SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN? (DDSCB22)

[PointGuard 70]

ESPN Report

Following last season’s recruiting success, Boston College has landed 5 highly ranked recruits who will join the team next season.  Their recruiting success this season is being called into question, though.  Anonymous sources are asking how the school, in just the beginning of the 3rd year of Frederick Aura’s tenure as head coach, has gone from being one of the weaker recruiting schools in the ACC to one of the top recruiters.  One of the sources commented, “Even though BC has had much better win/loss records the past two seasons than in the past and has moved up in the ACC standings, recruiting so successfully that quickly against the likes of Duke, Syracuse and North Carolina is next to impossible.  I think something’s fishy and the smell is beginning to be noticeable.”

When asked about the reports, BC Athletic Director Jason Braxton retorted, “That’s just a bunch of sour grapes!  I guess there are those within the ACC who are feeling the heat we’re now bringing and are getting scared of our competition.”  When asked specifically about Coach Frederick Aura, Braxton said, “Fred did a helluva recruiting job at Towson.  And believe me, before hiring him, we definitely vetted Towson’s recruiting efforts and found them to be all above board.  Fred and his staff are damned good recruiters and have worked their tails off to interest recruits in Boston College and Eagles basketball.  For anyone to suggest anything nefarious in what they’ve done is just pure hog wash and totally without merit.  Case closed.”

Coach Aura said, “I really have no comment about mere anonymous rumors with no substantiation.  We maintain detailed records of our recruiting efforts which we’d openly share with the NCAA should they inquire.”

The NCAA refuses to discuss recruiting investigations prior to announcing final findings and penalties. So it’s unknown if the NCAA has opened an investigation of Boston College basketball recruiting.

[PointGuard 70]

Coach Fred Aura

Fall practices went well.  Players got along well together and focused on developing the best team work possible.  We have good depth this season.  Here’s how we will start the season:

Starters:

PG-Josh McFadgon, 6-1 Sr:  Josh developed strongly throughout last season, particularly his scoring.  He continues to show good offensive power.  I’m hoping his ball distribution continues to improve but he’s got a good understanding about the flow of a game and good leadership skills.

SG-James Lilly, 6-0 Sr: James is very strong offensively, defensively and on the boards.  His production has declined a bit but that’s because we have so many more players who can put points on the board and he understands that whoever has the best shot should be putting the ball into the hoop.  His leaping capabilities and his understanding of the importance of proper positioning for rebounds has made him our top rebounder, even though he’s just 6 feet tall.

SF-Leonard Meliet, 6-5 Fr:  Tremendous potential. That’s made us decide to start him at SF (rather than his natural PG position) so we have him in the starting lineup.  We’ll see how he does there and adjust if necessary.  So far he’s had spurts of excellent offense but also bouts of poor shot selection.  He’s going to be a good rebounder, but is still learning how to best position himself and contend for rebounds against bigger players.

PF-Marvin Reese, 6-6 Sr: Marvin is a good scorer.  We continue to work with him on his rebounding and defense.  He can also move over to and do a good job at SF since he’s a very good outside shooter.

C-Courtland Reese, 6-9 So:  He continues to be our rock inside.  A very good scorer and rebounder and a good defender.  We are a better team when Courtland is on the floor.  We believe he has the ability to develop further, but we’ll see how that unfolds this season.

Bench:

Perimeter Players:

PG-Phil Thompson (6-3, Fr) came to us with a good skill set that still needs refinement.  So we will give him enough minutes so that he can develop into what could be a very strong player for us in the future.  Jon Ray (6-3, Sr) will come in at both PG and SG.  He has the ability to come in and give us a scoring boost and his passing and ball-handling skills have really progressed.  Since he could well become our starting PG next season after Josh McFadgon graduates, Leonard Meliet will get playing time at PG as well as starting at SF.

SG-Besides Jon Ray, Jason Dunn (6-2, Sr) will continue to come off the bench to spell James Lilly.  He’s developed a lot since last season and can give us some offensive firepower when he enters the game.

SF-Michael Millford (6-6, Jr) could well have been a starter this season (and may be at some point).  He’s good at coming in and putting points on the board.  Keith Kolder (6-7, Fr) has good skills but needs to hone them further so we need to find spots where he can get onto the court and have success.  We’re likely to slide Marvin Reese and Winston Minahan from their regular PF position over to the SF position at times and feel that both can be productive there.  Andy Dawson (6-8, So) is a pretty decent player for a walk-on but is unlikely to get much playing time.

Interior Players: 

Jason Caldwell (6-8 Jr) and Greg Kidd (6-10 Jr walk-on) are both excellent players at either C or PF.  Both are good scorers and rebounders.  Winston Minahan (6-6 So) is coming off a year of ineligibility due to his transfer from Texas Tech).  He’s a solid player at PF and will also put in some time as SF.  Danny Toliver (6-8, So) who transferred this year from Georgia Tech will be practicing with the team but is ineligible this season due to the transfer.

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 15, 2027: San Diego State Aztecs (0-1) vs Boston College Eagles (0-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Ray Morrison, fan

I’m excited to have BC Eagles’ basketball beginning again.  It’s really been nice to have a competitive team here the past two seasons that Coach Aura has been in charge.  From what I’ve read it sounds like this year’s team will be even stronger.  We have a really good core of players back and apparently some very good new players also.  But as they say:  don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

Freshman SF Leonard Meliet isn’t afraid to shoot.  He scored 6 of the Eagles first 12 points, hitting 3 of his 5 shots in the first 4 minutes of the game.  With BC shooting well and forcing the Aztecs into a series of turnovers, the Eagles steadily pulled away.  With 7 minutes remaining in the half, BC was on top 34-15.  After leading by as much as 25 points, the Eagles settled for a 48-29 halftime advantage.  SF Leonard Meliet looked even better than advertised, scoring 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting with 3 rebounds and an assist.  BC made no turnovers in the first half while causing San Diego State to make 14.

The Eagles continued to dominate in the 2^nd half, expanding their lead to 27 points.  They eased up late and still won by a final score of 85-69. 

Leonard Meliet led all scorers with 21 points.  PF Marvin Reese hit for 15 points, C Courtland Reese scored 12, and PG Phil Thompson scored 11 points in his 12 minutes of play.

Nice start to the season.  Three of our new guys really looked good.  Meliet was terrific.  Thompson hit 3 of 3 from beyond the arc, and PF Winston Minahan had 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in the 10 minutes he was on the court.

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 18, 2027: #6 seed Oregon State Beavers (0-1) vs # 3 seed Boston College Eagles (1-0) in Maui Jim Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii

2^nd Assistant Coach Chris Evans

Our guys are excited to be in Hawaii for the Maui Jim Invitational.  We’re the 3^rd seed.  Our opening opponent, Oregon State, lost on the road to #6 ranked Maryland earlier this week so that loss wasn’t unexpected. 

PG Josh McFadgon sprained his toe late in our game against San Diego State early this week.  Our trainers expect it will take a week to fully heal, but Josh wants to play and the trainers are OK with that but say he may be slowed down a bit.  We’re going to have him coming in off the bench and see how he does.  We’ve adjusted our starting lineup.  Leonard Meliet will start at PG rather than SF, Marvin Reese will move from PF to SF to start, and Jason Caldwell will start at PF.

We hit just 1 of our first 7 shots, but the Beavers were having just as much problem putting the ball in the hoop.  Even though we started slow, our shooting warmed up as the half progressed and we finished the half hitting 41% of our FG’s.  We held Oregon State’s shooting to just 19%.  We also had a 9 to 1 turnover advantage.  That explained our 42-21 halftime lead.  Leonard Meliet scored 11 points, Courtland Reese had 10 points, and SG James Lilly scored 9 and had 7 rebounds in the half.  PF Winston Minahan came off the bench to score 7 and pull down 4 boards in 10 minutes of play.  Josh McFadgon played for about 4 minutes but his sprained toe is keeping him from making cuts and making him a half-step slow.  We’ll rest him the remainder of the game.

We opened the 2^nd half with a 12-3 run to go up by 30.  While we were never threatened, we let down at that point but still finished with an easy 82-61 victory. 

Our leading scorer was C Courtland Reese with 20 points.  PG/SF Leonard Meliet had 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.  SG James Lilly had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards.  PG Phil Thompson hit 2 more 3’s and is now 5 for 5 from long distance in his first 2 collegiate games.

Phil Thompson, PG

I’ve never been to Hawaii until now.  It seems great but we really don’t have the time to do much and the coaches have us all on a really short leash.  We did get to the beach this morning and had a great time.  We then went and got something very Hawaiian, shaved ice.  Then it was time for a light workout and practice in the afternoon.  I expected to go to a luau while here, but we’re playing our games at night so that’s out so we’ll miss out on watching the hulu dancers which sucks.  The Boston College Jesuit providing oversight on this trip is Father James.  He’s one of the most conservative and straight-laced priests so he doesn’t want us doing anything.  Some of my teammates and I think we shoulda spent a couple days here before or after the tournament so we could experience the island sights, culture and wahinis. 

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 19, 2027: #3 seed Boston College Eagles (2-0) vs #2 seed South Carolina Gamecocks (1-0) in Maui Jim Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii (semi-finals)

PG Josh McFadgon

South Carolina got by Illinois State easily in their opening game in this tournament.  SG Patrick Wilson scored 23 points in that game.  I played 4 minutes in our previous game and just didn’t get anything done.  The sprained toe is giving me more problems than I expected.  I’ll be on the bench tonight, but don’t expect that Coach Fed will play me.  I hate not playing, but my function will be to cheer on the other guys.

Lots of mistakes on offense early for us with a bunch of turnovers.  But our defense allowed us to edge ahead.  But then the Gamecocks scored 11 unanswered points to pull ahead 18-9 midway through the half.  We scored the next 10 points to edge ahead again.  South Carolina outplayed us in the final minutes of the half to take lead 35-28.  Coach Fed chewed out the team in the locker room because of our 13 turnovers.  The Gamecocks gradually edged further ahead, taking a 13 point lead with 10 minutes left.  We scratched our way back with 3’s by Meliet, Millford, Dunn and Ray to get within a single point at 56-55 with 6-1/2 minutes remaining.  Greg Kidd then sank 2 free throws to put us up by 1 with 6 minutes to go.  At the final media timeout we were on top 63-61.  Neither team could score for the next 2-1/2 minutes. But South Carolina stole the ball and drove for a layup to pull into a tie with 1:32 on the clock.  With 30 seconds to go, James Lilly worked the ball inside to Courtland Reese in the lane.  Courtland drove to the hoop and put up a finger roll that fell through to make it 65-63.  Both teams missed shots giving the Gamecocks the final possession.  Their 3 point shot just as the buzzer was to sound rimmed around the basket and spun away.  We escaped in a 65-63 squeaker.

Our leading scorer was SF Michael Millford who scored 14 points.  C Courtland Reese with 12 points was our only other player in double figures.  Courtland also had 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and 4 steals.

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 20, 2027: #4 seed Alabama-Birmingham Blazers (2-1) vs #3 seed Boston College Eagles (3-0) in Maui Jim Invitational at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii (championship game)

Coach Fred Aura

Alabama-Birmingham beat DePaul and #1 seed/#9 ranked Ohio State to get to the championship game against us.  They’ve got an explosive offense and their two starting guards have combined to average over 30 ppg, but I’m hoping we can exploit their defense.

We’re going to sit PG Josh McFadgon again to give his sprained toe a chance to heal.  He continue to want to play, but his on-court movement is restricted.  Our guys were getting too keyed up about playing in the championship game, so I tried dialing it back before the game, telling them to approach this as just another pre-conference game.

The refs called game too close on both teams.  C Courtland Reese picked up his second foul just four minutes into the game and both of the Blazers’ starting guards were on the bench a minute later.  Greg Kidd, who we subbed in for Courtland Reese, was charged with 2 fouls in 3 minutes on the court. Alabama-Birmingham was 0 for 8 from the field and we jumped out to a 14-1 lead with 13 minutes left in the half.  Both teams were in the bonus at the foul line after just 8 minutes of play.  Our defense held and we came away with a 31-20 lead at the break.  We hit just 39% of our shots, but the Blazers could only knock down 26% of their FGA’s.  We controlled the boards 24-13.  PF/C Jason Caldwell had 8 points and 7 rebounds in the half.

The Blazers went on a run cutting out lead to 6 points with 12 minutes to play.  But we rallied to re-establish a double-digit lead.  Our lead grew to 23 points at one point and we won easily 76-61.  We did a great job on the boards…44-25.  We won the Maui Jim Invitational Championship!  There haven’t been any basketball trophies added to the BC trophy case for a long time, so this one will be prized.

SF Michael Millford had a really strong game, scoring 17 points and picking off 6 rebounds.  PF/C Jason Caldwell had an awesome double-double, scoring 14 and pulling down 13 boards.  SG Jason Dunn scored 13 points and PG Leonard Meliet added 11 points.

For other ACC teams in early tournaments: Duke won the 2K Sports Classic championship and Louisville lost in the championship game of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Surprisingly, we’re ranked #7 in the Media Poll and #5 in the Coaches Poll.  That’s way overrated. Can’t let it swell my guys’ heads or let them believe they can just walk onto the court and get a win.

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 22, 2027: UCLA Bruins (0-1) vs #7-ranked Boston College Eagles (4-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Mason O’Leary, fan

Prior to the game:

I came to Boston College as a freshman in 2012 and graduated in 2016.  In the fifteen years since I first became a fan of the Eagles, this is the first time we’ve had a home game with an Eagles’ team that has been ranked in the polls.  And we’re not only ranked, but well up into the Top 10 in both polls. Amazing!!!  You can feel the difference in fans…a positivity that was absent in the past.  With UCLA in town, Conte Forum is full and rocking.  While fans were hopeful when Coach Aura was hired, I think most, me included, figured the most that could be expected was that maybe we’d finally win as many games as we lost.  But his first two years in command, and now the start this season, have us all expecting the team to better its Sweet 16 finish of last year.  Greedy?  Demanding?  Hell yes!

UCLA sustained a tough loss to New Mexico in the opening round of the 2K Sports Classic but that was because the Lobos scored 16 more points at the free throw line than the Bruins and 2 UCLA starters fouled out while 2 more starters and 2 reserves were on the ropes with 4 fouls apiece.  Bruins’ Coach Ben Purnell got a technical and was nearly tossed out of the game.  I have a feeling UCLA will be gunning to turn their season around against the Eagles.

 

First half comments:

·       Coach Aura is still not starting Josh McFadgon at PG.  I guess the injury is taking longer to heal that expected. 

·       Courtland Reese wins the tip off and it goes to PG Leonard Meliet.  He dribbles into the forecourt, fakes a pass to James Lilly and then turns and fires the ball into the corner to PF Marvin Reese.  Reese does a nice job of protecting the ball as he dribbles along the base line, turns quickly and moves out along the edge of the key.  UCLA’s PG Whitehead shifts to pick him up.  Reese puts up a quick jumper that settles through the hoop.  He was fouled on the shot and they calmly hits the free throw.  Nice start. 

·       On the next possession, Meliet hits a 3 from the corner to make it 6-0 in just the first 40 seconds.

·       Courtland Reese hits a shot on which he was fouled. He drops in the foul shot to make it 9-3 after 98 seconds of play.

·       We’re up 18-6 with just under 16 minutes to play.

·       Refs are calling too many fouls…controlling the game too much.   Fouls on us with 14 minutes to play in the half.  Let them play, zebras.

·       McFadgon subs in and gets a quick assist.

·       On successive possessions by UCLA, the Eagles pick off passes and fire it up court to streaking teammates for slam dunks, 28-16 with 9:27 remaining.  The crowd is going wild.  UCLA calls a time out.

·       I guess turnabout is fair play.  UCLA intercepts passes on 2 consecutive possessions by BC and turns them into 4 easy points, 34-23 with 6:26 left.  Coach Aura calls a time out for a little butt chewing.

·       Meliet hits his 5^th 3-pointer in 6 attempts with 1:18 on the clock.

·       Jon Ray subs in at SG with less than a minute to go and hits the final shot of the half to make the halftime score 54-32 in favor of the Eagles. 

·       BC hit 59% of their FG’s and 67% of their 3’s, had an 18-15 rebounding edge, and an 11-7 turnover advantage in the first half.  PG Leonard Meliet had 15 points, PF/SF Marvin Reese had 14, C Courtland Reese had 10, and SG James Lilly scored 8 and pulled down  rebounds.

 

2^nd Half Comments:

·       Play by both teams was sloppy in the 2^nd half.

·       BC didn’t shoot as well in the 2^nd half, but increased their lead to as much as 29 points.

·       Coach Aura emptied the bench in the latter stages of the game.

·       Final score: Boston College-78, UCLA-57.

·       Top scorers: PG Leonard Meliet-21; C Courtland Reese-16; PF/SF Marvin Reese-16; SG James Lilly-10 points with 10 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals.  UCLA’s C Jason Lavin also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards.

·       PG Josh McFadgon came in off the bench and played pretty well, but definitely seems to still not be back to 100% and not able to get free of coverage to get off shots.  He played 18 minutes, scoring 3 points (hitting 1 of 3 FG’s and 1 of 2 FT’s), dishing out 4 assists, getting 1 steal and turning the ball over 3 times.  McFadgon was such an integral part of the team last season, that it seems important for him to get back fully to his role as team leader and into the flow of the game.

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 5, 2027: Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-0) vs #7-ranked Boston College Eagles (5-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA     

Roy Matuzik, sports reporter for WEEI radio

There’s been a lot of questions and discussion in our sports talk segments recently about Boston College basketball.  So I’m attending a game so I can be a better host for those segments.

The Eagles C Greg Kidd sprained his ankle in practice and will be out for about a week.  BC has announced that Josh McFadgon has fully recovered from his toe injury, so I assume he will be starting at PG tonight.

Minnesota is a guard-oriented team.  SG Trey Jeppson is averaging 24.3 ppg and is hitting 67% of his treys.  PG Eddie Walker is averaging 12.3 ppg and 8.7 apg.

McFadgon hit a 3 with 17-1/2 minutes remaining in the half to put BC ahead 9-2.  With 14 minutes to go he knocked down his second 3 to make it 23-8…looks like he’s back.  The Golden Gophers then went on a 10-0 run cutting the lead to 5 points.  C Courtland Reese charged with 3^rd personal foul with about 6 minutes remaining in the half and the Eagles holding a 13 point lead.  Big time O displayed by the Eagles.  The halftime score is 58-37.  BC hit 64% of their FG’s and 67% of their 3’s.  SF/PG Leonard Meliet poured in 19 points and PG Josh McFagdon scored 11, hitting 100% of his shots.

Boston College’s shooting cooled in the 2^nd half and Minnesota cut the lead to 13 points with 15 minutes to go.  BC got the lead back up to 20 before settling for a 90-73 thrashing of Minnesota.  Strong rebounding (+9) by the Eagles.

SF/PG Leonard Meliet had 21 points and 7 assists.  PG Josh McFadgon dropped in 16 points.  SG Jason Dunn hit for 13 points.  C Jason Caldwell scored 11 points and had 9 boards.  SG Eric Jeppson scored 26 points for Minnesota.

[PointGuard 70]

Boston College Chronicle

By Kinsey Ramsey

EAGLES SOAR IN POLLS

Following two impressive wins this past week which raised the Boston College basketball team’s record to 6-0, the Eagles ranking in the Media Poll is now #3.  In the Coaches Poll they are #4.  Their NET Ranking is 6^th best.   Duke (6-0) and Florida (6-0) have nailed down the top 2 spots in both polls.

The Eagles are averaging 79.3 ppg while giving up just 64.0 ppg.  Leading the team in scoring is freshman Leonard Meliet who has averaged 15.8 ppg and junior Courtland Reese who has scored 12.7 ppg.  Top rebounders are senior James Lilly (7.3 rpg) and junior Jason Caldwell (6.7 rpg).

“Although polls this early in the season are highly inaccurate, it’s an honor to be ranked so high,” said Coach Fred Aura.  He added, “But rankings don’t win games.  In fact they paint a bullseye on your back.  So we’ll have to continue to work hard in practice and execute in games.”

[PointGuard 70]

Nov. 29, 2027: Missouri Tigers (3-2) vs #3 ranked Boston College Eagles (6-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA 

Boston Herald

Boston College continued to try to maintain a spotless basketball record last night at Conte Forum.  Trying to pin a first loss on the 6-0 Eagles were the Missouri Tigers coming into the game with a 3-2 record.

Because of turnovers, missed shots, and fouls, it took the Eagles nearly 4 minutes to get on the board and put them in a 6-0 hole.  A minute later C Courtland Reese went down with an injury and was taken out of the game, not to return.  Missouri went ahead 31-13 with 7:46 remaining in the half.  During the media time out, Coach Aura could be seen animatedly reprimanding his team.  BC responded by going on a 27-6 run over the final 12 minutes of the half that got the crowd back in the game and put the Eagles on top 40-37 when the halftime claxon sounded.  SG James Lilly led the comeback, scoring 11 points in the half.  BC’s 10 turnovers in the half gave Coach Aura something to talk to the team about during the halftime intermission, though. 

Boston College’s onslaught continued as they scored the first 12 of 14 points in the 2^nd half.  The Tigers then cut the lead to 8 but BC came right back to extend their lead back to 15 with 11-1/2 minutes left in the game.  The Eagles then not only stubbornly held onto their large lead but increased it to finish the game with a dominant 82-61 victory.

Scoring in double figures for Boston College were SF Marvin Reese with 14 points, C Jason Caldwell with 12 (he also had 9 rebounds), and SG James Lilly who scored 11 points in 17 minutes of play.  SF Leonard Meliet pulled down 13 rebounds and had 7 assists, 2 steals and 3 blockds while scoring 8 points.

“We stumbled after Courtland (Reese) went down,” said Coach Fred Aura.  “But we got back up and pulled together as a team to play what may have been our strongest straight 30 minutes.  We got great performances throughout the lineup with all 13 of our players scoring.  I was really happy to see Winston Minahan and Keith Kolder come off the bench and both score  points.  I also was impressed by Leonard (Meliet) mixing it upside and grabbing 13 boards.”  When asked about Courtland Reese’s injury, Aura replied, “Courtland sustained a major contusion to his thigh.  My staff indicates he is likely to be out of commission for 7-10 days.  Together with the prior injury to Greg Kidd, that leaves us a little short-handed inside.  So that’s why Minahan’s and Kolder’s performances today were so important.  Injuries make having a deep bench a real necessity.”

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 2, 2027: #3 seed Boston College Eagles (7-0) vs #4 seed Illinois Fighting Illini (7-0) at State Farm Center in Champaign, IL

1^st Assistant Coach David Woodruff (practice)

We’ve played some very good teams thus far, but we’re really moving up a step by taking on Illinois, particularly when the game is on their home court.  Illinois has won 27 and 28 games the past two seasons and been ranked in the Top 25 in the polls each season.  SG Randy Sims is averaging 19.4 ppg, 5.9 apg, and 5.4 rpg.  SF Abdul Craig has scored 18.7 ppg and pulled down 5.6 rpg.  PG Kevin Payne is averaging 12.3 ppg and 4.0 apg. C Michael Howell has averaged 11.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg.  The Fighting Illini are a veritable scoring machine, averaging 95.4 ppg and holding opponents to 76.0 ppg.  Unfortunately we’re meeting them with C Courtland Reese sidelined with an injury.  Obviously we need to play some good defense and clamp down on their high-scoring offense to keep them well under their typical scoring in order to have a change against them.

We have a good start, opening a 9-2 lead in the first 2 minutes.  But Illinois struck back and struck hard by scoring 17 of the next 19 points.  Although that left us reeling, we were able to shake it off and scored the next 6 points to show we weren’t going to fold.  But even though we were shooting well, the Fighting Illini were decimating us with their sharp shooting.  With 8 minutes left in the half we trailed 33-21 with Illinois hitting nearly 70% of their shots, including 7 of 8 from beyond the arc.  When the half ended we were on the short end of a 53-35 score.  PF Marvin Reese led us with 12 points, but Illinois’ SF Abdul Craig had poured in 18 points with SG Randy Sims adding 10.  I had the feeling our guys were a little shell-shocked when they got into the locker room.  They’d just had an opponent hit 69% of their FG’s, 60% of their 3’s, 92% of their FT’s, and make just 4 turnovers.  Coach Aura did all he could to get them into a positive frame of mind and get across the idea that we couldn’t make up the deficit quickly, but that it was important to just keep whittling away at it throughout the 2^nd half.

We made a few dents in the difference, but Illinois had a comeback every time to keep us from ever mounting a serious charge.  We dropped this game 89-71.  Illinois showed they’re an elite team.

PF Marvin Reese had 17 points and 7 rebounds, C Jason Caldwell scored 15 points, and SF Leonard Meliet added 10 points.  SF Abdul Craig finished with 20 points for Illinois.

When the polls were updated we dropped to #6 in the Media Poll and #7 in the Coaches Poll.

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 6, 2027: Seton Hall Pirates (5-0) vs #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (7-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA 

James Lilly, SG

The Eagles are going up against our 2^nd straight undefeated team.  Seton Hall has beaten two ranked teams, #12 ranked Oregon and #15 ranked Texas and played Texas on the road.  SF Quincy Abrams is averaging 15.8 ppg and SG Heath Gresham has scored 12.4 ppg with both hitting a high percentage of their shots.  We’re going to initially focus on Abrams to try to keep him from getting easy shots.  We’ll spot up Leonard Meliet against him…both are freshman stars.  I’ll be guarding Gresham, but will likely be doubling up on Abrams at times.

PF Marvin Reese intercepted a pass and pushed the ball up to SF Leonard Meliet who threw down a jam to put the first points on the board 32 seconds into the game.  PG Josh McFadgon drilled a pass over to me on the left side of the key and my jumper 35 seconds later made it 4-0.  We forced the Pirates into their 3^rd straight turnover on their next possession.  I found C Jason Caldwell down low and he drove to the hoop for another dunk making it 6-0.about 30 seconds later.  Our fans were rocking the house.  The refs tagged me with a reaching in foul then so the Pirates finally drew blood.  We were up 16-4 before Seton Hall made their first field goal with 11:37 on the clock.  By then they’d made 6 turnovers.  Our only problem was that we missed our first six 3-point shots but SF Michael Millford finally chipped one in to make it 25-11 with 6:53 remaining in the half.  With 3:07 to go I got called for my 2^nd foul, but Coach Fed left me in the game.  Meliet and Abrams were putting on quite an offensive show.  First one would score then the other.  Coach Fed pulled me outta the game with a minute and a half to play telling me he wanted to give Jon Ray some time on the court and prevent me from picking up my 3^rd foul.  We left the court up by a score of 43-29.  We’d outscored the Pirates in the paint 20-2 and held an 11-3 turnover advantage.  Leonard Meliet outscored Quincy Abrams 15-10 in the half.  I had 6 points.  Coach Fed gave us all a pat on the back but since we’d let Seton Hall improve their shooting to 48%, stressed the need for better defense to keep the Pirates from rallying in the 2^nd half.

Seton Hall came out on fire, hitting their first 5 FG’s plus a bunch of FT’s as the refs crucified us, including the 3^rd on me and Leonard Meliet sending us both to the bench.  The Pirates closed the gap to 52-46.  Coach Fed got all over us in the first media time out of the half.  SF Michael Millford scored 2 quick buckets when he entered the game to put us back on top by 10.  C Greg Kidd went down with an injury with about 7 minutes left to play.  The refs finally began calling fouls against the Pirates.  It was about time since we all felt they were getting away with murder.  That helped us counter Seton Hall’s hot shooting.  When the final media timeout came with 2:59 to play we were barely ahead, 77-71.  Abrams fouled me on the next possession and I sank both free throws to put us up by 8 with 2:50 to go, but I fouled out on the Pirates next possession.  It became a game of free throws for us and 3’s for them at that point.  We held on to escape with an 85-79 victory.  Seton Hall hit 63% of their shots in the 2^nd half.  In the game they knocked down 14 of 23 from beyond the arc.  That nearly sunk us.  Fortunately we held a 30-24 rebounding advantage and a 21-9 turnover advantage.

Leading us was SF Leonard Meliet with 22 points and 8 boards.  PG Josh McFadgon scored 14, C Jason Caldwell had 13, and I finished with 12 points (to go along with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a block).  Seton Hall’s leading scorer was SF Quincy Abrams with 21 points…he also had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

C Greg Kidd aggravated his earlier toe injury and while he may be able to play, the word is that he’ll be out of action until completely healed this time.  C Courtland Reese has recovered, though, and will therefore be back in the lineup after missing 2 games plus part of the game in which he was injured.  We’re incurring more injuries this season than we did last year. I guess it’s just the breaks (ha, ha) of the game.

We remained ranked #6 in the Media Poll, but we have the 2^nd best NET ranking which I think is a good indication of how competitive our pre-conference schedule has been.  When I look at the pre-conference schedules of the other ACC teams, I see a few tough games but mostly a lot of creampuffs on their schedules.  All of our games thus far have been against tough teams.  Our upcoming game is against a weaker opponent, but then our final game will be against another ranked opponent.  We then go into ACC play…and presently there are 6 ACC teams, other than us, ranked in the top 25 in the polls.

Edited September 2, 2021 by PointGuard

[PointGuard 70]

ACC Teams in Polls as of December 11, 2027:

 

Duke (9-0), 1^st in both polls (NET ranking: 9^th)

Louisville (9-1), 5^th in both polls (NET ranking: 14^th)

Boston College (8-1), 6^th in Media Poll and 8^th in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 2^nd)

Florida State (8-1), 11^th in Media Poll and 12^th in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 56^th)

North Carolina (5-1), 16^th in Media Poll and 20^th in Coaches Poll (Net ranking: 72^nd)

Virginia (6-0), 17^th in Media Poll and 16^th in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 17^th)

Syracuse (6-0), 21^st in Media Poll and 22^nd in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 50^th)

Thus far all 15 ACC teams have won more games than they’ve lost and the ACC’s overall record is 104-28.

 

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Very Interesting

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 13, 2027: Cornell Big Red (5-5) vs #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (8-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Athletic Director Jason Braxton

We’ve been working on changing our non-conference rival game from Cornell to another program that is more competitive with our program.  Tonight’s game will be the final one covered by our agreement with Cornell, thus freeing us up to making a commitment with a different school.  We’ve been talking to several other schools and have identified the one we wish to set up as our rival.  Working out a rival game isn’t all that simple.  Of course, if another school already has a rival, then they typically can not make a change.  Those that are not up to the talent level that we’ve achieved under Coach Aura, may want to be our rival, but we prefer to have one more that is more our equal.  Some that have about the same capabilities or slightly better, may not want to set a rival that may be likely to pin a loss on them.  We prefer someone relatively near us geographically and another Catholic college would be ideal.  Since the negotiations have not yet been completed, I can’t reveal the college that is likely to be our new non-conference rival.  I believe that the final agreement will not be signed until next summer as we’re finalizing next season’s schedule.

Cornell has some good players although not the depth we have.  C Phillipp Ray is averaging 13.3 ppg, SF Julian Brookhart is scoring 13.4 ppg, and SG Torian Duany is averaging 10.1 ppg.  We can’t take the Big Red too lightly.

Initially in the game, the Eagles pounded the ball inside to C Courtland Reese and he was repeatedly fouled, sending the Big Red’s C Phillipp Ray to the bench quickly.  BC was up 5-2 with all their points scored by Reese on free throws.  We gradually took charge and with 8 minutes to go in the half we led 28-12.  By the end of the half we were ahead 40-26.  C Courtland Reese already had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds. 

The Eagles played lackadaisically in the 2^nd half.  With Cornell hitting some big 3’s, the lead shrunk to 7 midway through the half and with 2 minutes left, BC was still up by just 7.  Then with 1:20 to go, Cornell’s SF DeShaun Angner made a slick move to the hoop and slammed home a shot to cut the lead to 5.  Courtland Reese returned the favor with a move to the basket himself to make it 73-66 with a minute left.  We ended up scoring a rather unimpressive 78-66 win. 

C Courtland Reese (15 points, 11 boards), PG Josh McFadgon (12 points), and SF Leonard Meliet (10 points) led the Eagles to victory.  Cornell’s PG Jason Paige scored 20 points while C Phillipp Ray scored 11 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

The pollsters obviously weren’t impressed by our win either.  We dropped to #7 in the Media Poll and #10 in the Coaches Poll.

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 20, 2027: #8 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles (10-0) vs #7 ranked Boston College Eagles (9-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

JJ Conroy, BeanTownSports Blog

Pregame issues:

The Eagles closed out their pre-conference play by hosting another unbeaten team.  Marquette was ranked #8 in the Media Poll and #7 in the Coaches Poll.  The Golden Eagles won the Advocare Invitational championship.  PF Donta Lee came into the game averaging 17.5 ppg and 10.2 rpg and Garrett Barnes was averaging 16.8 ppg.

C Courtland Reese has been experiencing back spasms.  He started but his playing time was limited.  With reserve C Greg Kidd unable to play due to a recurring injury, BC’s interior depth was impacted, particularly since reserve Jason Caldwell tires quickly.  That makes trying to hold down Donta Lee even more difficult.

What’s happening at Boston College with all the injuries this season?  Have the coaches changed their practice and game strategies so that the players’ physical condition is being adversely affected?  Is the training staff not properly handling the players?  If the injury parade continues, it will definitely result in losses during conference play.

Game Results:

In a surprise, Coach Aura started Jason Caldwell at C in place of injured Courtland Reese.  For a second straight game, Boston College scored their initial points at the free throw line.  They made 7 foul shots and were 0 for 7 from the field and were tied 13-7 after 8 minutes of play.  The Eagles finally made their first field goal at the 11:59 mark.  In another surprise, in a rather ballsy move Coach Aura moved Leonard Meliot from SF to C with Caldwell resting on the bench and Courtland Reese ineffective in 4 minutes on the court.  Since the 6’5” Meliet came to BC as a PG, this was akin to how the Lakers used “Magic Johnson” occasionally many years ago.  Meliet responded by scoring 5 points while giving up 2 points in about 4 minutes at the C position as the Eagles narrowed the gap to 18-17 with 7-1/2 minutes left in the half.  After pulling ahead by a single point BC stalled offensively allowing Marquette to build a 32-27 halftime advantage.  Since Boston College hit just 26% of their FG’s compared to 52% by Marquette, it was surprising the game was so close.  Leonard Meliet scored 14 points plus grabbed 5 rebounds in the half.  The four guards used by the Eagles were 0 for 15 from the field and Caldwell and Reese missed on all 5 of their FGA’s.

Meliet and Lilly each picked up their 3^rd foul early in the 2^nd half, a bad omen for the Eagles, particularly since Caldwell and Reese were so ineffective at the C position.  BC’s horrendous shooting continued.  Coach Aura was forced to bring Meliet back in as he seemed to be the only Eagle able to hit a FG.  He responded by drilling two 3’s to cut the lead to 40-39 with 9 minutes to play.  Then with 7 minutes to go, Meliet hit a jumper to tie the game at 41-41.  He then hit two successive 3’s to put the Eagles on top 49-43 with 5:13 on the clock.  BC’s defense carried them the rest of the way as they achieved a poorly played, but dogged 58-50 win.

The victory fell completely on the shoulders of Leonard Meliet who scored 28 of the Eagles 58 points, hitting 10 of 16 from the field (including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc) and 3 for 3 at the charity line.  Meliet also had 9 rebounds, an assist, and 3 steals.  The only other Eagle who shot well was PF Marvin Reese who hit 4 of 6 FG’s and scored 10 points.  The rest of the team hit just  of 32 of their FG attempts (6%) and none of their nine 3-point attempts.  The way the other 9 players performed on offense was quite simply atrocious.  While they weren’t booed by the home crowd, there were a lot of groans as they shot miss after miss after miss.  The Eagles defense in the 2^nd half was solid, though, allowing the Golden Eagles to score just 18 points in the final 20 minutes.  Marquette hit less that 40% of their shots in the 2^nd half and got few shots due to frequent turnovers (they had 23 throughout the entire game).  The Eagles held Marquette’s Donta Lee and Garrett Barnes to a combined total of just 20 points.

Comments:

Boston College has to improve their shooting if they want to be competitive in ACC play.  Their FG percentage is the 4^th worst in the ACC. Because of that 8 of the other 14 ACC teams are scoring better than the Eagles who average 77.4 ppg).  7 of the other 14 ACC teams have held their opponents to less points per game than BC’s 66.4 ppg average.  Unless they improve that portends Boston College finishing in the middle of the ACC standings.

BC remains 8^th in the Media Poll and 10^th in the Coached Poll.  Although their pre-conference record is good they aren’t playing like a Top 10 ranked team.  On the other hand their preconference schedule has made their NET Ranking best in the nation.  My guess is that they will finish 4^th in the ACC standings…behind Duke, Louisville and either Virginia, Florida State or North Carolina.

[PointGuard 70]

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

ACC Pre-Conference team records:

Duke: 12-0: Ranked 2/2; NET 5

Louisville: 11-1; Ranked 4/4; NET 12

Boston College: 10-1; Ranked 8/10; NET 1

Florida State: 10-1; Ranked 14/15; NET 18

Virginia: 9-1; Ranked 17/16; NET 30

North Carolina State: 8-2; NET 70

Miami (FL): 8-2; NET 72

Notre Dame: 8-2; NET 127

Syracuse: 7-2; NET 135

North Carolina: 7-2; Ranked 18/21; NET 37

Pittsburgh: 7-3; NET 86

Georgia Tech: 7-4; NET 17

Wake Forest: 6-3; NET 94

Virginia Tech: 6-4; NET 229

Clemson: 6-4; NET 108

Top 10 in Polls:

MEDIA POLL

Kansas, 12-0

Duke, 12-0

Florida, 11-2

Louisville, 11-1

Illinois, 11-0

Providence, 11-0

Michigan, 10-2

Boston College, 10-1

Purdue, 10-1

Maryland, 10-1

COACHES POLL

Kansas, 12-0

Duke, 12-0

Florida, 11-2

Louisville, 11-1

Illinois, 11-0

Providence, 11-0

Michigan, 10-2

Maryland, 10-1

Purdue, 10-1

Boston College, 10-1

BOSTON COLLEGE TEAM STATS:

PPG: 77.4 (59^th); Opponents PPG: 66.4 (52^nd)

RPG: 33.2 (86^th)

APG: 16.4 (253^rd)

BPG: 5.0 (95^th)

SPG: 8.1 (81^st)

FG%: 44.8 (201^st)

3P%: 37.5 (97^th)

FT%: 71.5 (221^st)

Off. Rating: 107.1 (43^rd)

Def Rating: 91.7 (44^th)

NET Rating: 15.3 (28^th)

BOSTON COLLEGE PLAYER STATS:

PPG: Leonard Meliet, 15.7; Courtland Reese, 10.2; Marvin Reese, 9.1; Jason Caldwell, 8.0; Josh McFadgon, 7.8; James Lilly, 7.5; Michael Millford, 5.5; Jason Dunn, 4.8; Greg Kidd, 4.0; Winston Minahan, 3.2; Jon Ray, 2.7; Phil Thompson, 2.7; Keith Kolder, 1.7; Andy Dawson, 1.0

RPG: Jason Caldwell, 5.8; James Lilly, 5.5; Leonard Meliet, 4.7; Courtland Reese, 4.4; Marvin Reese, 3.5; Michael Millford, 2.7; Winston Minahan, 2.5; Greg Kidd, 1.8; Jason Dunn, 1.3; Josh McFadgon, 1.2; Andy Dawson, 1.0; Jon Ray, 0.7; Keith Kolder, 0.6; Phil Thompson, 0.3

APG: James Lilly, 3.7; Leonard Meliet, 3.3; Josh McFadgon, 2.3; Jason Dunn, 1.3; Courtland Reese, 1.1; Jon Ray, 1.1; Winston Minahan, 0.9; Phil Thompson, 0.9; Marvin Reese, 0.8; Michael Millford, 0.7; Jason Caldwell, 0.6; Greg Kidd, 0.2; Keith Kolder, 0.2; Andy Dawson, 0.0

SPG: James Lilly, 1.5; Courtland Reese, 1.1; Michael Millford, 0.9; Leonard Miliet, 0.9; Marvin Reese, 0.8

BPG: Courtland Reese, 1.1; Andy Dawson, 1.0 ; Leonard Miliet, 1.0; Marvin Reese, 0.8; James Lilly, 0.7

[PointGuard 70]

Dec. 28, 2027: #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (10-1, 0-0) vs #2 ranked Duke Blue Devils (12-0, 0-0) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC

3^rd Assistant Coach Rob Rowland

I feel like we drew the short straw on opponents for the opening conference game.  But we have to play Duke on their court some time this season, so it’s probably best to get it out of the way right out of the gate.  Duke is a powerhouse.  As usual they have a star freshman…in fact two this season in SF Rod Allen (24.9 ppg and 6.7 rpg) and C Brian Taylor (16.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg).  Allen has scored 30+ points (including 40 in one game) in 5 of the team’s 12 games.  We really need to keep him from breaking loose.  PF Michael Rashaw is another highly rated freshman who is averaging 5.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg.  The Blue Devils have a 4^th freshman (SF David Dye) who was the 9^th ranked recruit nationally who is riding the bench and only averaging 6.5 mpg.  Duke is a team that just keeps reloading each and every year.  If I were coaching Duke I’d start Dye at SF and move Allen to start at SG.  They’re both extremely strong players, and playing Dye so little is probably just going to make him consider transferring after this season.

The Blue Devils have averaged 79.2 ppg and only given up 62.8 ppg in their first 12 games this season and have wins over #7 Michigan, #11 Creighton, and #25 Brigham Young.  The team won the 2K Sports Classic tournament.  Duke pressures most of the game with a 2-2-1 half court press so they get a lot of steals.  Their star freshmen also block a lot of shots.  Their big guys also get a bunch of offensive rebounds. 

So this is a game where Duke is stronger inside, but we’re stronger on the perimeter, particularly if Josh McFadgon regains the offensive production he exhibited the end of last season and has shown sporadically since recovering from an injury early this season.  We can’t afford to rely on a single player like we did against Marquette in our last game when Leonard Meliet scored half our points and the rest of the team couldn’t find the basket.  We need a total team effort if we’re going to have a chance against Duke in Durham.

1^st Assistant Coach David Woodruff                                   

OK, Rob’s given you a lot of bad news, but he’s scouting another team tonight and therefore not with us.  So it’s up to me to provide you with news (hopefully good) about the game.  Here goes:

1^st Half:

All our guys are available tonight (for a change no one’s sidelined due to injury).  We’re starting our regular lineup of McFadgon (PG), Lilly (SG), Meliet (SF), M. Reese (PF), and C. Reese (C ).  Coach Aura focused on defense with the team prior to the game.

We again got off to a slow start.  It took us 4 minutes to finally hit a field goal.  Turnovers were killing us.  We made 6 in the first 7 minutes and Duke turned 3 of those into driving layups.  Courtland Reese picked up his 2^nd foul with 12:47 to play in the half.  We’re hitting 3’s (4 of 8 so far) to put us ahead 16-14 with 8 minutes remaining.  Our defense solidifies making it tough for Duke to put the ball in the hoop and forcing some turnovers.  We go ahead 23-14 with 3-1/2 minutes remaining.  We hold the Blue Devils shooting to just 20% for the half and lead at the break 30-18.  If it weren’t for our 11 turnovers, the lead would be greater.  We stuck like glue to Duke’s SF Rod Allen so that he went 0 for 9 from the field in the half.  In the locker room Coach Aura continued to drive home to the team the importance of maintaining our lock-down defense.

2^nd Half:

We go on an 8-0 run to start the 2^nd half to go ahead by 20.  Our defense continues to successfully harass the Blue Devils, but our we go cold midway through the half and are unable to score.  With 5-1/2 minutes remaining, Duke’s Rod Allen hits his first FG following his 12 earlier misses.  In frustration, Coach Aura switches out all 5 players on the court.  That seems to wake up the team and we score 6 points in the next 60 seconds to re-establish a 19 point lead.  We then continue to squash them defensively and come away with an amazing 61-42 crushing of the Blue Devils on their home court.

Our shooting percentage was high, but the final 10-12 minutes reduced it to 42% for the entire game.  But…we held Duke’s shooting to 21%.  We also out-rebounded the Blue Devils 40-29.

SF Leonard Meliet scored 13 points plus had 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks.  C Courtland Reese scored 12 and SG James Lilly added 11 points plus pulled down 7 boards.  We completely stuffed hot-scoring Rod Allen…he only hit 1 of 15 FG’s and scored just 5 points (20 under his average) even though he played 38 minutes.

[PointGuard 70]

Boston College Chronicle

By Kinsey Ramsey

WHAT THE _ _ _ _ ?

The Eagles go on the road and rip previously undefeated Duke, winning by 19 points.  So this week’s updated polls come out.  Duke remains ensconced in 2^nd place in both polls.  BC fails to move up in the Coaches Poll, still residing at #10.  And in the Media Poll, the Eagles DROP from #8 to #9.  Something’s rotten in Poll-land.

[PointGuard 70]

PF Winston Minahan

The flight back from North Carolina to Boston was horrible.  A storm was moving up the East Coast and it seemed like we were right in the middle of it.  A rough all the way.  By the time we got to Boston, the storm had hit there with heavy snowfall.  A scary landing as the plane skidded along the runway.  And the bus ride from the airport to campus wasn’t any better.  We got back late at night.  I was exhausted and slept in the next morning.  When I got up I was shocked when I looked out the window at what I saw.  Snow had fallen all night…a very heavy snowfall.  Checking out a weather report, I found out 18 inches had fallen shutting down the city.  We’d had very moderate weather throughout December and had been lulled into a false sense of reality, thinking we’d get through the entire winter without any really bad weather.  Well, we were wrong.  This storm had the whole city shut down. 

It continued to snow throughout the day, but fortunately had a much lower rate.  Our next game was four days away, but it was a home game against Syracuse and they had even more snow that we did.  It looked like the game would have to be postponed.  The snow didn’t keep the coaching staff from expecting us to practice, though.  We politicked for snow days, but Coach Fed was adamant…get your butts to the gym.  So we trudged through the snow every day. 

I’d hardly seen more than a trace of snow at any time while growing up in Sonora, TX.   During my year at Texas Tech, there was a little more snow in Lubbock than what I’d seen in Sonora, but not more than a couple inches at a time.  So at first it was fun going out into the deep snow…but after a day or so, the fun wore off and I was ready for a change of weather and was beginning to feel trapped by the limited mobility.

New Years Eve was very low key since it still wasn’t all that safe getting around in the city.  That sucked.  But, when the new year broke, so did the weather.  The temperature soared on January 1^st and the snow began to melt rapidly.  Our game against Syracuse for the next night was ON!

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 2, 2028: Syracuse Orange (8-3, 1-1) vs #9 ranked Boston College Eagles (11-1, 1-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

Last week, Coach Aura’s Boston College Eagles continued their winning ways and improved their record to 11-1 with a devastating beat-down of Duke.  The Blue Devils had glazed looks after BC’s defense completely stumped their efforts.  Home court advantage meant nothing in this game as the Eagles’ defense was rock solid for the entire 40 minutes.

BC then fought their way through a snowstorm to get home to take on Syracuse.  The Eagles’ win over Duke pumped up enthusiasm within their fan base and ensured Silvio O. Conte Forum was filled to the rafters last night. 

Syracuse lost their ACC opener to Miami but then beat #4 ranked Louisville.  The Orange have relied on two 5-star freshmen this season: PF George Plowman is averaging 20.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg and SG Chad Lopez has scored 10.3 ppg with 4.4 apg.  The question for many at the beginning of the game was: Can BC contain Plowman like then did Duke’s freshman phenom Rod Allen?

BC turned the ball over on each of their first 5 possessions, which put them in a 7-0 hole.  The Eagles slowly chipped away and with 8:57 remaining in the half, Michael Millford knocked down a jumper on which he was fouled.  He sank the free throw also and BC was tied with Syracuse at 20-20.  BC pulled away in the final 5 minutes to take a 40-28 lead to the locker room.  Leading the scoring for the Eagers were C Courtland Reese and SF Leonard Meliet with both scoring 8 points.

The Eagles shot well throughout the 2^nd half and continued to expand their lead.  When the claxon sounded ending the game, Boston College had a convincing 83-58 win over the Orange.  BC outshot Syracuse 50% to 32%, dominated the boards 35-23 and outscored the Orange in the paint 20-8.  In the final 29 minutes of the game, the Eagles outscored the Orange 66-28.  The victory put BC into a 3-way tie for 1^st place in the ACC with Virginia and Notre Dame. 

Both C Courtland Reese and SF Leonard Meliet scored 20 points and each had 8 rebounds.  PG Josh McFadgon contributed 13 points while SG James Lilly hit for 10 points.  The Eagles held PF George Plowman to just 10 points but SG Chad Lopez scored 16 points.

The Eagles host Notre Dame in their next game later this week.  BC then will have two tough weeks with 4 straight away games.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 6, 2028: #22 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-2, 3-0) vs #9 ranked Boston College Eagles (12-1, 2-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Rob Francisco, Director of Hoop Club

The Hoop Club is the men’s basketball team’s support organization.  On game day we gather in the Shea Room for a buffet dinner prior to the game and then again for snacks and drinks at halftime.  Often there is a chalk time before the game by either an assistant coach or one of the radio voices of the Eagles.  Annual membership rates range from $250 to $1000.  Because of how well the team has done the past two seasons and so far this season, membership has grown significantly.  Besides my wife Tori, I brought 6 guests to tonight’s game.  Two went to Notre Dame but the other four are solid Eagles’ fans. 

For the third straight game the Eagles have to contend with a superstar freshman PF.  For Notre Dame’s it’s Marqus Gibson who was the 10^th highest ranked recruit last year.  He’s averaging 15.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.1 bpg and 1.6 spg.  The guy is a very good inside scorer and a beast on the boards as well as being a solid defender.  Junior SF Rich Thompson is averaging 12.4 ppg and 6.2 rpg.  Thompson has scored consistently the same each of the 3 years he’s played for Notre Dame and shoots best from mid-range.  Notre Dame runs a slow-paced offense and plays an effective 1-2-2 zone defense which has allowed just 61.1 ppg by their opponents.  Two of the Fighting Irish’ ACC wins have been over #18 ranked North Carolina and #2 ranked Duke.

I hear that Virginia lost earlier today, so the winner of this game will be the lone undefeated ACC team and have sole possession of 1^st place.

We finished the buffet so it’s out to our game seats to watch the game:

The refs call 2 fouls on C Courtland Reese in the first minute of play.  The crowd is booing the refs lustily.  Notre Dame hit 6 of their first 7 field goals.  My guests who are Notre Dame alum were hooting it up.  But with 12-1/2 minutes left in the half, the Eagles get their first lead when PF Winston Minahan intercepted a pass and delivered it upcourt to C Greg Kidd who jammed it down to make it 16-15 in favor of BC.  Leonard Meliet was charged with his 3^rd foul midway through the half so our top two scorers were on the bench.  The Eagles were doing good pounding the ball inside for some easy baskets and led 38-30 with 4 minutes to play.  The half ended with BC on top 47-40.  Both teams hit over 50% of their FG’s, but BC held an 18-11 rebounding advantage and a 10-5 turnover advantage.  Notre Dame had scored 5 more points than the Eagles at the foul line.  PG Josh McFadgon was high point man for BC with 11 points.  For the Fighting Irish, SG Tom Tatum had 14 points and PF Marqus Gibson scored 13.

Both teams fired darts in the early going of the 2^nd half.  At the first media time out, the Eagles were ahead 63-50.  The teams kept pouring in points but BC held off the Fighting Irish.  With 4 minutes to play, the score was 81-70.  BC never let down throughout the entire 2^nd half and beat Notre Dame 89-77.  The Eagles edged the Fighting Irish in most all team stats and crushed them on the boards, 38-24.  Boston College is now in sole possession of 1^st place in the ACC.

PF Josh McFadgon had a big night, 23 points and 8 assists.  C Greg Kidd scored 12 and PF Marvin Reese added 11.  SG Tom Tatum hit for 9 points and added 6 assists for Notre Dame.

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 9, 2028: #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (13-1, 3-0) vs Florida State Seminoles (10-5, 0-4) at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, FL

SG James Lilly

I’m so happy to be playing for Boston College.  To be honest, the main reason I chose BC was that the previous head coach PROMISED me that I would start as a freshman.  The other colleges I was looking into wouldn’t give me that guarantee.  I expected I could come here and turn the program around.  That didn’t happen under the old coach in my freshman year.  But when Coach Fed got here, things really began changing.  Getting to the finals of the CIT tournament as a sophomore and then winning the ACC tournament and getting to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA tournament as a junior made my decision to play for the Eagles a good one.  And thus far this season, the team has been GREAT!

You gotta wonder what’s up with Florida State.  They finished pre-conference play with a 10-1 record and were ranked as high as 11^th in the polls.  But they have lost their first 4 ACC games…and all 4 have been losses by double-digits.  We’re intent on making their recent misfortunes continue.  Unlike the most recent teams we’ve played, Florida State is more like us in that they don’t have one or two star players but a bunch of solid players, any one of whom can lead the team in a given game.  So we’ll save our double teaming for anyone that gets hot.

Due to poor shooting we trailed most of the first half, but late in the half we went on a 9-0 run that gave us a small lead.  With 6 seconds left, Coach Fed called a time out to set up an isolation play that allowed me to get up jumper from the left of the key that settled through the hoop to give us a 31-28 halftime advantage.  We only hit 35% of our shots, but Florida State did no better in the half.  Our top scorer in the first half was C Courtland Reese with 10 points.  I had 5 points and 6 boards.

Early in the 2^nd half we scored 10 unanswered points that gave us a 44-33 lead. With 16 minutes to play.  We had to struggle to hold onto the lead but the Seminoles were able to whittle away at it mainly because of uncharacteristic poor foul shooting by us.  But Florida State was fouling a lot, many were simply stupid fouls.  So even though both teams weren’t shooting well from the field, we got to the foul line repetitively and that, along with a 47-34 rebounding advantage, turned out to be the difference.  The extra 14 points we scored on free throws gave us a 67-54 win.  Not pretty, but a win is a win.

Leading our scoring was C Courtland Reese with 20 points and he also had 8 rebounds.  I had a nice little double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Edited September 16, 2021 by PointGuard

[PointGuard 70]

Jan. 11, 2028: #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (14-1, 4-0) vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-6, 2-2) at Hank McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta, GA

Excerpts from WEEI Radio game broadcast

--Hi Eagles fan.  This is Parker White along with Cap Morrison bringing you tonight’s game in Atlanta against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.  The first place Eagles hope to keep their perfect ACC record.  Georgia Tech is a good shooting and scoring team averaging nearly 81 ppg, but poor defensively giving up nearly 78 ppg.  What do you think BC’s chances are, Cap?  This is their 2^nd road game in three days, so will they be road-weary?

I think the Eagles are a much better team than the Yellow Jackets, Parker.  Even though they’re living out of hotels, I believe that’s not going to be a problem.  I am picking BC to win by at least 10 points.  But they need to take advantage of Georgia Tech’s porous defense and shoot much better than they have been recently.

Both teams are at full strength for tonight’s game. 

Right, Parker.  So that’s another advantage for BC.  Their depth will be a big plus in allowing Coach Aura to keep fresh legs on the court and wear down the Yellow Jackets.

The game’s about to start, Cap.

--Cap, BC’s come out on fire.  Just over 4 minutes into the game and they’re ahead 14-0.  If it weren’t for their 3 turnovers, the Eagles would even have a bigger lead.

--Lilly is called for his 2^nd foul…that’ll send him to the bench with 14 minutes left in the half.  But the Eagles’ defense has kept Georgia Tech from working the ball inside.  6 of their 8 shots have been from outside the 3-point arc.  Parker, that’s a good reason they’re trailing 16-3.  Jason Dunn checks in to replace Lilly.

--The refs are working BC over.  11:20 left to go in the half and they are charged with their 7^th foul.  That’s two on Caldwell.  Greg Kidd replaces him.

--Sloppy play by the Eagles continues.  That pass by Courtland Reese was way off target.  That’s the team’s 8^th turnover.

--Courtland Reese is the 4^th player on BC to go to the bench with 2 fouls.  Are the refs trying to keep the Yellow Jackets in the game?  Coach Fed giving the refs heck.

--Boy that was one ugly half.  BC had 11 turnovers, GT had 10.  The Yellow Jackets hit just 26% of their FG’s but were able to cut the Eagles’ lead at the break to 33-31 because they went to the line 15 more times where they scored 12 more points than BC.  The Eagles were tagged with 15 fouls and 6 of their players had 2 fouls apiece.  The refs called just 7 fouls on GT.  I’m surprised, Parker, that Coach Fed didn’t get a technical.

--The Eagles now trail 42-38 at the first media timeout of the 2^nd half.  Lilly now on the bench with 4 fouls.

--BC just ran off a 9-3 run to get them within 3 points at 50-47 with 10-1/2 minutes remaining. 

--That’s 3 fouls on Meliet.  He’ll join Lilly and McFadgon on the bench.  The refs are making a travesty of this game.

--Phil Thompson hits the 3!  Sweet shot.  That ties the game at 54-54 with 8:47 to go.

--Meliet steps into the passing lane and picks off the pass.  Marvin Reese streaks downcourt.  Meliet shoots him with the pass and Reese slams it home.  Boston College back on top 62-60 with 6:44 to go.

--The final media timeout is called with 3-1/2 minutes remaining and Georgia Tech on top 66-64.  The Eagles need to start hitting a higher percentage of their shots and can’t afford any more turnovers, Parker. 

--McFadgon’s 20 footer goes in to tie the game.  A foul on the shot.  McFadgon’s foul shot is off the rim.

--Lilly gets the ball into Kidd. Kidd makes a move to the bucket and slams it home.  68-66 in favor of BC.  2 minutes left to go.

--Yet another turnover by the Eagles.  The Yellow Jackets are still down by two but call a time out with a minute to play.  GT works the ball around.  It goes to Brunson at just to the right of the key and he sinks it to tie the game.  43 seconds remain.  Time out called by the Eagles.

--A pick and roll by BC, but Lilly’s shot is off the mark.  GT brings it quickly down court and lofts a 3 that goes down.  Time out called by BC with 19 seconds to go.

--The Eagles work the ball around the perimeter trying to get free for a 3.  It goes to Phil Thompson in the corner and he puts it up.  It’s IN!  That ties it at 71-71.  What a pressure shot!

--GT gets it upcourt quickly.  Doctor’s shot is up…..and is no good.  We go to overtime.

--Surprise. The refs call Georgia Tech for 2 fouls in the first 40 seconds of OT.  BC converts 3 of 4 from the line to make it 74-71.

--Courtland Reese gets his 2^nd block of the OT.  The ball goes to Lilly who fires a quick outlet pass to Meliet.  Meliet dribbles around the head of the key.  He finds Courtland Reese on the baseline.  Reese puts up a contested shot that drops through to make it 76-71 with 2:36 on the clock.

--Lilly steals the ball.  He shoots it to Marvin Reese for a sweet alley-oop jam making it 78-71.  Great defense by BC.

--Lilly knocks down an 18 foot jumper with 1:30 to go and it’s 80-71.

--With a minute to go, Georgia Tech is forced to foul.  Marvin Reese misses the first and makes the second to give the Eagles a 10 point lead.

--Lilly fouls out with 55 seconds remaining.  GT hits both shots to score their first points of the OT.

--The Yellow Jackets could only foul to try to get the ball back…making the final score 86-75.  Stellar defense by BC allowed just 2 points on free throws and a very late FG by Georgia Tech in the overtime.

--Parker, after a very hard-fought second half, that was TOTAL domination by Boston College throughout the entire 5 minutes of overtime.  The Eagles came up big in OT when it counted.  They never let Georgia Tech get off an easy shot.

--In this game, Cap, the Eagles were led by C Courtland Reese with 15 points and 13 boards, PF Marvin Reese who had 13 points and 10 rebounds, SG James Lilly with 8 points and 12 boards, and SF Leonard Meliet who scored 8 and had 10 rebounds.

--That makes the Eagles 5-0 in the ACC and 1 game ahead of Virginia, Notre Dame and Miami. 

---They have two more road games next week so their testing continues.  We’ll be here next week for those games, folks…you be here too.

 

Jason Braxton, Athletic Director

The two road wins this week moved us up in the polls.  We’re now 3^rd in the Media Poll and 4^th in the Coaches Poll.  We remain as the team with the best NET Ranking.