Men's basketball has better effort, still loses to Virginia Tech
Well, at least they didn’t just roll over and die like the Miami game.
BC trailed by as many as 19 in the first half on the road against Virginia Tech on Tuesday night. But, instead of allowing the Hokies to humiliate them like the Hurricanes did, the Eagles fought hard, but ultimately lost 72-63.
While there are still technically tie-breaking scenarios that would allow BC (10-20, 3-14) to make the ACC tournament if they beat Notre Dame in the season finale on Saturday at Conte, this abysmal season is done for all intents and purposes.
Boden Kapke had a career night with 25 points. Fred Payne added 16. That means the rest of the team combined for just 22 points as offensive struggles continue to be the name of the game for the 2025-2026 Eagles.
BC shot 42% from the field (not bad by their standards), while V-Tech was at just 43%. But, the three-point struggles continued, with the Eagles going just 5-22 from deep (23%). Earl Grant’s team was just 4-10 from the free throw line, while the Hokies were 15-18.
BC trailed 30-11 with a little over six minutes left in the half and for a few moments, it appeared as if they wouldn’t even get the 19 points the Eagles had against Miami in the first half last weekend. But, the offense got a bit hot, and BC cut it to 35-24 at the break, despite going 2-9 from three and turning it over five times.
BC actually cut it to single digits midway through the second half and even got it to within 67-61 in the final minute before the Hokies sealed the deal.
So now, as chatter continues to swirl around Earl Grant’s job security, the Eagles have one final game against rival Notre Dame – who is currently just a game ahead of BC with four ACC wins – to at least try to end this ugly season on a high note. Pitt is also sitting in the basement with four ACC wins, which means if the Eagles want absolutely any chance of extending the season for a game or two next week, they’ll need some help and one final strong effort on Senior Day.
Fittingly, Earl Grant’s postgame press conference lasted two minutes and two questions as the connection over Zoom crapped out. Here’s the one answer that did get through when asked about starting Donald Hand Jr. who returned a couple games ago.
“Part of the reason I did it is, we’ve got Senior Day on Saturday. So, instead of making that change on Saturday, make it today,” said Grant.
There’s little doubt that change needs to be made, but will it be? Will a miracle on Saturday and a berth in the ACC tourney keep Grant safe? Will the news surrounding the women’s basketball program searching for a new coach give Grant a bit of a pass if administration doesn’t want to deal with two hires at once?
There’s a lot more questions than answers surrounding BC basketball right now, but one thing is clear: a 17-year drought from the NCAA tournament and three ACC wins with (most likely) two years of missing the ACC tournament – a tournament that 15 of 18 teams make – is simply unacceptable and laughable for a once proud program.
