Florida 90 BC 70: Five Takeaways From The Blowout
Tonight's game was ugly, and a tough one to watch. Boston College lost the Roman Legends Classic to the Florida Gators 90-70. It was a game that the Gators controlled from beginning to end, on both ends of the floor. Here are some takeaways from tonight's game.
1. BC lacked energy on both ends of the floor. Easy buckets in the paint for Gators, wide open three pointers, it was all symptomatic of a BC team that seemed to not be playing with any sense of urgency. Florida's athletic guards could fly down the length of the court for easy layups almost any time they wanted to, against a porous interior defense that didn't put up much of a fight.
Makai Ashton Langford played with hustle, especially in the second half, but it was hard to find it anywhere else.
2. The turnovers were a backbreaker. At one point deep in the second half, Boston College's turnovers almost mirrored their field goals made. Lots of sloppy unforced errors, and it gave Florida loads of extra possessions.
3. Frustrations are starting to show. In the second half both Jay Heath and Jim Christian were called for technical fouls. At this point of the game BC was down by almost 30. Heath looked like he was chirping at a Florida guard, while Christian was furious over a foul called on Rich Kelly. BC lacks leadership on the court, the commenters on ESPN even mentioned it. When the game started to unravel there was no one rallying the troops, and no go to person on either end of the court to make a big play. The team looked lost.
4. James Karnik Returns. The Lehigh transfer, who's waiver was finally approved entered the game as a sub for CJ Felder. What stood out to me is that he's a big bodied center. He doesn't have the big height of a typical center but has the mass to do it. Finished the game with 7 points and six rebounds, and a -11.
5. How does BC pick themselves up from here? Florida is clearly a good, athletic team, but this is a team that only beat Army by 7 points yesterday. Boston College didn't look like they belonged on the same court, because of their play and the Gators athleticism. But the problems are starting to become a pattern for Jim Christian's squad. Turnovers, poor defense, are just a few issues that are showing up game after game. The Eagles now sit at 1-3, and have Minnesota coming up in the ACC/B1G Challenge. Can the Eagles figure this out, or is the season already spiraling out of control?
