While Virginia Commonwealth point guard Eric Maynor is projected to be selected in the first round of tonight’s NBA draft, three other players with state connections likely will find themselves sweating through the late stages of the second round. NBADraft.net’s mock draft—hardly fail-proof science—predicts that New Orleans will take Maynor with the 21st pick. Regardless of whether he goes at that spot, Maynor almost certainly will be drafted.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - If Boston College point guard Tyrese Rice’s illustrious college career ends late Thursday night, the University of Virginia men’s basketball team will be delighted. That’s because the Cavaliers will be victorious. Florida State’s win over Virginia Tech yesterday locked Boston College into the No. 6 seed in the ACC tournament, which starts Thursday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. No. 11 seed U.Va. (4-12 ACC, 10-17 overall) and BC (9-7, 21-10) will meet in a first-round game that’s likely to start no earlier than 9:30 p.m.

BOSTON - Boston College point guard Tyrese Rice, a former L.C. Bird star, scored 21 points, topped 2,000 for his career and led the Eagles to an 80-74 victory over No. 6 Duke yesterday in an ACC game. Reggie Jackson broke the game’s final tie with a drive with 47.2 seconds left, and Boston College scored the final six points to register its first win over the Blue Devils in 24 years.

The group that took the floor for the University of Virginia at the start of the second half prompted double takes. On the bench were Sammy Zeglinski, Mike Scott, Jamil Tucker and Mamadi Diane, starters last night against ACC rival Boston College. In their stead, U.Va. coach Dave Leitao sent out freshman Assane Sene, sophomore Jeff Jones and juniors Solomon Tat and Calvin Baker to play with freshman Sylven Landesberg.

Two nights after blowing a 15-point second-half lead against Clemson, Virginia Tech suffered another crushing defeat last night at Boston College. And in a season in which the Hokies already had lost once at the buzzer and once with nine-tenths of a second remaining, you have to wonder how much more heartbreak they can handle. Eagles guard Rakim Sanders was the latest opponent to leave the Hokies shaking their heads in disbelief as they walked off the floor. He soared into the lane to tip in Tyrese Rice’s missed layup with 0.4 of a second remaining, giving the Eagles a 67-66 win at Conte Forum.

Two nights after blowing a 15-point second-half lead against Clemson, Virginia Tech suffered another crushing defeat last night at Boston College. And in a season in which the Hokies already had lost once at the buzzer and once with nine-tenths of a second remaining, you have to wonder how much more heartbreak they can handle. Eagles guard Rakim Sanders was the latest opponent to leave the Hokies shaking their heads in disbelief as they walked off the floor. He soared into the lane to tip in Tyrese Rice’s missed layup with 0.4 of a second remaining, giving the Eagles a 67-66 win at Conte Forum.

Tyrese Rice and Boston College ended all the talk of whether No. 1 North Carolina could go unbeaten. A former L.C. Bird star, Rice scored 25 points in his second straight big game against the Tar Heels to help the Eagles stun North Carolina 85-78 last night, likely ending its run atop the early season polls. Rakim Sanders added 22 points for the Eagles (1-0, 13-2), who led by six points at halftime and pushed the lead to 15 before holding off a rally from the Tar Heels (0-1, 13-1) in the ACC opener for both teams.

Junior guard David Gonzalvez scored 20 points and sophomore forward Justin Harper added 16 as the University of Richmond whacked Rice 74-43 Saturday afternoon at the Robins Center. The Spiders (8-6) used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to outclass the Owls (5-9), who are picked to finish last in Conference USA. Richmond next plays at George Washington on Saturday in the Spiders’ Atlantic 10 Conference opener.—John O’Connor