Breaking Down Virginia’s 67-55 Victory over Boston College

Taking a deeper look at the Cavaliers’ win over the Eagles on Tuesday night

Matt Newton | Feb 2, 2022

After a disappointing four-point road loss at Notre Dame on Saturday, Virginia bounced back with a 67-55 victory over Boston College at John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday night. Four different Cavaliers scored in double figures and UVA led by as many as 15 points in the win. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the key stats, standout performances, and takeaways from Virginia’s win against Boston College.

Key Stats

Three-point shooting: Boston College 5/21 (23.8%) | Virginia 3/7 (42.9%)

Armaan Franklin, Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Boston College made more threes than Virginia, but the Eagles attempted and missed far more three-pointers than the Cavaliers. The Cavaliers are well-aware that three-point shooting is not a strength and have adjusted their offensive sets and shot selection to take more efficient two-point field goals. Virginia's seven attempted three-pointers were the fewest the team has taken since January 19th, 2016. On the other end of the floor, UVA’s defense forced Boston College to take lots of highly contested, low-percentage three-pointers.

Free throws: Boston College 12/12 (100%) | Virginia 26/29 (89.7%)

Kadin Shedrick, Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Both teams shot a high-percentage from the charity stripe. Boston College was 100% at the line, but only attempted 12 free throws. Virginia, on the other hand, made 26 of its 29 free throw attempts, a product of UVA’s aggressiveness in driving to the basket as opposed to settling for perimeter shots as the Eagles did. UVA’s proficiency from the free throw line, especially Kihei Clark (10/10 FT), allowed the Hoos to close out the game as Boston College attempted to stage a late rally.

Turnovers: Boston College 14 | Virginia 9

Virginia had nine steals as a team on Tuesday night. The Cavaliers scored 20 points off of 14 Boston College turnovers, as opposed to 10 points for Boston College off of nine takeaways. In a low possession game, turnovers and ball security were crucial factors in the outcome.

Standout Performances

Kihei Clark

Clark recorded a season-high 19 points on 4/7 shooting from the floor and a perfect 10/10 from the free throw line. The senior point guard also recorded six rebounds and hit a buzzer-beating floater to put UVA up by five at halftime. Clark closed the game out for the Hoos by hitting some clutch free throws down the stretch.

Jayden Gardner

The East Carolina transfer did his thing on Tuesday night. Gardner dropped 17 points on 5/13 shooting with five rebounds, three assists, and a steal. In the final minutes of regulation, he collected a few offensive rebounds and scored a big-time basket plus a foul to ice the game.

Kadin Shedrick

Shedrick recorded a career-high 13 points on 4/7 shooting from the floor and 5/8 from the free throw line. The UVA center also had nine rebounds, two steals, and a block at the end of the game on Boston College’s final possession. It was a great bounce-back performance for Shedrick after a tough outing at Notre Dame on Saturday.

Takeaways

Reece Beekman’s Offensive Game

Reece Beekman, Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Reece Beekman has shown an ability to be a capable scorer and even an aggressive one in looking for his shot, as he did when he scored 19 points at Pittsburgh and 20 points against Clemson. He has a knack for changing pace to find paths to the rim for easy layups. His late dunk against Notre Dame comes to mind as a moment that sparked the consistent question in the minds of UVA fans when these offensive outbursts occur: why doesn’t he do this all the time?

Beekman is obviously a pass-first player, as he has been through the majority of his first two seasons in Charlottesville. The sophomore guard is averaging 7.9 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the floor. The scoring aspect of his game is coming along, but Beekman is more than content to generate good scoring opportunities for his teammates, as he did against Boston College on Tuesday night when he, for the second time this season, had zero points. He recorded seven assists in the contest, his fourth game of the season with at least seven assists and his 13th game with at least five assists. He also had two steals and a block, continuing his push for ACC Defensive Player of the Year consideration.

Tuesday night was this year’s Virginia offense at its best - a balanced scoring effort in which four different Cavaliers scored in double figures, powered by Beekman’s ability to break down the opposing defense and facilitate for his teammates. But, when UVA’s offense goes cold and the shots aren’t falling, as Virginia has experienced frequently all season long, Beekman must become more aggressive and hunt his own shot.

Resilient Cavaliers

Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman, Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball — Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Communications

Virginia is now 9-0 in games immediately following a loss, a trend which is inherently both good and bad. It shows that these Wahoos are a resilient bunch to be able to bounce back with solid victories after disappointing performances. However, such a trend necessitates losing nine games, which has made this season a disappointing one for the most part. UVA has alternated wins and losses in each of its last nine games, a cycle that the Hoos need to break if they want to finish the season anywhere near the top of the ACC standings.

Season Reset

Virginia is now 13-9 overall and 7-5 in ACC play with eight games remaining in the regular season.

Next five games: vs. Miami (Feb. 5), at Duke (Feb. 7), vs. Georgia Tech (Feb. 12), at Virginia Tech (Feb. 14), at Miami (Feb. 19)

Postseason outlook: The calendar has turned to February and the college basketball postseason of March quickly approaches. Virginia’s chances of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament are infinitesimal at this point, so the Cavaliers’ best shot of continuing their streak of seven-straight March Madness tournament appearances will be to make significant improvements down the stretch of the regular season and prepare for a run at winning the ACC Championship and securing the conference’s automatic bid.