SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Dec. 6, 2027: Seton Hall Pirates (5-0) vs #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (7-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

James Lilly, SG

The Eagles are going up against our 2nd straight undefeated team. Seton Hall has beaten two ranked teams, #12 ranked Oregon and #15 ranked Texas and played Texas on the road. SF Quincy Abrams is averaging 15.8 ppg and SG Heath Gresham has scored 12.4 ppg with both hitting a high percentage of their shots. We’re going to initially focus on Abrams to try to keep him from getting easy shots. We’ll spot up Leonard Meliet against him…both are freshman stars. I’ll be guarding Gresham, but will likely be doubling up on Abrams at times.

PF Marvin Reese intercepted a pass and pushed the ball up to SF Leonard Meliet who threw down a jam to put the first points on the board 32 seconds into the game. PG Josh McFadgon drilled a pass over to me on the left side of the key and my jumper 35 seconds later made it 4-0. We forced the Pirates into their 3rd straight turnover on their next possession. I found C Jason Caldwell down low and he drove to the hoop for another dunk making it 6-0.about 30 seconds later. Our fans were rocking the house. The refs tagged me with a reaching in foul then so the Pirates finally drew blood. We were up 16-4 before Seton Hall made their first field goal with 11:37 on the clock. By then they’d made 6 turnovers. Our only problem was that we missed our first six 3-point shots but SF Michael Millford finally chipped one in to make it 25-11 with 6:53 remaining in the half. With 3:07 to go I got called for my 2nd foul, but Coach Fed left me in the game. Meliet and Abrams were putting on quite an offensive show. First one would score then the other. Coach Fed pulled me outta the game with a minute and a half to play telling me he wanted to give Jon Ray some time on the court and prevent me from picking up my 3rd foul. We left the court up by a score of 43-29. We’d outscored the Pirates in the paint 20-2 and held an 11-3 turnover advantage. Leonard Meliet outscored Quincy Abrams 15-10 in the half. I had 6 points. Coach Fed gave us all a pat on the back but since we’d let Seton Hall improve their shooting to 48%, stressed the need for better defense to keep the Pirates from rallying in the 2nd half.

Seton Hall came out on fire, hitting their first 5 FG’s plus a bunch of FT’s as the refs crucified us, including the 3rd on me and Leonard Meliet sending us both to the bench. The Pirates closed the gap to 52-46. Coach Fed got all over us in the first media time out of the half. SF Michael Millford scored 2 quick buckets when he entered the game to put us back on top by 10. C Greg Kidd went down with an injury with about 7 minutes left to play. The refs finally began calling fouls against the Pirates. It was about time since we all felt they were getting away with murder. That helped us counter Seton Hall’s hot shooting. When the final media timeout came with 2:59 to play we were barely ahead, 77-71. Abrams fouled me on the next possession and I sank both free throws to put us up by 8 with 2:50 to go, but I fouled out on the Pirates next possession. It became a game of free throws for us and 3’s for them at that point. We held on to escape with an 85-79 victory. Seton Hall hit 63% of their shots in the 2nd half. In the game they knocked down 14 of 23 from beyond the arc. That nearly sunk us. Fortunately we held a 30-24 rebounding advantage and a 21-9 turnover advantage.

Leading us was SF Leonard Meliet with 22 points and 8 boards. PG Josh McFadgon scored 14, C Jason Caldwell had 13, and I finished with 12 points (to go along with 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a block). Seton Hall’s leading scorer was SF Quincy Abrams with 21 points…he also had 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.

C Greg Kidd aggravated his earlier toe injury and while he may be able to play, the word is that he’ll be out of action until completely healed this time. C Courtland Reese has recovered, though, and will therefore be back in the lineup after missing 2 games plus part of the game in which he was injured. We’re incurring more injuries this season than we did last year. I guess it’s just the breaks (ha, ha) of the game.

We remained ranked #6 in the Media Poll, but we have the 2nd best NET ranking which I think is a good indication of how competitive our pre-conference schedule has been. When I look at the pre-conference schedules of the other ACC teams, I see a few tough games but mostly a lot of creampuffs on their schedules. All of our games thus far have been against tough teams. Our upcoming game is against a weaker opponent, but then our final game will be against another ranked opponent. We then go into ACC play…and presently there are 6 ACC teams, other than us, ranked in the top 25 in the polls.

[PointGuard]

ACC Teams in Polls as of December 11, 2027:

Duke (9-0), 1st in both polls (NET ranking: 9th)

Louisville (9-1), 5th in both polls (NET ranking: 14th)

Boston College (8-1), 6th in Media Poll and 8th in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 2nd)

Florida State (8-1), 11th in Media Poll and 12th in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 56th)

North Carolina (5-1), 16th in Media Poll and 20th in Coaches Poll (Net ranking: 72nd)

Virginia (6-0), 17th in Media Poll and 16th in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 17th)’

Syracuse (6-0), 21st in Media Poll and 22nd in Coaches Poll (NET ranking: 50th)

Thus far all 15 ACC teams have won more games than they’ve lost and the ACC’s overall record is 104-28.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 13, 2027: Cornell Big Red (5-5) vs #6 ranked Boston College Eagles (8-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Athletic Director Jason Braxton

We’ve been working on changing our non-conference rival game from Cornell to another program that is more competitive with our program. Tonight’s game will be the final one covered by our agreement with Cornell, thus freeing us up to making a commitment with a different school. We’ve been talking to several other schools and have identified the one we wish to set up as our rival. Working out a rival game isn’t all that simple. Of course, if another school already has a rival, then they typically can not make a change. Those that are not up to the talent level that we’ve achieved under Coach Aura, may want to be our rival, but we prefer to have one more that is more our equal. Some that have about the same capabilities or slightly better, may not want to set a rival that may be likely to pin a loss on them. We prefer someone relatively near us geographically and another Catholic college would be ideal. Since the negotiations have not yet been completed, I can’t reveal the college that is likely to be our new non-conference rival. I believe that the final agreement will not be signed until next summer as we’re finalizing next season’s schedule.

Cornell has some good players although not the depth we have. C Phillipp Ray is averaging 13.3 ppg, SF Julian Brookhart is scoring 13.4 ppg, and SG Torian Duany is averaging 10.1 ppg. We can’t take the Big Red too lightly.

Initially in the game, the Eagles pounded the ball inside to C Courtland Reese and he was repeatedly fouled, sending the Big Red’s C Phillipp Ray to the bench quickly. BC was up 5-2 with all their points scored by Reese on free throws. We gradually took charge and with 8 minutes to go in the half we led 28-12. By the end of the half we were ahead 40-26. C Courtland Reese already had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Eagles played lackadaisically in the 2nd half. With Cornell hitting some big 3’s, the lead shrunk to 7 midway through the half and with 2 minutes left, BC was still up by just 7. Then with 1:20 to go, Cornell’s SF DeShaun Angner made a slick move to the hoop and slammed home a shot to cut the lead to 5. Courtland Reese returned the favor with a move to the basket himself to make it 73-66 with a minute left. We ended up scoring a rather unimpressive 78-66 win.

C Courtland Reese (15 points, 11 boards), PG Josh McFadgon (12 points), and SF Leonard Meliet (10 points) led the Eagles to victory. Cornell’s PG Jason Paige scored 20 points while C Phillipp Ray scored 11 and pulled down 10 rebounds.

The pollsters obviously weren’t impressed by our win either. We dropped to #7 in the Media Poll and #10 in the Coaches Poll.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 20, 2027: #8 ranked Marquette Golden Eagles (10-0) vs #7 ranked Boston College Eagles (9-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

JJ Conroy, BeanTownSports Blog

Pregame issues:

The Eagles closed out their pre-conference play by hosting another unbeaten team. Marquette was ranked #8 in the Media Poll and #7 in the Coaches Poll. The Golden Eagles won the Advocare Invitational championship. PF Donta Lee came into the game averaging 17.5 ppg and 10.2 rpg and Garrett Barnes was averaging 16.8 ppg.

C Courtland Reese has been experiencing back spasms. He started but his playing time was limited. With reserve C Greg Kidd unable to play due to a recurring injury, BC’s interior depth was impacted, particularly since reserve Jason Caldwell tires quickly. That makes trying to hold down Donta Lee even more difficult.

What’s happening at Boston College with all the injuries this season? Have the coaches changed their practice and game strategies so that the players’ physical condition is being adversely affected? Is the training staff not properly handling the players? If the injury parade continues, it will definitely result in losses during conference play.

Game Results:

In a surprise, Coach Aura started Jason Caldwell at C in place of injured Courtland Reese. For a second straight game, Boston College scored their initial points at the free throw line. They made 7 foul shots and were 0 for 7 from the field and were tied 13-7 after 8 minutes of play. The Eagles finally made their first field goal at the 11:59 mark. In another surprise, in a rather ballsy move Coach Aura moved Leonard Meliot from SF to C with Caldwell resting on the bench and Courtland Reese ineffective in 4 minutes on the court. Since the 6’5” Meliet came to BC as a PG, this was akin to how the Lakers used “Magic Johnson” occasionally many years ago. Meliet responded by scoring 5 points while giving up 2 points in about 4 minutes at the C position as the Eagles narrowed the gap to 18-17 with 7-1/2 minutes left in the half. After pulling ahead by a single point BC stalled offensively allowing Marquette to build a 32-27 halftime advantage. Since Boston College hit just 26% of their FG’s compared to 52% by Marquette, it was surprising the game was so close. Leonard Meliet scored 14 points plus grabbed 5 rebounds in the half. The four guards used by the Eagles were 0 for 15 from the field and Caldwell and Reese missed on all 5 of their FGA’s.

Meliet and Lilly each picked up their 3rd foul early in the 2nd half, a bad omen for the Eagles, particularly since Caldwell and Reese were so ineffective at the C position. BC’s horrendous shooting continued. Coach Aura was forced to bring Meliet back in as he seemed to be the only Eagle able to hit a FG. He responded by drilling two 3’s to cut the lead to 40-39 with 9 minutes to play. Then with 7 minutes to go, Meliet hit a jumper to tie the game at 41-41. He then hit two successive 3’s to put the Eagles on top 49-43 with 5:13 on the clock. BC’s defense carried them the rest of the way as they achieved a poorly played, but dogged 58-50 win.

The victory fell completely on the shoulders of Leonard Meliet who scored 28 of the Eagles 58 points, hitting 10 of 16 from the field (including 5 of 8 from beyond the arc) and 3 for 3 at the charity line. Meliet also had 9 rebounds, an assist, and 3 steals. The only other Eagle who shot well was PF Marvin Reese who hit 4 of 6 FG’s and scored 10 points. The rest of the team hit just of 32 of their FG attempts (6%) and none of their nine 3-point attempts. The way the other 9 players performed on offense was quite simply atrocious. While they weren’t booed by the home crowd, there were a lot of groans as they shot miss after miss after miss. The Eagles defense in the 2nd half was solid, though, allowing the Golden Eagles to score just 18 points in the final 20 minutes.

Marquette hit less that 40% of their shots in the 2nd half and got few shots due to frequent turnovers (they had 23 throughout the entire game). The Eagles held Marquette’s Donta Lee and Garrett Barnes to a combined total of just 20 points.

Comments:

Boston College has to improve their shooting if they want to be competitive in ACC play. Their FG percentage is the 4th worst in the ACC. Because of that 8 of the other 14 ACC teams are scoring better than the Eagles who average 77.4 ppg). 7 of the other 14 ACC teams have held their opponents to less points per game than BC’s 66.4 ppg average. Unless they improve that portends Boston College finishing in the middle of the ACC standings.

BC remains 8th in the Media Poll and 10th in the Coached Poll. Although their pre-conference record is good they aren’t playing like a Top 10 ranked team. On the other hand their preconference schedule has made their NET Ranking best in the nation. My guess is that they will finish 4th in the ACC standings…behind Duke, Louisville and either Virginia, Florida State or North Carolina.

[PointGuard]

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

ACC Pre-Conference team records

Duke: 12-0: Ranked 2/2; NET 5
Louisville: 11-1; Ranked 4/4; NET 12
Boston College: 10-1; Ranked 8/10; NET 1
Florida State: 10-1; Ranked 14/15; NET 18
Virginia: 9-1; Ranked 17/16; NET 30
North Carolina State: 8-2; NET 70
Miami (FL): 8-2; NET 72
Notre Dame: 8-2; NET 127
Syracuse: 7-2; NET 135
North Carolina: 7-2; Ranked 18/21; NET 37
Pittsburgh: 7-3; NET 86
Georgia Tech: 7-4; NET 17
Wake Forest: 6-3; NET 94
Virginia Tech: 6-4; NET 229
Clemson: 6-4; NET 108

Top 10 in Polls

MEDIA POLL

Kansas, 12-0
Duke, 12-0
Florida, 11-2
Louisville, 11-1
Illinois, 11-0
Providence, 11-0
Michigan, 10-2
Boston College, 10-1
Purdue, 10-1
Maryland, 10-1

COACHES POLL

Kansas, 12-0
Duke, 12-0
Florida, 11-2
Louisville, 11-1
Illinois, 11-0
Providence, 11-0
Michigan, 10-2
Maryland, 10-1
Purdue, 10-1
Boston College, 10-1

BOSTON COLLEGE TEAM STATS:

PPG: 77.4 (59th); Opponents PPG: 66.4 (52nd)
RPG: 33.2 (86th)
APG: 16.4 (253rd)
BPG: 5.0 (95th)
SPG: 8.1 (81st)
FG%: 44.8 (201st)
3P%: 37.5 (97th)
FT%: 71.5 (221st)
Off. Rating: 107.1 (43rd)
Def. Rating: 91.7 (44th)
NET Rating: 15.3 (28th)

BOSTON COLLEGE PLAYER STATS:

PPG: Leonard Meliet, 15.7; Courtland Reese, 10.2; Marvin Reese, 9.1; Jason Caldwell, 8.0; Josh McFadgon, 7.8; James Lilly, 7.5; Michael Millford, 5.5; Jason Dunn, 4.8; Greg Kidd, 4.0; Winston Minahan, 3.2; Jon Ray, 2.7; Phil Thompson, 2.7; Keith Kolder, 1.7; Andy Dawson, 1.0
RPG: Jason Caldwell, 5.8; James Lilly, 5.5; Leonard Meliet, 4.7; Courtland Reese, 4.4; Marvin Reese, 3.5; Michael Millford, 2.7; Winston Minahan, 2.5; Greg Kidd, 1.8; Jason Dunn, 1.3; Josh McFadgon, 1.2; Andy Dawson, 1.0; Jon Ray, 0.7; Keith Kolder, 0.6; Phil Thompson, 0.3
APG: James Lilly, 3.7; Leonard Meliet, 3.3; Josh McFadgon, 2.3; Jason Dunn, 1.3; Courtland Reese, 1.1; Jon Ray, 1.1; Winston Minahan, 0.9; Phil Thompson, 0.9; Marvin Reese, 0.8; Michael Millford, 0.7; Jason Caldwell, 0.6; Greg Kidd, 0.2; Keith Kolder, 0.2; Andy Dawson, 0.0
SPG: James Lilly, 1.5; Courtland Reese, 1.1; Michael Millford, 0.9; Leonard Miliet, 0.9; Marvin Reese, 0.8
BPG: Courtland Reese, 1.1; Andy Dawson, 1.0 ; Leonard Miliet, 1.0; Marvin Reese, 0.8; James Lilly, 0.7

[PointGuard]

Dec. 28, 2027: #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (10-1, 0-0) vs #2 ranked Duke Blue Devils (12-0, 0-0) at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, NC

3rd Assistant Coach Rob Rowland, Scouting

I feel like we drew the short straw on opponents for the opening conference game. But we have to play Duke on their court some time this season, so it’s probably best to get it out of the way right out of the gate. Duke is a powerhouse. As usual they have a star freshman…in fact two this season in SF Rod Allen (24.9 ppg and 6.7 rpg) and C Brian Taylor (16.0 ppg and 9.5 rpg). Allen has scored 30+ points (including 40 in one game) in 5 of the team’s 12 games. We really need to keep him from breaking loose. PF Michael Rashaw is another highly rated freshman who is averaging 5.2 ppg and 6.0 rpg. The Blue Devils have a 4th freshman (SF David Dye) who was the 9th ranked recruit nationally who is riding the bench and only averaging 6.5 mpg. Duke is a team that just keeps reloading each and every year. If I were coaching Duke I’d start Dye at SF and move Allen to start at SG. They’re both extremely strong players, and playing Dye so little is probably just going to make him consider transferring after this season.

The Blue Devils have averaged 79.2 ppg and only given up 62.8 ppg in their first 12 games this season and have wins over #7 Michigan, #11 Creighton, and #25 Brigham Young. The team won the 2K Sports Classic tournament. Duke pressures most of the game with a 2-2-1 half court press so they get a lot of steals. Their star freshmen also block a lot of shots. Their big guys also get a bunch of offensive rebounds.

So this is a game where Duke is stronger inside, but we’re stronger on the perimeter, particularly if Josh McFadgon regains the offensive production he exhibited the end of last season and has shown sporadically since recovering from an injury early this season. We can’t afford to rely on a single player like we did against Marquette in our last game when Leonard Meliet scored half our points and the rest of the team couldn’t find the basket. We need a total team effort if we’re going to have a chance against Duke in Durham.

1st Assistant Coach David Woodruff

OK, Rob’s given you a lot of bad news, but he’s scouting another team tonight and therefore not with us. So it’s up to me to provide you with news (hopefully good) about the game. Here goes:

1st Half:

All our guys are available tonight (for a change no one’s sidelined due to injury). We’re starting our regular lineup of McFadgon (PG), Lilly (SG), Meliet (SF), M. Reese (PF), and C. Reese (C ). Coach Aura focused on defense with the team prior to the game.

We again got off to a slow start. It took us 4 minutes to finally hit a field goal. Turnovers were killing us. We made 6 in the first 7 minutes and Duke turned 3 of those into driving layups. Courtland Reese picked up his 2nd foul with 12:47 to play in the half. We’re hitting 3’s (4 of 8 so far) to put us ahead 16-14 with 8 minutes remaining. Our defense solidifies making it tough for Duke to put the ball in the hoop and forcing some turnovers. We go ahead 23-14 with 3-1/2 minutes remaining. We hold the Blue Devils shooting to just 20% for the half and lead at the break 30-18. If it weren’t for our 11 turnovers, the lead would be greater. We stuck like glue to Duke’s SF Rod Allen so that he went 0 for 9 from the field in the half. In the locker room Coach Aura continued to drive home to the team the importance of maintaining our lock-down defense.

2nd Half:

We go on an 8-0 run to start the 2nd half to go ahead by 20. Our defense continues to successfully harass the Blue Devils, but our we go cold midway through the half and are unable to score. With 5-1/2 minutes remaining, Duke’s Rod Allen hits his first FG following his 12 earlier misses. In frustration, Coach Aura switches out all 5 players on the court. That seems to wake up the team and we score 6 points in the next 60 seconds to re-establish a 19 point lead. We then continue to squash them defensively and come away with an amazing 61-42 crushing of the Blue Devils on their home court.

Our shooting percentage was high, but the final 10-12 minutes reduced it to 42% for the entire game. But…we held Duke’s shooting to 21%. We also out-rebounded the Blue Devils 40-29.

SF Leonard Meliet scored 13 points plus had 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks. C Courtland Reese scored 12 and SG James Lilly added 11 points plus pulled down 7 boards. We completely stuffed hot-scoring Rod Allen…he only hit 1 of 15 FG’s and scored just 5 points (20 under his average) even though he played 38 minutes.

[PointGuard]

Boston College Chronicle

By Kinsey Ramsey

WHAT THE _ _ _ _ ?

The Eagles go on the road and rip previously undefeated Duke, winning by 19 points. So this week’s updated polls come out. Duke remains ensconced in 2nd place in both polls. BC fails to move up in the Coaches Poll, still residing at #10. And in the Media Poll, the Eagles DROP from #8 to #9. Something’s rotten in Poll-land.

[PointGuard]

PF Winston Minahan

The flight back from North Carolina to Boston was horrible. A storm was moving up the East Coast and it seemed like we were right in the middle of it. A rough all the way. By the time we got to Boston, the storm had hit there with heavy snowfall. A scary landing as the plane skidded along the runway. And the bus ride from the airport to campus wasn’t any better. We got back late at night. I was exhausted and slept in the next morning. When I got up I was shocked when I looked out the window at what I saw. Snow had fallen all night…a very heavy snowfall. Checking out a weather report, I found out 18 inches had fallen shutting down the city. We’d had very moderate weather throughout December and had been lulled into a false sense of reality, thinking we’d get through the entire winter without any really bad weather. Well, we were wrong. This storm had the whole city shut down.

It continued to snow throughout the day, but fortunately had a much lower rate. Our next game was four days away, but it was a home game against Syracuse and they had even more snow that we did. It looked like the game would have to be postponed. The snow didn’t keep the coaching staff from expecting us to practice, though. We politicked for snow days, but Coach Fed was adamant…get your butts to the gym. So we trudged through the snow every day.

I’d hardly seen more than a trace of snow at any time while growing up in Sonora, TX. During my year at Texas Tech, there was a little more snow in Lubbock than what I’d seen in Sonora, but not more than a couple inches at a time. So at first it was fun going out into the deep snow…but after a day or so, the fun wore off and I was ready for a change of weather and was beginning to feel trapped by the limited mobility.

New Years Eve was very low key since it still wasn’t all that safe getting around in the city. That sucked. But, when the new year broke, so did the weather. The temperature soared on January 1st and the snow began to melt rapidly. Our game against Syracuse for the next night was ON!

[PointGuard]

Jan. 2, 2028: Syracuse Orange (8-3, 1-1) vs #9 ranked Boston College Eagles (11-1, 1-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

Last week, Coach Aura’s Boston College Eagles continued their winning ways and improved their record to 11-1 with a devastating beat-down of Duke. The Blue Devils had glazed looks after BC’s defense completely stumped their efforts. Home court advantage meant nothing in this game as the Eagles’ defense was rock solid for the entire 40 minutes.

BC then fought their way through a snowstorm to get home to take on Syracuse. The Eagles’ win over Duke pumped up enthusiasm within their fan base and ensured Silvio O. Conte Forum was filled to the rafters last night.

Syracuse lost their ACC opener to Miami but then beat #4 ranked Louisville. The Orange have relied on two 5-star freshmen this season: PF George Plowman is averaging 20.7 ppg and 8.0 rpg and SG Chad Lopez has scored 10.3 ppg with 4.4 apg. The question for many at the beginning of the game was: Can BC contain Plowman like then did Duke’s freshman phenom Rod Allen?

BC turned the ball over on each of their first 5 possessions, which put them in a 7-0 hole. The Eagles slowly chipped away and with 8:57 remaining in the half, Michael Millford knocked down a jumper on which he was fouled. He sank the free throw also and BC was tied with Syracuse at 20-20. BC pulled away in the final 5 minutes to take a 40-28 lead to the locker room. Leading the scoring for the Eagers were C Courtland Reese and SF Leonard Meliet with both scoring 8 points.

The Eagles shot well throughout the 2nd half and continued to expand their lead. When the claxon sounded ending the game, Boston College had a convincing 83-58 win over the Orange. BC outshot Syracuse 50% to 32%, dominated the boards 35-23 and outscored the Orange in the paint 20-8. In the final 29 minutes of the game, the Eagles outscored the Orange 66-28. The victory put BC into a 3-way tie for 1st place in the ACC with Virginia and Notre Dame.

Both C Courtland Reese and SF Leonard Meliet scored 20 points and each had 8 rebounds. PG Josh McFadgon contributed 13 points while SG James Lilly hit for 10 points. The Eagles held PF George Plowman to just 10 points but SG Chad Lopez scored 16 points.

The Eagles host Notre Dame in their next game later this week. BC then will have two tough weeks with 4 straight away games.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 6, 2028: #22 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-2, 3-0) vs #9 ranked Boston College Eagles (12-1, 2-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Rob Francisco, Director of Hoop Club

The Hoop Club is the men’s basketball team’s support organization. On game day we gather in the Shea Room for a buffet dinner prior to the game and then again for snacks and drinks at halftime. Often there is a chalk time before the game by either an assistant coach or one of the radio voices of the Eagles. Annual membership rates range from $250 to $1000. Because of how well the team has done the past two seasons and so far this season, membership has grown significantly. Besides my wife Tori, I brought 6 guests to tonight’s game. Two went to Notre Dame but the other four are solid Eagles’ fans.

For the third straight game the Eagles have to contend with a superstar freshman PF. For Notre Dame’s it’s Marqus Gibson who was the 10th highest ranked recruit last year. He’s averaging 15.5 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 2.1 bpg and 1.6 spg. The guy is a very good inside scorer and a beast on the boards as well as being a solid defender. Junior SF Rich Thompson is averaging 12.4 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Thompson has scored consistently the same each of the 3 years he’s played for Notre Dame and shoots best from mid-range. Notre Dame runs a slow-paced offense and plays an effective 1-2-2 zone defense which has allowed just 61.1 ppg by their opponents. Two of the Fighting Irish’ ACC wins have been over #18 ranked North Carolina and #2 ranked Duke.

I hear that Virginia lost earlier today, so the winner of this game will be the lone undefeated ACC team and have sole possession of 1st place.

We finished the buffet so it’s out to our game seats to watch the game:

The refs call 2 fouls on C Courtland Reese in the first minute of play. The crowd is booing the refs lustily. Notre Dame hit 6 of their first 7 field goals. My guests who are Notre Dame alum were hooting it up. But with 12-1/2 minutes left in the half, the Eagles get their first lead when PF Winston Minahan intercepted a pass and delivered it upcourt to C Greg Kidd who jammed it down to make it 16-15 in favor of BC. Leonard Meliet was charged with his 3rd foul midway through the half so our top two scorers were on the bench. The Eagles were doing good pounding the ball inside for some easy baskets and led 38-30 with 4 minutes to play. The half ended with BC on top 47-40. Both teams hit over 50% of their FG’s, but BC held an 18-11 rebounding advantage and a 10-5 turnover advantage. Notre Dame had scored 5 more points than the Eagles at the foul line. PG Josh McFadgon was high point man for BC with 11 points. For the Fighting Irish, SG Tom Tatum had 14 points and PF Marqus Gibson scored 13.

Both teams fired darts in the early going of the 2nd half. At the first media time out, the Eagles were ahead 63-50. The teams kept pouring in points but BC held off the Fighting Irish. With 4 minutes to play, the score was 81-70. BC never let down throughout the entire 2nd half and beat Notre Dame 89-77. The Eagles edged the Fighting Irish in most all team stats and crushed them on the boards, 38-24. Boston College is now in sole possession of 1st place in the ACC.

PF Josh McFadgon had a big night, 23 points and 8 assists. C Greg Kidd scored 12 and PF Marvin Reese added 11. SG Tom Tatum hit for 9 points and added 6 assists for Notre Dame.