Boston College Men’s Basketball vs. Texas Tech Final Score and Recap

Texas Tech 75, Boston College 64

Sigh. Boston College men’s basketball was very, very close to winning this game, but they couldn’t complete the comeback. They dug themselves into an early hole with a combination of turnovers and poor rebounding. Those two issues would prove themselves to be main themes throughout the game as Texas Tech finished with 12 offensive rebounds and Boston College finished with 18 turnovers. That’s not a recipe that will win games. They also didn’t have an answer for Texas Tech’s Keenan Evans, who finished with 29 and took over the game from start to finish. Someone on the perimeter needs to step up as a defensive stopper or ACC guards like Joel Berry, Grayson Allen, and Bruce Brown are going to have career days against the Eagles.

While it is very encouraging to see the Eagles battle back and make this a real game in the second half, moral victories will only go so far in terms of pleasing the team, Jim Christian, and the fanbase. This is a much better team than last year, but before they can expect to compete for an NCAA tournament berth, they need to win games against prospective tournament and bubble teams. They have more chances with games at Providence, possibly tomorrow against Northwestern or LaSalle, and against the whole ACC.

If the Eagles can continue to cut down turnovers, limit second chances, and Ky Bowman and Jerome Robinson show up for full games, this team can play with anyone. Steffon Mitchell and Teddy Hawkins have changed the culture of BC defensively. There were multiple occasions today where Mitchell was all over the floor grabbing rebounds, blocking shots, and diving for loose balls. He was pretty ineffective on the offensive side of the ball, as he finished with just one point. He also contributed to one of the game’s key plays, as his technical foul allowed the Red Raiders to get three points instead of one on a key possession late. Lastly, both Mitchell and Robinson went 1-2 at the line late in games. Winning teams hit free throws, especially in big moments.

This is a great learning experience for the young team, and they’ve got to turn it around tomorrow against the loser of LaSalle and Northwestern.