Boston College vs. Pittsburgh: Final Thoughts & Predictions
On Sunday afternoon, the Boston College Eagles (8-11, 3-6 ACC) take on the Pitt Panthers (8-12, 3-6 ACC) at Conte Forum. This game was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, but because of a blizzard the game was postponed.
This is the second matchup between the two teams. The last time they played a 69-67 Panthers victory on Jan. 8 at the Petersen Events Center. John Hugley scored 32 points, and was a major problem for the Boston College bigs, who got in foul trouble early trying to slow down the Panthers big man. Pitt, who many had projected to finish in the bottom of the ACC have won three conference games of late, including a win against rival Syracuse in their last game.
Boston College lost their last two games, but looked much better defensively against UNC on Wednesday.
Time: Sunday, 4:00 pm
Where: Conte Forum
TV: ACC Network Extra
Radio: WEEI 850
Current Line: Boston College (-3)
ESPN Matchup Predictor: Boston College has a 73.1% chance of winning this game
Ken Pom Ratings: Boston College (145) Pitt (186)
Tale of the Tape (Via BCEagles.com):\
Projected Staters: Makai Ashton Langford, Demarr Langford, TJ Bickerstaff, James Karnik, Jaeden Zackery
Series History: Series: Boston College is 20-36 all-time vs. Pittsburgh, and 2-6 against the Panthers in ACC play. Pitt won their only matchup last season 74-72 in 2020, last year's game was cancelled due to COVID. Pitt won their last matchup
Injury Updates: No injuries of note, those Earl Grant did say that Makai Ashton Langford was banged up with a "body" injury.
Players to Watch: John Hugley, Forward. A 6'9 physical forward, Hugley dominated Boston College the last time the two teams played, with 32 points and 13 rebounds. Whenever the Eagles were able to get a basket, or grab momentum, it seemed like Hugley would respond with a bucket of his own. Boston College is going to need to do a better job of guarding him, but also not getting into foul trouble early, Karnik and Post can not spend large portions of the game on the bench.
Three Keys To The Game
1. Slow Down Hugley: This seems redundant, but Hugley had one of the most impressive games an opponent has had against BC all season. James Karnik and Quinten Post will need to figure out how to not let the Pitt big man take over the game.
2. Find Something, Anything on Offense: One of the more frustrating parts of Wednesday's loss, was BC's inability to score, something that has plagued them throughout the season. If BC had been able to shoot better, they could have walked away with a road win. The defense for the most part has been able to keep BC in games recently (Wake Forest excluded). The offense needs to figure something out, they can't go seven minutes again to end the game without a bucket.
3. Home Cooking: This game was supposed to be played on Saturday, which could cause a little weirdness in terms of their game routine prep. Getting in front of a friendly home crowd could give Boston College a slight edge in this game.
AJ's Fearless Prediction: This is going to be a perfect game to see how Earl Grant adjusts from game to game. Hugley dominated the Eagles last time, and BC had no answer to him in the paint. Can Grant and his staff figure out a way to try and neutralize the Pitt big? If they can, Boston College should be able to pull off another home win. But if they can't, it could be a long evening in Chestnut Hill. I'll go with Grant figuring something out, and BC grabbing their fourth ACC win. Boston College 67 Pitt 60
Join our forum to talk BC football, basketball, hockey and recruiting! Become part of our BC Bulletin message board and forum. It is a free way to comment on our posts, and interact with other Boston College fans and alumni. Make sure to sign up and become a member. Click here to join today!
You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook and following on us on Twitter.
Facebook- BostonCollegeSI
Twitter: @BulletinBC, @AJBlack_BC
