Boston College vs Virginia Tech Basketball Recap

Boston College 80, Virginia Tech 60

Wednesday night at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Mass., lovers of science fiction had to relish what they saw.

Yes, in one distinctly baffling evening of ACC basketball, New Englanders and Virginians both witnessed a hoops-based version of a cult movie classic.

One of the best-known entries in the science fiction movie canon is "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," an oft-remade film with an easily identifiable plot. Alien pods take over human bodies, as once-emotional beings are replaced with unfeeling duplicates. Vibrant life forms are discarded in favor of hollow imitations that might look the same on the outside, but project nothing of the same personality traits that used to exist.

Well, as the Virginia Tech Hokies tried to take one more step toward an NCAA Tournament berth, they might have come in contact with some pods in suburban Boston. They sure looked body-snatched against the Boston College Eagles.

One had to wonder what Tech coach Seth Greenberg thought as his team - without any quality non-conference wins but sitting at 8-4 in the ACC - inexplicably pulled a face-plant against a limited lineup offered by Boston College boss Al Skinner. The boys from BC have struggled throughout a difficult season. They entered this contest with a 13-13 record, 4-8 in the league, and showed few signs of being able to take down an upper-tier outfit. This game was going to say a lot more about the visitors from Blacksburg, Va., than it could ever hope to communicate about the Eagles, who never recovered from injuries to one of their key components, junior wing Rakim Sanders. The bottom line on this battle was that if the Hokies brought a typical level of energy to the arena, they'd walk out of New England with a road win that would send a very reassuring message to the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee.

Quite evidently, the body snatchers got to the Virginia Tech locker room just before tip time.

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From the start, the Hokies looked zombified. Boston College stormed the palace gate and snared a 15-2 lead in the first four minutes. While it's true that Tech responded with its best stretch of play to shave that early deficit to 22-19 at the 8:41 mark of the first half, the Hokies had already been forced to dig very deep instead of being allowed to settle into the action. When the Eagles answered with a quick 7-0 mini-run in the following two minutes, Tech's tank ran on empty, and the alien pods took full effect.

The Hokies hit only one field goal over the final nine minutes of the first half, as BC re-established a double-digit lead and maintained it for the final 25 minutes and 18 seconds of play. Perhaps paralyzed by pressure and also numbed with fatigue, a Tech team that had worked hard in the game's first 11 minutes found nothing in reserve. The closest the visitors got in the second half was 11 points, as Boston College used a balanced offense to generate four double-figure scorers led by forward Joe Trapani (17 points on 7-of-11 shooting). Skinner's flex offense flexed its muscles against the Hokies' slow-footed defenders, and with Virginia Tech hitting only 31 percent of its often rushed and panicky field goal attempts, there was simply no alley or avenue through which Greenberg's group could make a comeback.

Virginia Tech is still on the good side of the NCAA bubble, but this was certainly not the time to become body-snatched. If the Hokies can't protect their home court in the next week and a half against Maryland and N.C. State, they'll be forced to win at Georgia Tech on March 6 and perhaps win two games in the ACC Tournament.

One thing's for sure: The aliens need to stay away from Blacksburg in the coming days. If science fiction continues to accompany the Hokies, a once-promising season could turn very sour near the finish line.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer