Donahue's Rule Of 10

Yesterday, Eagle in Atlanta took a look at the Eagles three-point shooting, noting that the announcers reiterated Steve Donahue's goal of ten made three-pointers per game. But 10 threes is just 1/3 of the equation, according to the team's weekly release.

Ten made threes is just one part of Donahue's Rule of 10.

Head Coach Steve Donahue points to three keys in the box score when it comes to the Eagles obtaining victories. BC wants to hit 10 3-pointers, keep its turnovers to 10 or fewer and to keep the opponent to 10 or fewer offensive rebounds. The Eagles did all three of those things in their victory against #15 Florida State.

The problem is that BC hasn't managed to replicate Donahue's rule of 10 since the win over Florida State. Let's take these one at a time:

10 3-pointers

BC has managed this feat just four times this season and tellingly, all at home -- Bryant (12), Sacred Heart (11), Florida State (10) and Wednesday night against Georgia Tech (10). The Eagles have managed nine threes in five other games. There is quite a bit of luck in hitting threes, and it also depends on how many attempts you make a game. The team shot a season best 50 percent from three against Sacred Heart, connecting on 11-of-22.

10 or fewer turnovers

BC has turned the ball over 10 or fewer times in six games this season, with four of those six coming in BC's last six games -- at Holy Cross (9), Bryant (9), Florida State (10), at Virginia Tech (10), at Maryland (10) and Georgia Tech (10). The trendline here is clearly headed in the right direction, which is a good thing. As this team matures, they should continue to do a better job of protecting the basketball. In this stat category, the team has come a long way from committing 20+ turnovers against UMass, Saint Louis and North Carolina.

10 or fewer opponent offensive rebounds

This is the stat category that tripped up the Eagles last night as BC allowed the Jackets to bring down 13 offensive rebounds. BC has managed this particular feat 13 times -- Saint Louis (8), New Mexico (8), Sacred Heart (6), Virginia Tech (8), Wake Forest (8), at Virginia (5), N.C. State (8), at Georgia Tech (7), Florida State (8), at Maryland (9) and at Wake Forest (5). This is also the category where BC will continue to struggle until they establish more of a presence down low. Rebounding is certainly a weakness of this team, particularly on the offensive glass where BC has given up a bunch of second chance points.

When you put it all together, BC has managed this feat just once this season -- in their home upset of Florida State. BC is 4-1 when they achieve two of Donahue's Rule of 10 tenants, including victories over Sacred Heart, Bryant and Georgia Tech. Lone loss was at Maryland.