Notre Dame Faces Another Crucial Test At Boston College
Notre Dame (17-10 / 8-8) is starting to play its best basketball of the season at just the right time, but that must continue as the Fighting Irish hit the road to take on Boston College (13-15 / 7-10).
The Eagles beat the Irish in South Bend back in December, and Notre Dame returning the favor this evening is a must if the Irish are going to stay in contention for an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
GAME INFO
Start Time: 9:00 PM (Eastern)
TV: ACC Network (Chris Cotter, play-by-play; Chris Spatola, analyst)
Spread: Notre Dame -4.5
THE OPPONENT
Boston College snapped a 13-game losing streak to Notre Dame when it beat the Irish 73-72 back in December. The Irish made it close late, but it was a game the Eagles controlled throughout.
The Eagles have struggled for much of the season, but they do own a few impressive wins, including the victory over Notre Dame. Boston College also owns two victories over Virginia Tech and it recently knocked off NC State.
Boston College struggles to consistently knock down shots, which is a driving force behind its erratic performance. When the Eagle guards play well they can be dangerous, but when they struggle to knock down shots games tend to get out of hand.
Boston College ranks last in the ACC in field goal shooting (40.6%), 13th in three-point field goal percentage (30.1%) and 14th in scoring offense (64.8).
Fifth-year senior point guard Derryck Thornton and freshman guard Jay Heath are the top two scorers for BC, and the duo combined to go 15-24 in the win over Notre Dame, which included knocking down five of seven shots from deep as the duo combined for 35 points. Senior guard Jared Hamilton came off the bench to add 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Against Notre Dame, the Eagles knocked down 49.2% of their shots and went 11-for-23 from behind the arc. The hot shooting, and Notre Dame’s poor shooting (39.7%) helped Boston College win despite turning the ball over 17 times.
KEY TO VICTORY
Notre Dame’s guards must play much better in this matchup than they did back in December. Senior guard TJ Gibbs put the offense on his back late in the game and finished with 22 points, but he got little help from his backcourt mates.
Prentiss Hubb, Rex Pflueger and Dane Goodwin combined to go 6-27 from the floor and 4-19 from three-point territory. The backcourt combined for 12 turnovers in the game, which is more than its season average as a team.
Outside of a two-game stretch against Duke and Virginia, Gibbs has been outstanding in league play, averaging 15.3 points per game in league play, and his 51.8% shooting percentage from three-point land in league games is tops in the ACC.
Gibbs will need help on both ends of the court. The Irish guards must contest Boston College shots and not allow as many open looks as they did in the loss back in December. If the Boston College guards can’t knock down shots at a high rate the Irish have a strong chance at winning this matchup.
Hubb could hold the ultimate key. The sophomore has been up-and-down all season, but when he's been on he's been outstanding, and the Irish are tough to beat in those games. Hubb averaged 17.5 points and 9.0 assists in Notre Dame's two most recent victories.
WHAT’S AT STAKE
Notre Dame’s NET ranking went up after back-to-back wins over North Carolina and Miami. Its resume grows stronger with a win over Boston College. It would improve the overall record to 18-10 and would give Notre Dame a winning record in league play (9-8).
Should Syracuse lose at Pittsburgh tonight, a Notre Dame win at Boston College would also put the Irish in sole possession of fifth-place in the ACC thanks to NC State losing three of its last four games.
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