his 12.1 ppg is the best on the team while his 5.1 rebounds ranks second. Jordan Daniels had a notable outing against Wake Forest as he scored 12 points and handed out five assists.

Head coach Tony Bennett's team comes in with a 15-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in league play after its being upset 47-45 by its in-state rivals Virginia Tech on Sunday. Virginia is an elite team defensively as it ranks second in the nation in scoring defense with an allowed average of just 50.2 ppg on 38.6 percent shooting. Only two teams have eclipsed the 60-point mark against the Cavaliers this season. Virginia's focus on the defensive end has left it with a sub par average of 64.3 ppg on the offensive end.

Forward Mike Scott continues to lead Virginia with averages of 16.6 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. Scott is leading the ACC in field goal efficiency with a connection rate of 57.8 percent. Joe Harris complements Scott nicely from the guard slot. Harris is the team's second leading scorer with 12.5 ppg after he went 4-of-8 from the field to score 10 points against Virginia Tech. This evening will be the second occasion that the Cavaliers will be without their leading shot blocker Assane Sene. Virginia struggled to score inside without Sene against Virginia Tech.

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