Virginia chokes in Chesnut Hill

[Olympic Fan]

BC just beat Virginia ... in an amazing game.

Virginia led almost the entire way -- by as much as 10 in the second half. Up one with 20 seconds left, Virginia got a huge break when the refs missed a backcourt call on Joe Harris. Instead, they sent him to the line, where he hit the first and missed the second.

BC came down and got a 3-pointer from Joe Rahon to take a one-point lead with 8 seconds left. He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.

Then it got bizarre. Jontel Evans rushes the ball up the court, runs to the right corner and tries to drive the baseline, dribbling the ball out of bounds.

BC's ball with 0.4 seconds left. Game over, right? Well, they throw it in the backcourt where the pass is intercepted and the Virginia guy launches a shot from just over midcourt -- that swishes ... but it's ruled too late.

Once again the absurd nature of the ACC this year comes into play. Virginia is a juggernaut at home, but a patsy on the road. BC is a tough out at home, but can't play on the road.

Anyway, the Virginia loss virtually clinches the No. 2 seed for Duke (we still have to beat VPI at home). It creates a real battle between Virginia and NC State for the 4th/5th spots.

And the loss probably moves Virginia back to the bubble line.

[dukelifer]

BC just beat Virginia ... in an amazing game.

Virginia led almost the entire way -- by as much as 10 in the second half. Up one with 20 seconds left, Virginia got a huge break when the refs missed a backcourt call on Joe Harris. Instead, they sent him to the line, where he hit the first and missed the second.

BC came down and got a 3-pointer from Joe Rahon to take a one-point lead with 8 seconds left. He was fouled on the play, but missed the free throw.

Then it got bizarre. Jontel Evans rushes the ball up the court, runs to the right corner and tries to drive the baseline, dribbling the ball out of bounds.

BC's ball with 0.4 seconds left. Game over, right? Well, they throw it in the backcourt where the pass is intercepted and the Virginia guy launches a shot from just over midcourt -- that swishes ... but it's ruled too late.

Once again the absurd nature of the ACC this year comes into play. Virginia is a juggernaut at home, but a patsy on the road. BC is a tough out at home, but can't play on the road.

Anyway, the Virginia loss virtually clinches the No. 2 seed for Duke (we still have to beat VPI at home). It creates a real battle between Virginia and NC State for the 4th/5th spots.

And the loss probably moves Virginia back to the bubble line.
Typical after the court storming euphoric win over a Duke team. UVa will need to have a good tourney.

[sporthenry]

I'd still love to see UVA as the 3. UNC seems like a hotter team and if they get hot from beyond the arc, could be dangerous. And the top half of that bracket would be pretty intense with UNC/NC State and Miami.

UNC has a 1 game lead but 2 very tough games remaining. Kenpom has them as just about toss ups and also has them finishing 12-6 same as UVA. UVA has 2 easier games remaining since they get Maryland at home.

UNC could conceivably lose out and UVA wins one and they get the 3 or if we beat UNC and UVA wins out, they'd get the 2 by nature of their win over us.

[devildeac]

I can't take credit for this as I borrowed it from a guy in a private email group:

"Virginia not nearly as impressive without their personal officiating crew. Lost at BC"

And this, too, again borrowed from the same group:

" A guy who covers the Hoo's tweeted something to the effect of "the calls aren't going UVA's way" I almost responded, "What? No Clinton, Eades and Ayers?"

[timmy c]

BC is lobbying the ACC to have all their opponents play Duke immediately before they play BC.

[devildeac]

BC is lobbying the ACC to have all their opponents play Duke immediately before they play BC.

Same thing happened to md, IIRC. Won their "NC" beating us and then hacked up a loss their next game. Was that BC, too?

[roywhite]

Same thing happened to md, IIRC. Won their "NC" beating us and then hacked up a loss their next game. Was that BC, too?

Yep. Terps lost 69-58 at BC in the game after their win over Duke.

The intensity of some of these February celebrations is remarkable. I much prefer celebrations in March and April, the kind that actually produce championships and banners.

[sporthenry]

Yep. Terps lost 69-58 at BC in the game after their win over Duke.

The intensity of some of these February celebrations is remarkable. I much prefer celebrations in March and April, the kind that actually produce championships and banners.

And the Terps took care of the Woofies after they beat us. Miami was the only team this year to beat Duke and win the next game so far (destroying FSU). So teams that beat Duke are 1-3 in their next game.

[burns15]

I'd still love to see UVA as the 3. UNC seems like a hotter team and if they get hot from beyond the arc, could be dangerous. And the top half of that bracket would be pretty intense with UNC/NC State and Miami.

UNC has a 1 game lead but 2 very tough games remaining. Kenpom has them as just about toss ups and also has them finishing 12-6 same as UVA. UVA has 2 easier games remaining since they get Maryland at home.

UNC could conceivably lose out and UVA wins one and they get the 3 or if we beat UNC and UVA wins out, they'd get the 2 by nature of their win over us.

If we beat VaTech, or in your scenario UNC, we clinch at worst a 13-5 conference record. UVA already has six losses, so it is impossible for them to get the 2nd seed if we win one more game. If we beat VaTech on Tuesday, and UNC loses their next game, we clinch 2nd place.

[sporthenry]

If we beat VaTech, or in your scenario UNC, we clinch at worst a 13-5 conference record. UVA already has six losses, so it is impossible for them to get the 2nd seed if we win one more game. If we beat VaTech on Tuesday, and UNC loses their next game, we clinch 2nd place.

I guess I misspoke in my last sentence but I meant 3rd place since we'd be 2nd and they'd have a record of 1-0 and UNC can only get to a 1-1 record. Either way, 2nd or 3rd is relatively meaningless but who we have to play is more important. Big difference between UVA and UNC in Greensboro.

[DukeGirl4ever]

Is #DukeHangover trending on Twitter???

If my old brain remembers correctly, every team that beat Duke this year (with the exception of Miami) lost immediately after their court storming performance.

Shocker...

[Cameron]

Boston College has been competitive all year long against the ACC at home. Olivier Hanlan and Ryan Anderson are a dynamite duo, and the Eagles have a nice group of young players on the rise.

The Eagles now have wins in the Conte Forum over Maryland and Virginia, as well as one-point losses to each Miami and Duke and a five-point defeat to N.C. State. Despite a less than stellar 4-5 record at home in league play, Boston College has reeled off those four home wins in a row and lost its five games by a combined 19 points.

While I cannot stand how lackluster teams seem to play immediately after playing like the 1992 Dream Team against Duke -- and this happens almost every year -- I think Virginia's loss today in Boston can simply be chalked up to traveling on the road to take on a talented young team that is dangerous on its home floor. The Eagles can beat almost anyone there, and they've proven that this season. Virginia losing is no fluke.

[captmojo]

Curse? Yes.

[OldPhiKap]

We barely got out of BC with a win.

They are a really young, but good, team. Are for us to throw darts at anyone's close loss there.

Great year in the ACC in my book!

[75Crazie]

Anyway, the Virginia loss virtually clinches the No. 2 seed for Duke (we still have to beat VPI at home). It creates a real battle between Virginia and NC State for the 4th/5th spots.
Can somebody explain the seeding tie-breaker if Carolina does the unthinkable and wins two this week and Duke beats Va Tech? Both teams would be 13-5 then, with a 1-1 head-to-head record.

...

Never mind, I posted that before I saw the seeding thread.

[Duvall]

Can somebody explain the seeding tie-breaker if Carolina does the unthinkable and wins two this week and Duke beats Va Tech? Both teams would be 13-5 then, with a 1-1 head-to-head record.

Duke would have the tiebreaker based on its better record vs. Miami.

[ncexnyc]

While, "The Duke Curse", is certainly impressive, I wouldn't get to carried away over UVA's loss. As others have already mentioned B.C. has played very well at home despite the record. They also wheeled out Dick Kelly, who is connected to the team and happens to have ALS, prior to the game. It was a pretty emotional scene and I'm sure that had something to do with the final as well.

[Bluedog]

Duke would have the tiebreaker based on its better record vs. Miami.

So, if we win vs Va Tech tomorrow (assuring us the 2 seed), what are the scenarios for the three seed? Did somebody already explain that earlier in the thread (sorry, if I missed it)? If UNC wins @ MD and then loses to us, while UVa wins out, who gets the 3? I would much rather face UVa in Greensboro than UNC again....I guess NC State has a possibility of finishing with the same 12-6 record too.

[El_Diablo]

So, if we win vs Va Tech tomorrow (assuring us the 2 seed), what are the scenarios for the three seed? Did somebody already explain that earlier in the thread (sorry, if I missed it)? If UNC wins @ MD and then loses to us, while UVa wins out, who gets the 3? I would much rather face UVa in Greensboro than UNC again....I guess NC State has a possibility of finishing with the same 12-6 record too.

UVA has the tiebreaker against UNC if they finish in a two-way tie for third.

UVA (2-1) has the tiebreaker against UNC (2-2) and NC State (1-2) if they finish in a three-way tie for third.

[Bluedog]

UVA has the tiebreaker against UNC if they finish in a two-way tie for third.

UVA (2-1) has the tiebreaker against UNC (2-2) and NC State (1-2) if they finish in a three-way tie for third.

Great, thanks! So, beating UNC (and Va Tech, obviously) is key. If they win @MD, it seems likely that they won't get the 2 seed if they lose to us as UVa and NC State both have pretty manageable games remaining. Need one of them to win out (with UVa being @FSU, MD and State having Wake, @FSU left). UVa wins tiebreak if they win out as you described and NC State wins tiebreak vs UNC by virtue of beating us (both lost to Miami). Just need to take care of business this week in our games.

[sporthenry]

Great, thanks! So, beating UNC (and Va Tech, obviously) is key. If they win @MD, it seems likely that they won't get the 2 seed if they lose to us as UVa and NC State both have pretty manageable games remaining. Need one of them to win out (with UVa being @FSU, MD and State having Wake, @FSU left). UVa wins tiebreak if they win out as you described and NC State wins tiebreak vs UNC by virtue of beating us (both lost to Miami). Just need to take care of business this week in our games.

You'd rather place NC State than UNC. UNC looks better but not amazing and we've beaten this new team sans Kelly. NC State still scares me. I guess in the 2nd game, they'll be tired with their 6 man rotation but I think the order of teams I want to face is UVA, UNC, and then NC State.

[Bluedog]

You'd rather place NC State than UNC. UNC looks better but not amazing and we've beaten this new team sans Kelly. NC State still scares me. I guess in the 2nd game, they'll be tired with their 6 man rotation but I think the order of teams I want to face is UVA, UNC, and then NC State.

Yeah, I'd rather face State. Games against UNC cause me more stress. ;) And baby blue fans usually have the most seats in the house in Greensboro, so it will be a fairly hostile environment. But I'd agree that I'd like a chance at redemption against UVa the most and see UNC-State battle it out in the other half of the bracket.

[El_Diablo]

And don't forget that it's NC State--if they finish as the #3 seed, we could very well be looking at the 6/11 winner in our second game.

[Duvall]

And don't forget that it's NC State--if they finish as the #3 seed, we could very well be looking at the 6/11 winner in our second game.

The same could be said of a Virginia team that's lost to Wake, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Boston College when playing away from home.

[El_Diablo]

The same could be said of a Virginia team that's lost to Wake, Clemson, Georgia Tech and Boston College when playing away from home.

Indeed (but I was just continuing the "NC State or UNC" conversation from the posts ahead of mine).

I think most people agree that UVA at #3 would be ideal for us.