Jeff: It was an interesting week for BC basketball. The win over a ranked Clemson team certainly gave Eagle fans something to cheer about. Then, those who were scoreboard watching saw teams that the Eagles knocked off beating other good teams ...
Providence beat Connecticut ...
South Carolina beat #1 Kentucky ...
Miami (Fla.) beat Virginia Tech, and ...
Michigan nearly beat Michigan State ...
But Saturday, the Eagles lost a game where they outplayed their opponent for 30 of 40 minutes. BC could've easily beaten FSU after getting off to a rough start but no one stepped up in the end and Florida State left with a victory.
Rakim Sanders led the way in the first half with 13 points despite getting off to a horrible start where he committed two personal fouls and got benched before BC scored a point. Then he played real well once he got back in the game. The end of the game was a different story though. When the game was tied inside two minutes left, Sanders pulled up for a long 2 pt jumper after a ball fake which he missed early in the shot clock of BC's possession. FSU then went down to score and BC would not regain the lead. While BC was down five with time running out, Sanders was fouled and went to the line for a 1-1. He missed the first which proved costly because Jackson hit a three on the Eagles' next possession to cut it to 2. Had Rakim hit two free throws, BC might have tied the game up there. But, it simply wasn't meant to be Saturday in front of a sold out Conte crowd.
On Saturday, BC dominated Florida State for an extended period of time starting after FSU led 10-2 and continuing into early in the second half. BC has dominated other good opponents this season for stretches of games, but the Eagles are still the first team in the ACC to reach 10 losses. Did the Eagles' performance this past week give you hope that they can maybe still make a special run this season? Did it make you realize that they are just underachieving as we suspected all along? Or did it make you realize BC is just an OK team and that's not good enough in the ACC?
Brian: I didn't get a chance to watch the game on Saturday, but it sounds like another missed opportunity to get in the W column. When your team only goes to the line for a new school record 4 times, you can't expect to win the game. I will say that this Eagles team is improving, but this loss is just one of several frustrating losses this season. BC has now lost to Florida State and Virginia Tech in close games. If those games break differently, along with our close non-conference losses to Maine and Saint Joseph's, this team is suddenly looking like an ACC championship contender (at 16-6, 5-3 ACC). As it stands though, it will now be an uphill battle to make any sort of postseason for Boston College.
There won't be a special run this season for BC. We can hold out hope that there will be some ACC upsets in the cards for the Eagles in their last 8 regular season games, but that's about it. It's really a shame too, considering that ACC basketball is a muddled race with no clear cut champion. The standings are crowded at the top with Duke, Maryland, Virginia, and Georgia Tech, defending National Champion North Carolina is struggling at 2-4 and likely will miss the NCAA Tournament, and even at the bottom of the standings, teams like Miami and NC State have already won as many ACC games as Georgia Tech did all last season. It is looking like this season was a prime opportunity for the Eagles to take advantage of a mediocre ACC race and BC didn't capitalize.
From here on out, we can only hope that this team continues to improve, wins enough games to get them into some version of the postseason (NIT, CBI?), and carries the momentum into next season.