Exploring a Local Out of Conference Schedule For Boston College Basketball

What could a schedule of only New England teams look like for the Boston College Eagles

While football dominates most of the talk around sports returning from the COVID19 pandemic, basketball's season is slowly creeping up as well. The NCAA is planning on meeting in mid-September to make a decision on whether to hold the season on time or delay it. Last week, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports tweeted out that there may be a change on how the teams schedule their out of conference matchups. 

Source: Many college basketball coaches and administrators believe that current non-conference schedules will dissolve due to COVID-19 and teams will look to play regionalized games in pods or bubbles to fulfill any hope of non-conference basketball before league play. https://t.co/rXXk7dt6Yj

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 19, 2020

Boston College already has a handful of announced games on the 2020-2021 schedule, including Richmond, URI, South Florida and the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. There is currently a level four travel advisory for the Bahamas, meaning the government doesn't want anyone traveling there, which should mean that tournament is off. 

But what if the Eagles were to scrap their entire out of conference like Rothstein says, and goes with a local bubble or group of teams? For the sake of this conversation, let's cap the out of conference games as schools located in New England. 

There are some great options for the Eagles including the follow teams. Below are some of these teams and their "Ken Pom" rankings. This system is used to evaluate teams across conferences, and include metrics like offense and defensive rankings, strength of schedule and luck. Last season the Eagles had a KenPom rating of 179. 

Regional Schools Ranked Higher Than Boston College

UMass (Ken Pom: 165) A team and fanbase that desperately wants to play Boston College again. The two teams used to play regularly in the "Commonwealth Classic" but haven't faced off since 2014.

URI: (Ken Pom: 65) Already on the schedule, would be a tough opponent for the Eagles, team finishes near top of A-10 almost yearly. 

Harvard: (Ken Pom: 110) Another team that used to play the Eagles regularly, the two haven't played since 2016. 

Boston University: (Ken Pom: 159) A rival in hockey, there is no reason the two teams couldn't face off in basketball. 

Northeastern (Ken Pom: 142). Another rival in hockey, not having to travel would be a huge benefit for both programs. 

UConn (Ken Pom: 52) There has been bad blood between the Eagles and Huskies ever since BC left the Big East and blocked UConn from joining them in the ACC. 

Vermont (Ken Pom: 76) A sneaky good team, UVM has a strong coach in John Becker who hasn't lost more than eight games since 2016. 

Providence (40): Did not play in 2019, but have a rich rivalry. Currently series is tied 12-12. 

Yale (51): Strong team in the Ivy League last year, but lost their best player to transfer.

Regional Schools Ranked Lower Than Boston College

Bryant (Ken Pom: 234): A team that typically lands on Boston College's schedule. 

UMass Lowell (Ken Pom 275): Teams have history, Lowell defeated Boston College in 2015 in the infamous game when multiple BC players missed the game due to an e.coli outbreak

Hartford (Ken Pom: 243): Another big BC loss in 2018, Eagles hold a 7-2 series record against the America East foe. 

Maine (320): Last time the two schools faced off, Boston College won by 20. 

Fairfield (301): Two teams last squared off in 2018 when the Eagles won 77-67. 

New Hampshire (248), Quinnipiac (251), Brown (224)

From this grouping, the Eagles could put together a very attractive and interesting schedule. A typical out of conference schedule is twelve games, which gives BC some flexibility on how they mix and match their schedule.

If you were the Eagles, and had to add only local teams, how would you do it?

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top righthand corner of the page. Also be sure to like us on Facebook & Twitter:

Facebook- BostonCollegeSI

Twitter - @BostonCollegeSI and AJ Black at @AJBlack_BC.