Duke defeats Boston College in the ACC tournament, 86-51. BC’s season is over.

Duke started out hot this game, immediately jumping to a 10-2 lead and shooting 80% from the floor in the opening minutes. BC was forcing turnovers and being aggressive in getting loose balls, but their shots were mostly poor-quality and were not falling. The Eagles were able to put up some scores that would put them back into the game occasionally early on, especially with from some great play by Jay Heath on both ends of the floor, but Duke quickly expanded their lead again and kept it out of reach for good. BC would end up giving up a bunch of turnovers down the stretch of the first half (including several traveling violations), from which Duke capitalized with a lot of three-pointers and the Blue Devils had the 41-27 lead by halftime.

In the second half... it was more of the same. BC played hard but sloppy. Turnovers and missed shots continued to plague the Eagles as Duke’s much more consistent performance from the field continued to pile onto the lead. Boston College’s defense struggled a lot against a Duke team that could find scoring from everywhere, and the Blue Devils’ great ball movement created a lot of open shots from behind the arc. It wasn’t a particularly close since the opening tip-off, Duke just outplayed BC in all facets of the game.

There isn't much to say when looking at the keys of the game. BC shot terribly from three, while Duke shot well. BC struggled to move the ball and create open shots, Duke did it well. BC’s defense collapsed under stress, Duke’s held strong. BC gave up way too many turnovers (20), Duke didn’t (12, a bunch of these came after the game was basically over).

I’ll try to give you a positive outlook as we head into the offseason: The key players that remain on this roster have talent and they could be successful in the right system and under the right coaching. Specifically Jay Heath, Makai Ashton-Langford, DeMarr Langford Jr., CJ Felder, and James Karnik have all had their moments this season. While this program will be starting from square one with a new coach next year, this roster realistically could finish 10th in the ACC with the right coach. Is that likely? No. But don’t put your money on repeat last place finish just yet.

I eagerly await news on a new Boston College coaching staff. Thanks for suffering along with us this season, Eagles fans!