Riding the high of a big comeback win, No. 17 Virginia will aim to maintain its momentum when it faces Boston College in an Atlantic Coast Conference game Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Cavaliers (17-3, 6-2) trailed by 19 points on Tuesday before rallying for a 100-97 win in double overtime at Notre Dame, marking the first time they have scored 100 points since 2007.
Boston College (9-11, 2-5) also played at Notre Dame recently, losing 68-64 on Saturday.
The Cavaliers, who have won six of their past seven games, learned a lot about themselves in their victory over the Irish, especially when it comes to utilizing different lineups.
“We had to play smaller lineups, which hadn’t played, so that we could switch a little bit more and try to keep bodies in front of them and pressure a little better,” Virginia coach Randy Odom said.
Devin Tillis played a key role in the lineup change, scoring 12 points and grabbing five rebounds in over 30 minutes off the bench — all improvements on his averages of 5.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 18.4 minutes per game.
Thijs De Ridder, Virginia’s leading scorer this season, led the charge with a career-high 32 points and added eight rebounds despite fouling out in the final minute. He averages 17.1 points a game.
Though it was an impressive performance, De Ridder knows he can do more as Virginia tries to contend for an ACC title. The team shares third place in the standings, two games behind Duke.
“I’m still not satisfied with this game,” De Ridder said. “I think I had a couple of things that I can do way better and help the team way better. People might say I helped the team, but I’m not satisfied with this. But let’s keep building on this.”
As for the Eagles, they are looking to get back on track after Notre Dame snapped their two-game winning streak. They are 8-3 at home this season.
Fred Payne led the way for Boston College, scoring 18 points and pulling down five rebounds. He has scored at least 18 in six of the team’s seven conference games.
The Eagles led 35-24 at halftime against Notre Dame before coming up short in the second half.
Boston College coach Earl Grant said his players just have to keep putting in work while putting the loss behind them.
“We have to stay true to the process, get back to work, and learn from whatever lesson this game will show us, and let’s continue to work,” Grant said. “It’s a long season. We want to try to be playing our best basketball in March to give ourselves a chance. That’s all we can do. We have to keep showing up and working and try to get better every day.”
In addition to Payne’s average of 15.1 points per game, Donald Hand Jr. puts up 14.2. He scored 17 points in the loss to Notre Dame, and Luka Toews finished with 14.
Boston College’s last victory over a Top 25 team happened against Virginia on Feb. 22, 2023, at Conte Forum. In that game, the Cavaliers entered at No. 6 in the polls and lost 63-48.
