Boston College Basketball: What Went Right, And What Went Wrong This Weekend Against CCSU and Harvard

The Eagles picked up two wins this weekend, taking down Central Connecticut State and cross-river rival Harvard.

What Went Right This Weekend?

1. Matt Milon: I really like the depth that Milon gives the Eagles. He is a bonafide scorer that can come off the bench and log really solid minutes. He had two really solid games coming off the bench, even leading the team in scoring against Harvard. If he keeps this up, he will be a really solid sixth man.
2. Free throw shooting against Harvard: The Eagles had profound struggles from the stripe against CCSU (more on that in a moment). BC was able to move past their struggles and go 79.3% from the stripe against Harvard. This team, given its youth, will have its struggles from time to time. To move past their struggles is a sign that they are keeping progress moving forward.
3. Second Half Eli Carter: We have talked a lot about Eli Carter's scoring abilities. In two games, Carter was able to make adjustments after struggling from the field (more on that later) in the first half to have really solid efforts in the second. Carter had 16 and 15 points respectively in the second half of both games after struggling in the field. His ability to make adjustments certainly shined this weekend.

What Went Wrong This Weekend?

1. First Half Eli Carter: So about those struggles from the field: they were bad. Carter went a combined 0-13 from the field in the first half of both games. Despite the scoring abilities of Milon and Jerome Robinson (who was 0-3 himself in the first half of Harvard's game), Carter will need to put together a complete game this Thursday to keep the Eagles competitive against a very tough Michigan State team.
2. Foul Trouble: I love Idy Diallo's aggressiveness, but, man, he draws a lot of fouls. He fouled out against Harvard in six minutes of play. BC has decent depth with their big men with Dennis Clifford, Diallo and Johncarlos Reyes. That said, Reyes, right now, isn't someone who can put in big minutes as a big man (he still needs to bulk up). If Diallo is loathe to foul out, and Clifford gets into foul trouble (which he did against Harvard), that puts the onus on Reyes to put in big minutes. Diallo needs to, as Jim Christian said, not panic when he gets caught out of position. With the new emphasis on reducing physicality from officiating there will be growing pains, and that is part of Diallo's youth, but it needs to get corrected, and soon.
3. Free throw shooting against Central Connecticut State: 31.3% from the stripe is unacceptable. Free throws have to be made.