Men’s Basketball Preview: Boston College @ Louisville

The Boston College Eagles (7-8) travel down to Kentucky on Wednesday night to face the Louisville Cardinals (10-7) in another ACC contest. Louisville is in the midst of a tough losing streak, having dropped their last 3 games all in a row to ACC foes Florida State, NC State, and Pitt. Boston College hasn’t faired much better, having lost 5 straight games before mounting an impressive comeback win against Clemson on Saturday night.

Louisville’s offense is what has been dragging them behind this season. They’re 10th in the ACC in PPG and often are relying on their 3-point shooting to keep them in games, something that doesn’t always work when you’re mid-tier in % from behind the arc like the Cardinals. For a gritty defense like Boston College, keeping the Louisville offense floundering is the key to success. The Eagles don’t need to have any special gameplan or contain specific players, they just need to keep the Cardinals from getting in a rhythm and breaking out of their shooting woes they’ve had so far this season. Disrupt Louisville’s offense and watch them struggle to put points on the board when faced with pressure and forced to start chucking up 3s.

On the other side of the ball, Louisville plays tough. Their rebounding is great, especially from 6’11” C Malik Williams, and opponents have been struggling to get offensive rebounds and second chances against this team. Boston College will want to create space for their playmakers (Galloway, Langford, Langford) and get them shooting as consistently as possible from outside the paint. Because a rim protector like Williams will give the Eagles a lot of trouble if they try to push the ball inside too much, especially considering how much Post, Karnik, and others have struggled to do that this season.

Prediction

Boston College is riding high after a comeback win over Clemson, and Louisville is struggling to score consistently and win games. With Brevin Galloway returning to form, BC can get something going here. I smell upset. Give me the Eagles.

Final: Boston College 72 Louisville 68