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The Boston College Eagles hope to build off a solid effort against North Carolina against the Syracuse Orange.
How Did BC Do Last Time Out?
North Carolina 68, Boston College 65: Valiant, Gutty Effort Not Enough For Eagles
How Did BC Do Last Time Against Syracuse?
Syracuse 62, Boston College 40: Eagles Stuck In Mud As Orange Run Away With Win
What To Watch For
- Playing A Complete Game: We saw what BC was capable of when putting together a complete effort. If BC doesn't have moments of scoring outages, if they don't have any troubles on the boards, BC has a chance at winning this thing.
- Dennis Clifford: Dennis Clifford had what was probably one of his best performances at BC Tuesday. He registered 13 rebounds, put up 14 points and was a constant presence inside. Against a big team like Syracuse, Clifford is going to need to come up big.
Matchup of the Game
BC Offense vs. Syracuse 2-3 Zone
BC had some struggles inside against the famous 2-3 Syracuse zone. BC was forced to take shots from longer range because of issues penetrating. One of the results is that BC had only 14 points from the paint.
The issue with the Syracuse 2-3 zone is that they play a more expanded zone, rather than a compressed zone that is typical in 2-3 zones. That means passing lanes are shut down, which means teams that turn the ball over a lot will run into issues. BC will have to limit the turnovers.
One thing that BC can look to take advantage of is a relative ease on the boards. BC only trailed Syracuse, 35-27 on the boards in a tough road effort. If BC comes to play and does well on the boards, it can shift the momentum.
Random, Possibly Incorrect Fact from Syracuse's Wikipedia Page
'Cuse has 1,013 full-time instructional faculty.
Players To Watch
Michael Gbinije (.465 fg%, 17.4 ppg, 14 points scored vs. BC)
Malachi Richardson (13.6 ppg)
Tyler Robertson (8.9 rpg)
Non-Alcoholic Beverage of the Game
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Sprite
Probably the best writing aid that I've ever had. Great for writing recaps of BC basketball.
Final Thoughts And Predictions
I definitely think there is an ACC win in this team's future. Sunday won't the day to do it.
70-60 Orange
| Writer | Pick | Explanation | Points |
| Arthur |
70-60 Orange |
I will be on press row | 25 |
| Joe | 73-71 BC |
|
15 |
| Grant | 68-60 Orange | 17 | |
| A.J |
75-58 Orange |
AJ gets the bonus point | 26 |
| Dan | 76-67 Orange
|
Call me crazy, but if Dennis Clifford plays the way he did against UNC, then Syracuse might not have an answer to him. Syracuse's one area of struggle is down low since they don't have a true big and can shoot lights out from outside I think BC has a chance to pull off this game if they continue the momentum against UNC. But if there's no crowd and they go flat, then it's 0-12. Unfortunately, history's proven to the more of the latter.
|
25.5 |
| Laura | 73-64 Orange |
|
23.5 |
| John "Coach" Fidler | 66-53 Orange | BC's offensive approach and personnel vs SU zone just not what it needs to be. Only chance to light it up from 3 above the free throw line extended and stay away from live ball turnovers. | 22 |
| Caleb | N/A | 9 | |
| Kwani | N/A | 1 | |
| Jeff | N/A |
|
0 |
| Bridget | N/A | 0 | |
| Brian | N/A |
|
1 |
| Eric | N/A |
|
8 |