Boston College Basketball vs. Duke: Final Thoughts & Predictions

Boston College basketball has the unenviable task of opening up the ACC portion of its schedule vs. Duke. That's #2 Duke, off to a 12-0 start to the season. All 12 wins have been by double digits. Boston College has never won at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Buckle up, Eagles fans.

Game Facts

Game 12 vs. Duke Blue Devils

Saturday, January 3, 2015, 4:00 PM Eastern
TV: ACC RSN (NESN in New England)
Radio: WEEI 850 AM, BCEagles.com

Preseason Opponent Preview: Duke Blue Devils

Series History: 17-2, Duke

First Meeting: Duke 70, Boston College 64 (OT) (December 21, 1979)
Last Meeting: Duke 89, Boston College 68 (February 8, 2014)
Last Meeting at Cameron Indoor: Duke 89, Boston College 68 (February 24, 2013)

Roster Notes

Following BC's victory over Lowell, Jim Christian was asked about the status of freshman center Idy Diallo. Sounds like Diallo won't be back this year after tearing his meniscus right before the season began. We obviously didn't see what Diallo can do this year but still a theoretical blow to the Eagles front court depth. It's the Clifford / Magarity show from here on out.

Projected Starters

G Olivier Hanlan, junior
G Aaron Brown, graduate
G Dimitri Batten, graduate
G Patrick Heckmann, senior
C Dennis Clifford, junior

Three-Point Preview

1. Hanlan breaks out of offensive funk. Just gonna leave this one here and pin it to the top. Until Hanlan catches a spark on the offensive end of the floor, BC could be in for a long, long season in conference play.

2. Lights out from range. Wisconsin, which has played Duke as close as anyone this season, shot 9-of-21 (42.9%) from beyond the arc in an 80-70 home loss in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The Blue Devils have limited opponents to just 27.4% from three this season. BC can at least make this interesting if they catch fire from range. They haven't really done much of that this season—surprising for a team that shot the ball much better from three just a year ago—but are coming off a 7-12 (58.3%) three-point shooting performance against Lowell. Duke is slightly better than Lowell, but if guys like Brown, Batten, Hanlan, Heckmann and Jackson get hot from the outside, the Eagles might be able to keep it respectable. If not, well, forget about it.

3. Pray? Idk. This is just a bad matchup for the Eagles.

Steve Addazio* Previews Duke

Obviously we have a very, very big week and a big game ahead of us here, playing Duke, on the road. The second ranked team in America and deservedly so. One of the finest basketball teams that I've seen in my years of coaching. You're talking about a team that I think is full of great players, extremely talented down low with a center like Jahlil Okafor, who's quickly become one of the top big men in college basketball today. Other guys down low like Amile Jefferson, just a sensational player. They are currently in the top 15 in both adjusted offense and defensive efficiency. The best offense statistically in the country, riding a 12-game win streak to start the season—every victory by double-digits, a program first. It will be a great, great challenge for us.

At guard, Tyus Jones and Quinn Cook have done a great job of managing the offense. Jones is a facilitator but also a guy that can put up points in bunches. 22 at Wisconsin. 21 vs. Connecticut. Has had a tremendous impact on Duke's season already as a true freshman. Quinn Cook, veteran guy. He's been in a lot of big games. Team's second leading scorer with 14.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.

Justise Winslow is another tremendous talent and will be a tough player to guard. 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game...again, as a true freshman. This Duke team is dynamic with gamers up and down the roster.

Jim Christian has had some good practices with the team and BC is coming off its biggest win of the season over Lowell. We're excited about the challenge and the opportunity playing in front of one of the best home court advantages in college basketball. It should be a great atmosphere and the team is prepared to give #2 Duke their all later this afternoon. Looking forward to the challenge.

Scoreboard Watching / Out of Town Notes

Fourteen of 15 ACC teams have conference games this weekend. Florida State plays at Mississippi State last night because odd numbers. I'm most interested to see how Miami fares against Virginia at home (5:30 p.m., ESPN2). Unfortunately, Miami is a team BC faces twice this year. Larranaga has done a great job restocking the roster and Miami has been punching above its weight early this season, despite recent setbacks to Green Bay, Eastern Kentucky and Providence.

Gametime Song of the Week

Flight of the Conchords - Business Time. Go time for the Eagles, which start the second half of the season against the class of the conference. If you haven't seen the TV show, you may be a bit confused as to what's going on here. Flight of the Conchords only aired for two seasons on HBO, but I maintain Bret and Jermaine were ahead of their time. They were a blast to see live as well. It's business. / It's business time. / Business hours are over, baby.

Random Factoid

Duke has opened the season with 12-straight wins and all of them have been by double digits (for the first time in program history, I might add). Boston College has never won at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Dot Dot Dot

There's a full slate of ACC games on Saturday, but I didn't think I'd see the day that a Duke game was relegated to the ACC's Regional Sports Networks / ESPN3 / ESPN Full Court. Virginia at Miami (ESPN2) and North Carolina at Clemson (ESPN) get today's cable network TV coverage. A bellwether for how far Boston College fell as a program under Donahue and the impact of the past few years of conference realignment.

BCI Predictions

Skipped final thoughts for the Lowell game. Shot out a mail real quick just to see if anyone was bold enough to take Lowell. Joe took the bait, predicting a 66-65 Lowell victory. So.

	BC-Duke	Score	Pts.	Record Picking BC
Brian Favat		89-68	10	6-2
Jeff Martyn		74-58	10	7-2
John Fidler		86-64	10	7-2
hoyaeagle		78-60	10	7-2
A.J Black		75-58	9	6-3
Dan Doolan		94-68	9	6-2
CSOM_97		81-66	9	6-3
Kwani Lunis		68-67	9	8-1
Joe Gravellese		100-44	6	5-4
Dan Rubin		Duke by 30. The hell with the score.	6	6-2
Grant Salzano		89-60	6	4-5

Leave your thoughts / predictions on Boston College-Duke below. Go Eagles!

* Steve Addazio actually didn't say these things