Men’s Basketball Preview: Boston College vs Miami

The Boston College Eagles (2-9) will host the Miami Hurricanes (5-5) in tonight’s ACC match-up. BC enters the game on a 4-game losing streak and 0-5 against the ACC overall, while the Hurricanes aren’t faring much better with a 1-4 ACC record. While these teams aren’t exactly evenly matched, it wouldn’t be surprising for either team to come out on top in this one.

A big struggle as of late for this BC team has been turnovers and the resulting points given up to the opposing team. In a close game against Duke that was decided by 1 point, the Eagles gave up 25 points on their turnovers and sealed their own fate. Against Virginia last week it was more of the same, among additional offensive struggles against the Cavaliers stellar defense. In order to get this inconsistent offense cooking and to build up confidence in key playmakers like Wynston Tabbs and Jay Heath, the Eagles have to limit turnovers and give the team as many offensive opportunities as possible.

Miami could serve as a great starting point for this BC team to start improving their ballhandling. They are a struggling ACC team that is still fully-capable of giving BC a fight, so playing a more vulnerable defense and a more winnable game may give BC its first ACC win and a spark that helps them turn this season’s ship around. The Eagles’ schedule does not get much easier in the coming weeks, so games like these will be crucial if the team wants to salvage any hope in this shortened season.

Prediction

The Hurricanes are not particularly spectacular or terrible at anything specific this year. They are certainly struggling more than they have in years’ past, but its just mostly been due to an overall decline in play. This game will probably be a close one, which is bad news for a BC squad that seems to always lose close games. But I think they will finally overcome their end-of-game woes against a more sub-par opponent than they usually face. Their defense may actually hold up better against a team with less talent in the frontcourt.

Final Score: Boston College 73 Miami 68