Preview: Boston College Men’s Basketball @ Pitt

The Boston College men’s basketball team will travel to the City of Champions to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers for a late Tuesday night matchup.

When: Tuesday, February 14th at 9:00 pm ET

Where: The Pete, Pittsburgh, PA

How to Watch: The game will be broadcasted live on ACC Network

After a flawless week where they defeated bottom dwellers Florida State and Lousiville, the Pittsburgh Panthers (18-7, 11-3 ACC) enter Tuesday’s game with a share of first place in the ACC. Following an ugly 71-64 home loss to Florida State on January 21st, Jeff Capel’s squad has rattled off a 5-game winning streak heading into the final stretch. The Panthers have been shooting the lights out recently, knocking down 27 three-pointers in their last two outings. Pitt is a tough, scrappy, and physical team and it shows up on the stat sheet. The Panthers come into this one ranked top 4 in both rebounding and blocks (4.48/g) in the ACC. Their 6’11 sophomore forward out of Finland, Federiko Federiko, is a big reason for that as he finished with 8 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks against FSU on Saturday. The 13 rebounds were massive, but seven were offensive, allowing Pitt to notch 20 second-chance points in the game.

You can’t talk about Pitt’s identity without mentioning senior guard Jamarius Burton, whose style and demeanor clearly rub off on his teammates. Burton leads his team in both points (16.0) and assists (4.6) per game. He scored 12 of his 19 points after halftime on Saturday, making sure to be that vital veteran presence, helping the Panthers secure another tough road victory. After Saturday’s win over FSU, the Panthers now have a 7-2 record on the road, good for best in the ACC. For context, the Eagles are 2-6 on the road this year. The ability to grind out those tough wins in front of opposing fans is what makes teams dangerous come March. Yet, Pitt has not gotten the respect they deserve, especially for a team picked to finish 13th in the Preseason ACC poll. Kenpom currently has them ranked 58th, and they are 51st in the NET.

Boston College will have the opportunity to prove the advanced metrics right if they can notch their third road win of the year on Tuesday. The Eagles (12-14, 6-9 ACC) followed up their exciting road win over Virginia Tech, by dropping an absolute dud at home on Saturday. NC State’s Joiner and Smith were unconscious, pulling threes from all over and the Pack’s defense locked up the Eagles' ball handlers on their way to a 92-62 blowout win. BC has struggled to defend the three all season, and although the Wolfpack hit many tough shots, allowing a team to shoot 15-30 from beyond the arc is inexcusable. If there is any hope for the Eagles to swoop in for an upset win, they will have to key in on sharpshooters Greg Elliot and Blake Hinson. Elliot is shooting 42.1% from deep on 5.6 attempts, while Hinson is 37.3% on the year, averaging 6.6 shots per game.

Quinten Post is still terrorizing ACC opponents, averaging 16.8 points and 6.2 rebounds, all while almost shooting 50/40/90 for the year. He has easily been one of the best players to come through BC in a long time, and if he had been healthy all year, could have been considered an All-American. The reality is that he can not do it all by himself. The next two highest scorers on the team, Makai and JZ, average 12.4 and 10.1 respectively on just 40% shooting. In order to defeat the cream of the crop in the ACC, the Eagles really need more guys to contribute.

Following a demoralizing defeat on Saturday, I do not have too high of expectations for this one. However, I do think QP puts the team on his back yet again to keep this one close.

Prediction: Pitt 81 Boston College 74