Northwestern 82 Boston College 64: Eagles Lose ACC/Big Ten Challenge Matchup
The season continues to slip away for the Boston College Eagles as they lost their ACC/Big Ten Challenge matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats 82-64. The Eagles (4-5), were marred with yet another poor defensive performance, and team shooting that again went through a huge scoreless drought that left BC too far behind to make any sort of comeback. Northwestern, who sits at 4-3, got a big win only weeks after suffering a monumental upset to new Division 1 program Merrimack and Radford.
Boston College held their own to start the game, staying within two of the Wildcats, butth the aforementioned drought was the end. Northwestern shot the ball extremely well against BC, shooting 58% from the field, led by Miller Koop's 20 point performance. BC hung around in the second half but a pair of three pointers by Anthony Gaines, and Boo Bouie opened it up, and former BC guard A.J. Turner hit a pair of free throws to make it a 20 point game and really put the game out of reach.
This game was just another example in a growing list of games marred by the same problems. Poor three point shooting (27.7%), getting pounded on the glass (31-16), and poor defensive rotation. They also don't have a proven point scorer, Derryck Thornton has had his moments, but at times he can get too aggressive with his shots, and Nik Popovic is not a top scorer for a team. The Eagles had a bunch of players contribute on the offensive side of the ball, but their leading scorer Jarius Hamilton, only had 12 points.
With losses to Belmont, St. Louis, Northwestern, and DePaul all mirroring the same problems, Boston College could be in big trouble with the ACC schedule looming. If they continue to play the way they have over the past two weeks that Wake Forest win may be the lone bright spot in what could end up being a dreary season.
