Brian: The Eagles are starting down a bit of a tough stretch of games in ACC play. On Thursday, the Eagles travel to Charlottesville to take on the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. BC follows that up with a home date against Miami on Sunday, followed by a Wednesday night home game against N.C. State.
The Cavaliers (15-3) started the season red hot, winning 14 of their first 15 games and climbing to a #17 national ranking before losing a close contest to Duke at Cameron Indoor. After blowing out Georgia Tech in Atlanta, the Cavs then proceeded to lose to Virginia Tech at home in an ugly 47-45 contest.
Miami is just 11-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play, dropping games at Virginia (52-51), North Carolina (73-56) and N.C. State (78-73). The Canes two wins in ACC play to date have been a 76-73 home win over Clemson and a 64-49 win over Georgia Tech last night.
Finally, BC hosts the Wolfpack one week from today. The Eagles were barely competitive with N.C. State down in Raleigh the first time around and I probably would expect more of the same in a week's time.
What are your expectations for the Eagles hoops team over the next three games?
Jeff: Unfortunately I expect little out of this team. I do not at all expect a win at Virginia. And while the other games are more manageable, it's hard to say I would expect a win. Going 1-2 is a very realistic outcome, but after the beat down by Wake Forest in Conte, I am back to no expectations for this team. I am hoping for a win against Miami, but we will see.
Brian: I'm not expecting a BC victory in any of the next three games, but I do hope to see some improvement from this young team. Particularly against N.C. State next Wednesday, as that game wasn't nearly as close as the final score (76-62) would indicate. I'll be interested in seeing what sorts of adjustments Donahue makes as the Eagles face the Wolfpack for a second time this season.
Last season, with the exception of BC's second meetings with Clemson (in the ACC Tournament) and vs. Miami, Donahue seemed to do a good job of making adjustments when facing an ACC opponent for the second time. The second games against Virginia Tech (2 point victory, followed by a 15 point victory), Virginia (3 point W, 19 point W) and North Carolina (32 point blowout loss, followed by a 2 point loss) come to mind. Playing at home, I hope to see BC be a little more competitive the second time around against N.C. State.