Boston College Basketball vs. Miami: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Boston College Eagles put together the team's best performance in ACC play Wednesday night against the Miami Hurricanes, but there were still some shortcomings for the Birds. Let's break it down.

The Good:

1. Shooting the Lights Out in the First Half: The recipe for upsetting the Miami Hurricanes was put in place by the Northeastern Huskies. The way to do it? Shoot well. The Huskies made their baskets, particularly around the arc, and that powered the Huskies past the huskies Hurricanes. It appeared that BC would be able to replicate that formula in the first half. Powered by a Jerome Robinson resurgence (more on that in a moment), the Eagles were able to shake off a sluggish first couple of minutes to finish with 52% from the field. Not too shabby.
2. Welcome Back, Mr. Robinson: I noted that Jerome Robinson had been struggling the past couple of games offensively after a solid open to the season. Boy, did he come back strong. As good as the Eagles were in other facets of the game, they would not have been in position to win without Robinson's 20 points. Eli Carter can't carry the team on his own offensively (clearly, but we'll get to that). The Eagles need someone in a supporting role. Robinson had been that player. It is good to see he's back on the horse.
3. Drawing Contact: This could have been part of the bad section in the first half, but the Eagles made adjustments at halftime to get people inside. By doing this, the Eagles drew contact and were in the bonus early in the second half. Now only if they made their free throws.
4. Not having to strain to find things to put in the good section: Ah, this is nice.

The Bad

1. Ervins Meznieks has not scored in conference play: It's true. Look it up. He is a collective 0-for-10 from the field, including 0-for-2 Wednesday night. What happened?
2. Turnovers: BC could have had a sizable lead at halftime. However, 12 turnovers in the first half stopped many a potential opportunity for scoring. How Miami only had nine points off turnovers in the first is beyond me. (Also Jerome Robinson led the team in turnovers with five. Sooooooooooooooooooooo…)
3. Free Throws: BC did such a great job getting into the bonus in the second half, but they did a not so great job converting on the opportunities given. 57.1% from the line is not great, and the Eagles could have used a little bit extra from the line.

The Ugly

1. Aw, Shoot!: Eli Carter is the straw that stirs the offensive drink. It was obvious last Saturday afternoon against Pitt. Unfortunately for BC, it was also painfully obvious against Miami. Carter shot an absolutely abysmal 22% from the field (4-for-18). For reference, that is how many shots that were taken by players other than Carter in the entire second half. And the worst part? He kept shooting. And shooting. And shooting. He led the team in scoring attempts, despite not quite finding his stroke. His struggles were indicative of the Eagles in the second half. The Eagles shot a woeful 25.8% from the field. In an upset bid, that absolutely cannot happen. BC absolutely needs to find an alternative when Carter cant find his stroke. Incidentally, BC shot 10% from behind the arc in the second.
2. Losing track of the shot clock: This happened in the Pitt game as well. BC is frequently losing track of the shot clock. The end result is that someone, frequently Eli Carter, throws up a prayer that has absolutely no chance of going in. The Eagles need to be more aware of the shot clock.
3. The Chance At An Upset Bid, Blown: BC had a chance at this one, and they couldn't convert. This isn't a youth thing, their best half was when they made oodles of mistakes. This loss was a matter of execution.