Headlines: Rocked Like a Hurricane

Brian: The men's basketball team failed to validate their win over No. 1 North Carolina and lost to Miami at home on Saturday night in front of a nice crowd by Conte Forum standards. Why did the Eagles drop two games last week?

Jeff: Believe it or not, I would still take one win over UNC instead of wins over Harvard and Miami at home. I still think the UNC win will help us more come tourney selection time than the others will hurt us. But as to why we lost, the UNC victory should've given the Eagles confidence and it did. It even made them cocky. BC thought all they needed to do was show up to beat Harvard on Wednesday and, guess what, they were wrong. There aren't many if any 1-A basketball teams that Boston College can just show up against to win. Then, the Harvard loss spilled over to Saturday night too. The Eagles realized they didn't take Harvard seriously so they thought on Saturday, all they needed to do was take their opponent seriously and they would win. But guess what, it takes more than taking your opponent seriously to win in the ACC. The Eagles failed to execute and play fundamental basketball which allowed Miami to hold on to a slight lead for much of the game. In the end, when BC needed to make a run, the refs decided it was their time to shine and they made some very poor calls, especially against Rice. Fortunately for the Eagles, Miami is probably going to finish in the top half of the ACC this year and has already spent considerable time in the top 25. But unfortunately for the Eagles, they've lost 2 in a row with Wake Forest next on the schedule so it will not get easy anytime soon.

Brian: For me, the loss came down to a lack of fundamentals on both sides of the ball. On offense, we missed our chances and were not able to capitalize on high percentage shots and putbacks in the paint. The Eagles also missed their share of free throws down the stretch, while Miami converted 7 of its last 8, which ultimately cost us in the end. Plus, you aren't going to beat many teams when you only shoot 36% from the floor.

Yes, the offensive foul on Rice at the end of the game was highly questionable. Al Skinner was equally perplexed:

"I've got to get an interpretation for what an offensive foul is. I don't understand it," he said, holding back a smirk.

"I've got to figure it out, so I can coach my guys better. I learned it different. I teach it differently. There's a miscommunication there."

My only question was why did Trapani sit the bench for long stretches in the second half, and why did Roche end up with 16 minutes played? I realize Trapani was struggling but Skinner's personnel decisions were pretty questionable in my mind. Would you agree?

Jeff: I disagree. The starters weren't getting it done as a unit so Skinner had to mix it up. Meanwhile Roche didn't play his best game ever, but filled in as a decent role player.