vs. 
UMass Minutemen (6-5, 0-0 Atlantic 10) at Boston College Eagles (7-4, 1-0 ACC)
Time: 7:00 EST
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009
Place: Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, Ma.
TV: Nope
The Line: Boston College -13
Last Time Out: Boston College defeated Bryant 72-46 to move to 7-4 on the season.
Series: Boston College leads the all-time series 24-18.
Last Meeting: Boston College 83, UMass 81 (Dec. 6, 2008)
Last Meeting at BC: UMass 83, Boston College 80 (Dec. 12, 2007)
UMass's 2008-2009 Record: 12-18, 7-9 Atlantic 10 (10th place)
Probable Starters:
- G - Anthony Gurley (Jr.) - 6'3", 185 lbs., Boston, Ma. - 16.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG
- G - Ricky Harris (Sr.) - 6'2", 175 lbs., Baltimore, Md. - 17.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG
- G - David Gibbs (So.) - 6'4", 185 lbs., East Hartford, Ct. - 3.4 PPG, 2.5 RPG
- G/F - Terrell Vinson (Fr.) - 6'7", 205 lbs., Baltimore, Md. - 10.4 PPG, 5.0 RPG
- F/C - Sean Carter (So.) - 6'9", 225 lbs., Fayetteville, N.C. - 4.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG
The Eagles look to keep things rolling in the 43rd installment of the Commonwealth Classic. UMass is coming off a 73-72 win against Memphis. Terrell Vinson scored the game-winning bucket for UMass with 0.7 to play to push the Minutemen to 6-5 on the year. BC moved past Bryant fairly easily to move to 7-4 on the season. The Eagles have 4 more non-conference games before returning to ACC play with a tough two-game road trip to Clemson and Duke.
After being dominated by UMass in the Commonwealth Classic in the 1990s (0-6), the Eagles have rebounded by taking 8 of 9 from their cross-state rivals this decade. BC opened the 2000s going 7-0 against UMass, a streak that was snapped in 2007 when UMass escaped Conte Forum with a 83-80 victory.
As always, leave your pre-, in- or post-game thoughts below.
Oh, and Happy Festivus! Go Eagles!