Men’s Basketball Preview: Boston College vs Albany

The Eagles picked up a much needed win against Notre Dame and now return to Conte Forum to face off against the Albany Great Danes. BC seemed to finally break their cold streak shooting-wise against Notre Dame. The Eagles shot 49.2 % from the field and 47.8% from three and even without Nik Popovic the team still managed to rebound the ball well, especially on defense. BC gets a chance to keep the victory vibes going with a what should be an easy home victory.

Previewing Albany

After finishing 6th in the America East Conference, the Great Danes are 5-5 and against fairly modest competition, with perhaps their best wins coming against American and Sacred Heart. From a statistically standpoint Albany is fairly even with BC, shooting an identical 42.1% from the field and shooting 31.8% from three compared to BC’s 33.5%. However they are a better rebounding team, with 35.2 rebounds per game to BC’s 33.7. Also like BC, Albany forces more turnover than they give up. The Great Danes have faced weaker competition but that just means BC will have to ensure that they don’t overlook their opponent.

Players to Watch Out For

Sophomore Guard, Cameron Healy. Shooting 45.2% from the field and 39.7% from three Healy leads the team with 17.6 points per game. Healy is also third on the team in rebounds, second in assists, tied for the lead in assists, and second in free throw percentage. BC has had trouble with opposing guards, especially ones that are good perimeter shooters, but if they can slow down Healy then they’ll slow down the rest of the Great Danes.

How Does BC Win?

Against a team like Albany BC just needs to focus and play a fundamentally sound game. That means no sloppy turnovers or mistakes on defense and no sleepwalking through the game. If BC can beat a team like Notre Dame without their star forward than they should have no problem beating the Great Danes.

Predictions

BC - 73 / Albany 62