For Virginia’s first road game since the Purdue debacle, StLouHoo set out in his preview three things the Hoos needed to do to come away with the win:

1) Limit turnovers.

2) Trust a bigger lineup.

3) Get out to a fast start.

Virginia failed to get the win, falling 60-53 to a Boston College team coming off a 39-point loss to Duke. The Cavaliers also didn’t do too hot on StLouHoo’s three keys:

1) Limit turnovers.

The Hoos committed just 10 turnovers, but it didn’t matter, because they couldn’t put the ball in the basket again, and they were unable to handle the home team’s one-on-one play. The turnovers were not much of a factor, being evenly distributed between halves, not clustered into runs for the opponent, and on three of them, BC gave it right back.

Grade: B+

2) Trust a bigger lineup.

StLou talked about Jay Huff and Francisco Caffaro joining Mamadi Diakite for two-big lineups that could score in the paint and hammer Boston College on the boards on both ends. In the first half, the Hoos were unable to employ such a lineup because quick-whistle refs called two fouls on Mamadi in the first minute of the game, then backed that up with two quick ones on Huff. In the second half, however, Diakite and Huff were on the floor together for the 10-0 run that brought Virginia back into the game, from 30-42 to 40-42. Without the early fouls, maybe this combination would have had more impact on the game.

Grade: C-

3) Get out to a fast start.

After scoring on the first possession of the game, the Cavaliers went into bricklayer mode. They proceeded to miss their next 7 shots and their first 6 three-point attempts, allowing the Eagles to jump on them 8-2, and grow that lead to 10 points at 18-8. That start to the game gave BC confidence, and they played the entire game with strong energy and resilience, looking very much like the better team.

Grade: F