Boston College Eagles vs. Dayton Flyers Preview: Charleston Classic Consolation

The Boston College Eagles lost to the Baylor Bears in the quarterfinals of the Charleston Classic on Thursday afternoon by a score of 84-74. Steve Donahue and Company aren't quite done yet, however. They move to the consolation bracket where they will meet the loser of Thursday's other game.

Who? Boston College Eagles (1-1) vs. Dayton Flyers (1-1)

When? 2:30 PM Eastern

Where? TD Bank Arena -- Charleston, South Carolina

Where on my eyeballs? ESPNU or ESPN3.com

Who should win? Vegas says that BC is a 4.5 point underdog today.

Who is really going to win though?

This game should be much easier than Thursday's game. Baylor is ranked 16th in the country and although they weren't executing as they probably will be later in the season, their talent is obvious. Dayton's players, on the other hand, are not quite as prolific as the likes of Pierre Jackson and Isaiah Austin. The Flyers lost their first game of the Charleston Classic to the Colorado Buffaloes. I wasn't able to catch all of that game, but it seemed to follow a very similar outline as the BC-Baylor game. Dayton, the underdog, caught Colorado off guard to start the game and jumped out to a lead at halftime. They battled and fought for much of the game, but ran out of steam and allowed Colorado to pull away in the final 8 to 10 minutes. In that way, this game will be a big test for both the Eagles and the Flyers. Both coaches have emphasized the need to play the full 40 minutes and it's likely that whichever team can put together the more complete effort will end up being the team that wins the game.

Dayton's leading scorer is senior point guard, Kevin Dillard. Dillard had a relatively quiet game against Colorado and it's really necessary for him to get going for the Flyers to have success. In both of the Eagles' first two games, they've had trouble containing dribble penetration, which then leads to kickouts to open threes or easy layups. Olivier Hanlan and Joe Rahon will be tested by another veteran guard with the ability to score and create for others. Dillard isn't Pierre Jackson, but he'll still be a difficult guy to guard.

In a way, yesterday's recap can act as the preview for this afternoon's game. That is to say, Jeff and I (and the commenters) touched on all of the things that we liked, didn't like, and want to see improve. Ryan Anderson was a monster again and we'd certainly like to see him continue that. A possession that doesn't see the ball touch Anderson's hands is basically a wasted possession. Dayton should have increased emphasis on stopping Anderson, so that should create opportunities for other BC players to attack and score. Dennis Clifford has gotten off to a slow start with that knee injury. It'd be encouraging to see him come out and play 20-25 strong minutes. If the knee isn't 100%, there's no reason to play full minutes. But I'd like to see him really competing in the time that he is on the floor. Patrick Heckmann needs to work on his ball security, especially late in games when fatigue starts to set in. And finally, the bench roles played by Eddie Odio and Andrew Van Nest were pleasant surprises. Continued positive contributions from those type of role players would be incredibly helpful in gaining a win.

BC Interruption's Prediction:

Yesterday I said that I'd be happy with a moral victory, and we got that. Today, I want an actual victory. I have the sense that today's game really just comes down to who can play harder for the full 40 minutes. I want BC to be that team. If they play a complete game and continue to feed Ryan Anderson, they'll win. BC beats Dayton, 78-70. Ryan Anderson scores 24 in the victory.