So yeah, not going to lie. This season is pretty much over in terms of the NCAA tournament. But there is reason to care in terms of the ACC tournament. Syracuse, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Clemson are all tied with a 9-9 record and NC State is half a game back at 9-10. Although Georgia Tech dropped its postseason appeal and wont play in the ACC tournament, guaranteeing Syracuse gets a first round bye. The Orange despite their struggles still can clinch the 5th seed in the ACC tournament so there is still “something” to play for. So with that let’s take a look at what has happened since the Orange last played the Eagles.
Eagles Season After 76-50 Orange Win
It’s been almost two months since the Eagles came into the Dome and loss to the Orange 76-50 back on January 15th. Since then the Eagles have gone 4-8 and are on a current three game losing streak and have lost four of their last five games. Its not like the Eagles were really projected to do anything this season, but still losing leaves a sour taste in the Boston College fan base. I mean not to pile onto the Eagles (but why not) they haven’t made the NCAA tournament since 2009. The Orange have gone to the NCAA tournament eight times since 2009. Yikes. Listen we have to have some reason to feel good about this program. So why not dunk on failing program like Boston College? Makes me feel better.
Players to Watch Out For
The Eagles will be led by their back court of freshman guard Jay Heath and graduate transfer Derryck Thornton who both average 12.9 points a game. In the post the Eagles have a strong presence with senior forward Nik Popovic who averages 10.5 points per game and averages 5.2 rebounds per game. Also down low junior Steffon Mitchell is a rebounding threat as he averages 8.4 rebounds per game which is 5th in the ACC. Other than those four, the Eagles don’t really present much of a threat on offense. The Eagles are 2nd to last in the ACC for offense as they average only 64.7 points per game. They have played A LOT of guys this season as they have 11 players who have played in 17 or more games this season. On the flip side, their defense allows 69.5 points per game which is 10th in the ACC. The Orange are right behind at 11th allowing 69.8 points per game. One stat that will be key to watch out for tonight is the Eagles are 3rd in the ACC in steals as they average 8.07 steals a game.
Final Prediction
In the big picture, this game doesn’t mean that much. But again the Orange can still claim the 5th seed in the ACC and the only way they are getting in is by winning the ACC tournament. Why not position yourself with the best possible seed to make that happen? As long as the Orange make a decent amount of three pointers (which is a big IF) then I think the Orange can walk away with the win. The Orange have won three straight against the Eagles, you make that four in a row after tonight.
