SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Boston Herald

NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKETS SET

The selection committee has completed their work. Boston College will be the #1 seed in the East Region and will play in Charlotte, NC. against the winner of the Utah Valley/Mount St. Marys game who meet to gain the #16 seed. Three other ACC teams are in the East Region. Virginia is the #3 seed in the East and will go up against 14-seed Elon. Louisville will be the #4 seed in the East and play 13-seed Montana in Round 1. North Carolina is the 5th seed and plays 12th seed Hawaii.

The Kansas Jayhawks are the #1 seed in the Midwest Region. Duke is the 2nd seed in the Midwest Region and plays #15 seed Princeton. North Carolina State is the 11th seed in the Midwest and take on 6th seeded Temple.

In the South Region, the #1 seed will be the Providence Friars that will be up against the #16 seed Omaha. There are no ACC teams in the South Region.

In the West Region, Illinois is the #1 seed. Notre Dame, which won the ACC Tournament, is the #2 seed in the West. The Fighting Irish’ opponent will be 15-seed Morgan State.

ACC teams that will be participating in other post-season tournaments are: Clemson, #1 seed in the South Region of the NIT Tournament; Miami (FL), the 7th seed in the Midwest Region of the CIT Tournament; and Florida State, the 7th seed in the South Region of the CIT Tournament.

The ACC had 6 teams ranked in the polls and 10 of it’s 15 teams will participate in the various post-season tournaments, including 7 teams that were selected to play in the NCAA Tournament.

[PointGuard]

Boston College Eagles Achieve Unparalleled Success This Season

Mary St. James, Boston College Athletic Department Publicist

Boston College’s basketball team heads to the NCAA Tournament not only as the #1 seed in the East Region after finishing atop the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference. Their record in the ACC was 18-2 and their record thus far the entire season is 30-4. They were ranked #2 in the Media Poll and #3 in the Coaches Poll. The Eagles had the best NET Ranking this season within all of Division I basketball.

Jason Braxton, the Athletic Director for Boston College, said, “The Eagles have had a phenomenal season. In the few short years Frederick Aura has been our head coach, he’s really turned around the program, taking it from the depths of the ACC to the pinnacle of the conference and making us a national powerhouse.”

Throughout the entire season the Eagles averaged 78.5 ppg while giving up just 67.8 ppg. Their 36.6 rpg is 6th best in the country.

Braxton added, “An impressive part of our success has been that we did it with a real team effort rather than having one or two star players who carried the team game after game. But Coach Aura’s recruiting efforts have landed us better players each year he’s been with us so that we have a deep team with strong starters and reserves. Coach Aura does a great job of playing a deep bench so that we have fresh legs coming in throughout the game. And this year we had two Norton Award nominees, senior James Lilly and freshman Leonard Meliet. And Meliet was named a quarterfinalist for the award. Freshman PG

Phil Thompson has declared for this summer’s NBA Draft and I expect we will have more of our players drafted this summer or future drafts.”

This season the Eagles top scorers playing in 20 or more games were: Leonard Meliet—15.7 ppg; Courtland Reese—14.6 ppg; James Lilly—7.9 ppg; Josh McFadgon—7.7 ppg; Marvin Reese—7.5 ppg; Jason Caldwell—6.1 ppg; Michael Millford—5.6 ppg; Greg Kidd—4.7 ppg; Phil Thompson—3.3 ppg; Jason Dunn—3.1 ppg; Winston Minahan—2.9 ppg; Jon Ray—1.8 ppg; Keith Kolder—1.8 ppg.

Our best rebounders were: James Lilly—6.4 rpg; Courtland Reese—6.1 rpg; Marvin Reese—4.2 rpg; Jason Caldwell—4.2 rpg; Leonard Meliet—4.1 rpg; Greg Kidd—3.3 rpg; and Michael Millford—2.2 rpg.

Leading the team in assists were: Leonard Meliet—3.6 apg; James Lilly—3.4 apg; Josh McFadgon—2.7 apg; Phil Thompson—1.3 apg; Marvin Reese—1.1 apg; and Courtland Reese—1.0 apg.

James Lilly had the most steals, averaging 1.3 spg and Courtland Reese averaged 1.2 bpg to lead the team in blocks.

Coach Frederick Aura stated, “I’m really proud of this team. They worked hard and came together to achieve beyond any of our expectations. We’re proud to be the #1 seed in the East Region for the Big Dance and are focused on taking the tournament one game at a time.”

While the team is losing several players to graduation, the coaching staff was able to recruit 5 top-flight players who are expected to help continue the Eagles success in the upcoming seasons. “We’re committed to bringing great student-athletes to Boston College,” said Coach Aura.

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Omari Aura

Man, I’m really glad I chose to play for Providence. We finished the season tied with Creighton for 1st place in the Big East Conference with identical 17-3 records. Our season record thus far is 31-3 and we’re 3rd in the Media Poll and 2nd in the Coaches Poll. Our NET Ranking is 7th best of all the Division I teams. What’s more is that we’re a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. That was a surprise to all of us on the Friars and led to an explosion of joy and exuberance when it was announced. I’m particularly happy with that since it means both we and my dad’s team are #1 seeds. I hope we both move on to the Final Four so we can meet on the court. We enter the tournament at full strength. I’ve played behind Matt Fox at SF this season. Matt will be a junior next year, but it’s likely he will move to his more natural PF position since Greg Slaughter who starred for us this season at PF is graduating after this season. I’m hoping to become the starting SF next season.

[PointGuard]

CIT Results

Round 1

Florida State-66, California Baptist-55
Northern Iowa-90, Miami (FL)-77

Round 2

New Mexico State-80, Florida State-63

Championship

Northern Iowa-82, St. Louis-75

CBI Results

Championship

Hampton-76, St. Joseph’s-66

NIT Results

Round 1

Clemson-90, Merrimack-74

Round 2

Clemson-81, Rutgers-71

Round 3

Clemson-84, Chattanooga-77

Round 4 (Semifinals)

Clemson-70, Oregon-62

Round 5 (Championship)

Kansas State-79, Clemson-73

[PointGuard]

NCAA Tournament

Round 1

Virginia-93, Elon-90 (OT)
Louisville-84, Montana-70
North Carolina-65, Hawaii-53
Duke-92, Princeton-67
North Carolina State-73, Temple-65
Notre Dame-71, Morgan State-58
March 16, 2028: #16 seed Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers (16-17) vs #1 seed Boston College Eagles (30-4)
The Eagles came out strong and pulled further and further ahead to finish the first half with a commanding 47-30 lead. Boston College continued to smother the Mountaineers in the 2nd half. Midway through the 2nd half, BC was on top by 29 points. With Coach Aura playing his entire bench liberally, Mount St. Mary’s shaved a few points of the lead, but the Eagles won handily by a final score of 81-60.

Courtland Reese had a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Leonard Meliet scored 12 plus has 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. Michael Millford scored 11 and Marvin Reese added 10.

The ACC finished round 1 with a perfect 7-0 record.

Round 2 (Round of 32)

Virginia-98, Iowa State-82
North Carolina-63, Louisville-49
Duke-67, Minnesota-54
Creighton-91, North Carolina State-70
Notre Dame-89, Navy-68
March 18, 2028: #9 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys (23-11) vs #1 seed Boston College Eagles (31-4)
Oklahoma State is a good shooting team with sharp passing skills leading to the most assists in the country. They Cowboys are an offensive juggernaut (81 ppg), but also give up a lot of points (74.5 ppg). SG Bucky Blair is averaging 16.1 ppg.

Boston College started with a deliberate offense designed to control the tempo of the game and throw the Cowboys off-balance and also attacked the boards. The Eagles also drove incessantly causing Oklahoma State’s players to commit fouls. It worked well enough that BC held a 14-3 lead at the first media time out and two Cowboy starters, including Bucky Blair, had amassed 2 fouls apiece that sent them to the bench. Although Oklahoma State began hitting some shots, the Eagles shooting was cooking so that with 7 minutes to play in the half, the lead had grown to 38-17. BC led 54-36 when the half ended. Josh McFadgon and Leonard Meliet had 12 points each and Courtland Reese scored 10. The Cowboys’ Bucky Blair had been held scoreless, but PG Aaron Angner hit for 13 points.

Although the Eagles shooting cooled in the 2nd half, they steadily padded their lead, never letting Oklahoma get a sustained run. When the claxon sounded, Boston College had crushed Oklahoma State by a score of 96-70. The Eagles outshot the Cowboys 62% to 47% and totally dominated the boards, 38-19.

C Courtland Reese had another double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. SF Leonard Meliet scored 19 plus had 8 rebounds. PG Josh McFadgon put 15 points on the board and had 6 assists. PF Marvin Reese hit for 10 points and SF Michael Millford tossed in 9 points. BC held Bucky Blair to just 5 points.

“Oklahoma State’s offense is so potent that we knew we needed to put a roadblock in their way. Our guys executed our game plan to perfection with control of the tempo and a stingy defense. And our team’s offense got off to a blazing start and kept clicking the entire game plus our guys really attacked the boards. It was one of the best games we’ve played this season,” said Coach Fred Aura.

Round 3 (Sweet 16)

Virginia-97, Florida-72
Duke-73, Creighton-70
Arizona-68, Notre Dame-61
Mar. 23, 2028: #5 seed North Carolina Tar Heels (22-11) vs #1 seed Boston College Eagles (32-4)
The Eagles got trounced by a score of 78-53 in Chapel Hill the only time this year that these two teams met. So Boston College has the motivation to show that game was a fluke, but can they figure out the Tar Heel defense and turn things around to advance in the tournament?

The game started as the A.J.Gainous show. The North Carolina PF scored the Tar Heels first 8 points while BC looked confused and tenuous on the floor. The Eagles hit just 1 of their first 9 shots and had 5 turnovers in the first 6 minutes of the game as they fell behind 11-2. After trailing 21-8 midway through the half, Boston College scored the next 13 points to draw into a tie. With 2 minutes remaining the Eagles took their first lead ad 26-25, but North Carolina came back to take a 32-27 halftime lead. Both teams shot poorly, but BC’s undoing in the first half was making 12 turnovers and A.J. Gainous scoring 13 points for the Tar Heels.

The Eagles finally began to hit some 3’s in response to North Carolina’s 2-3 zone in the 2nd half. But each time BC got within 1-2 points, the Tar Heels opened a 4-6 point lead. With 3-1/2 minutes, the Eagles finally tied the score and then went ahead by 2 when Courtland Reese hit a 10 foot jumper with 2 minutes remaining. Neither team could score and North Carolina blocked a shot with 42 seconds left and called a time out. After the Tar Heels missed a 3, BC had a pass intercepted and called another time out. BC’s defense kept North Carolina from getting a free shot and Josh McFadgon blocked their attempt with 2 seconds to go and Lilly recovered the ball to end the game. Boston College pulled out a 65-63 squeaker. BC outshot North Carolina 43% to 32% but the Tar Heels scored 11 more points at the free throw line. The Eagles had 19 turnovers to North Carolina’s 12, but held a 39-35 rebounding advantage.

North Carolina’s A.J. Gainous scored 28 points. For the Eagles, C Courtland Reese had yet another double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. PG Josh McFadgon scored 13, SF Leonard Meliet dropped in 12 points, and SF Michael Millford added 11.

Coach Fred Aura said, “North Carolina again made it exceptionally tough for us and we simply couldn’t stop A.J. Gainous. The defense by both teams was exceptional and totally frustrated the offenses. We struggled the entire game. Those last 2 minutes seemed like a lifetime. I can’t say enough about Courtland Reese. He’s had 3 straight double-double and did it tonight with 4 fouls on him. And his defense has been outstanding in all 3 games.

Round 4 (Elite 8)
Duke-63, Kansas-59
March 25, 2028: #3 seed Virginia Cavaliers (29-6) vs #1 seed Boston College Eagles (33-4)
Boston College took control early and by the end of the first half, the Eagles held a 38-21 lead.

Both teams scored well in the 2nd half. The Eagles held onto a double digit lead the entire half and came away with a 77-65 victory.

C Courtland Reese scored 21 points and grabbed 7 boards. SF Leonard Meliet hit for 15 points. PG Josh McFadgon and PF/C Jason Caldwell both scored 11 points. SF Jamaal Lawson scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Virginia.

“Virginia’s a really good team,” said Coach Fred Aura. “So our guys did a great job taking command early and then keeping the Cavaliers from coming back. Virginia’s Lawson showed what a tremendous player he is, but we had a great team effort. Getting to the Final Four is fantastic, but having to take on the duo of Rod Allen and Brian Taylor plus all of Duke’s other excellent players a 4th time this season is no picnic.”

The 7 AAC teams are 17-5 in this tournament and 3 of the 5 losses were to other ACC teams.

Round 5 (Final 4)

Wichita State-86, South Carolina-73
Apr. 1, 2028: #2 seed Duke Blue Devils (32-6) vs #1 seed Boston College Eagles (34-4)
This game ensures one ACC team will be in the championship game. Boston College has handled Duke with relative ease in their previous 3 meetings this season, but Duke’s win over Kansas in the Elite 8 showed how good a team they really are.

Duke came out with fire in their eyes and streaked to a 9-0 lead while BC’s SF Leonard Meliet picked up 2 fouls within the first 2 minutes. The Eagles got within 2 points a couple times but each time Duke pulled away. With 9 minutes to go, the Blue Devils led 27-14. When the half ended the Eagles were in a 46-35 hole. BC was simply outplayed by Duke.

Things didn’t improve in the 2nd half for the Eagles. With 13 minutes to go they trailed by 20 points. Duke hit 14 of 23 from beyond the arc enroute to an 89-69 thrashing of Boston College.

C Courtland Reese scored 14 and had 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. SF Michael Millford tossed in 13 points and PG Josh McFadgon added 12.

Coach Fred Aura said, “Duke just seemed to want it more tonight and they shot the lights out. They showed why they’ve been so highly rated in the polls the entire season. We’ll be rooting for them in the championship game. I’m proud of what my guys did throughout this season though. It’s been a joy working with them.”

Round 6 (Championship Game)

Wichita State-90, Duke-80

[PointGuard]

Awards for Boston College

National Coach of the Year: Frederick Aura

ACC Coach of the Year: Frederick Aura

ACC 2nd Team All-Conference: Leonard Meliet

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Janaka Aura

Fred had several very good universities interested in hiring him as head coach…including Michigan State and North Carolina. As a family we had a long conversation about it. And the decision was…stay at Boston College. BC’s prestige increased quite a bit (from 55 to 63) and Fred is looking forward to coaching the returning players and his new recruits this coming year.

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2nd Assistant Coach Chris Evans (recruiting)

With PG Phil Thompson declaring for the pro draft, a scholarship came available. So we made a late offer to a PG from New Jersey. We’d burned our entire recruiting budget so could only call and text him to try to generate a little interest that way. But that was unsuccessful. So that means we'll have one scholarship available if we want to go after a transfer player.

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Jason Braxton, Athletic Director

Obviously we’re extremely pleased with the job Fred Aura has done as our head coach. He met all the goals I’d set before the season began: winning 20+ games; finishing in the top half of the conference standings; qualifying for the NCAA tournament; improving school prestige; and no academic ineligibility. Job well done!

Fred requested improvements to our facilities but the board denied the request, overriding my support for Fred’s request.

Coach Aura’s record:

2019-20: Towson, 18-15, .545, unranked, 6th (tie) in CAA, No post-season tourney
2020-21: Towson, 13-17, .433, unranked, 5th in CAA, No post-season tourney
2021-22: Towson, 24-9, .727, unranked, 2nd in CAA, NCAA (Round 1)
2022-23: Towson, 27-7, .794, ranked 24th, 1st in CAA, NCAA (Round 2)
2023-24: Towson, 30-4, .882, ranked 15th, 1st in CAA, NCAA (Sweet 16)
2024-25: Towson, 25-8, .758, unranked, 1st in CAA, NCAA (Round 1)
2025-26: Boston College, 21-17, .553, unranked, 10th in ACC, CIT (Finals)
2026-27: Boston College, 25-10, .714, ranked 25th, 3rd in ACC, NCAA (Sweet 16)
2027-28: Boston College, 34-5, .872, ranked 2nd, 1st in ACC, NCAA (Final 4)

Career Record: 217-92, .702

When you look at what Coach Aura did during his last 4 years at Towson, you can see why we hired him. His success here has been just as dramatic, maybe even more so since our team’s ascent in the tough ACC, as well as national recognition, has been so rapid.

[PointGuard]

2028-2029 SEASON

Jason Braxton, Athletic Director

Non-Conference Rival:

Last season I mentioned that we wanted to change our non-conference rival. For a number of years it’s been Cornell. While Cornell and our school both have very strong academics so that’s a good fit, our basketball program has significantly developed and strengthened far beyond Cornell’s. We identified a university and basketball program that much more closely fits with where we are now. Not only are the basketball programs of near equal strength, but this university is relatively nearby geographically and, like us, is a Catholic school.

Today we're announcing that our new non-conference rival starting this season will be the Providence Friars. They’re a member of the Big East Conference. So not only is their team prestige much closer to ours but their conference’s prestige level is much like the ACC’s than Cornell’s Ivy League. The last two seasons the Friars have gone 29-10 (ranked #13 in the polls) and 32-4 (ranked #3 in the polls), so obviously they will be a real challenge to play.

And yes, there’s one more thing. Coach Aura’s son, Omari, will be a sophomore on the Friars team this season.

As part of our long-term relationship with Cornell, we helped them set up a new non-conference rival that is closely similar to the Big Red basketball program and has similar academic credentials and geographically is a good fit. Cornell’s new non-conference rival will be the Northeastern Huskies of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Recruit Class Ratings:

The ratings for last season’s recruiting came out this week. Our recruit class was rated as the 15th best recruit class. Pittsburgh which was rated 4th was the only ACC program higher than ours. But there were 3 other ACC teams in the top 25: Clemson at #19, Florida State at #20, and Notre Dame at #21.

Goals:

After last year’s successes, I kept 4 of the goals from last season (improve school prestige, no academic ineligibility, win 20+ games, win the conference tournament). The first 3 should be relatively easy for Coach Aura and his team to achieve. The fourth is certainly doable, but as we saw last season, it’s a crap shoot. I then added a new one: reach the NCAA final four. Actually we did that last season which exceeded my previous goals for the team, but now that we did it, I and the administration (as well as our students and fans) want that again. Not easy, but with the team we will have this season, I believe we can do it. I could have made it win the national championship (which I also think is at least a possibility), but figured that if they achieve the goal of getting to the final four they then have internalized a desire to win the championship.