SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Jan. 2, 2030: #11 ranked Boston College Eagles (11-2, 2-0) vs #21 ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack (12-1, 2-0) at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

Hal Fogarty, fan

My family and I came down to North Carolina to celebrate the New Year with family and also get some warmer weather. My wife and I grew up down here and many of our family members still live down this way. We had a big New Year’s Eve celebration and a big dinner on New Year’s Day after watching all the football games.

But my wife and I met while attending Boston College and then got jobs and stayed in Boston after graduating. So we’re Boston College fans. Since we’re down south we decided to attend the Eagles’ game against the Wolfpack.

NC State is surprising everyone this season. They’re presently on a 9-game win streak that includes winning the championship at the Diamond Head Classic. The Wolfpack have accomplished all this with an awesome defense that has allowed just 61.2 ppg. When you look at the talent level and depth for NC State, it becomes clear that they’re a team that can definitely present problems for Boston College. What’s more, with all the victories the Wolfpack have already achieved, they’re playing with a lot of confidence.

The national anthem just finished and it’s time for the tip off:

SG Corey Graham got things going with 2 quick baskets and the Eagles went on to score the first 11 points of the game to silence the crowd. After falling behind 17-2, NC State finally got their offense flowing and cut the lead to 20-12. But then the Eagles went on a 15 point run to expand their lead to 23 with 7-1/2 minutes left in the half. BC’s alternating man-to-man and zone defenses stymied the Wolfpack. When the half ended, the Eagles held a 47-29 lead. SF/SG/PG Glen Robinson’s sizzling shooting contributed 13 points and SG Corey Graham had 10 points.

During halftime we got North Carolina pulled BBQ sandwiches and sweet tea. We still have North Carolina roots.

The Eagles had a tough time reigniting their offense while the Wolfpack caught fire in the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half, and NC State closed to within 51-43. But by the midpoint of the half, BC had re-established their dominance and held a substantial double digit lead. With 5 minutes remaining, the Eagles led 74-54. NC State didn’t roll over and die though. They rallied to whittle away at the lead. There was too little time left though and Boston College came away with an 80-71 road win. So, unlike almost everyone else leaving PNC Arena, we were happy as we exited and returned to our car.

Both Glen Robinson and Corey Graham finished the game with 18 points apiece.

[Wayne23]

"During halftime we got North Carolina pulled BBQ sandwiches and sweet tea. We still have North Carolina roots."

I've never eaten pulled pork because I couldn't say, "Give me a pulled pork," with a straight face...

Just thought I'd elevate the discussion a bit...

[PointGuard]

LOL...Yeah, I'm just trying to get down low enough to look up at that one.

[Wayne23]

[PointGuard]

Jan. 9, 2030: Miami (FL) Hurricanes (11-4, 3-1) vs #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (12-2, 3-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Malik Aura

I haven’t been able to get to many of my Dad’s basketball games this season. Often my high school team has games on the same nights but even when that hasn’t been the case, my parents haven’t let up on me about getting my homework finished. So my grades are OK this year and things are going well with my basketball team. No bragging, but I’m doing pretty darned good. I got actively recruited and had a hard time narrowing the field. I finally provided a verbal acceptance to a college, but then wanted to hold off signing an LOI until my SAT scores are revealed in case I don’t qualify. My good friend, Travis Buchanan, who graduated last year and is now playing for Georgia Tech has started every game for the Yellow Jackets and has played fairly well. Travis strongly encouraged me to come to Georgia Tech. My Mom was really against that. I can’t deny that sort of made me consider going there, but even though Georgia Tech recruited me, as you now know from my mom telling you a couple weeks ago,, I chose to go to Georgetown. Travis isn’t happy. But I’m excited.

Meanwhile Omari has been starting every game this season for Providence in his junior year there. He’s not been hitting a high percentage of his FG’s yet, but has had 4 double digit scoring games thus far out of the 15 games the team has played. He’s averaging 6.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, and 1.9 apg. Since Zack Watkins is averaging 29.1 ppg, the Friars aren’t expecting a lot of scoring from Omari. Providence at 15-0, is the only unbeaten team in Division I and is presently ranked #3 in the polls (behind Kansas and Duke).

Anyway, I guess you probably want to know more about tonight’s Boston College game against Miami, so here’s what happened:

Miami came out firing from beyond the arc. 7 of their first 10 shots were from out there and they hit 3 of them to stay close at 11-9 at the first media timeout. Led by SG Corey Graham as well as a staunch defense that is likely making my Dad happy, the Eagles slowly crept to a 22-13 lead midway through the half. BC’s defense was solid for the entire half, holding Miami’s shooting to just 29% which allowed the Eagles to roll to a 47-28 halftime advantage. BC dominated the boards also to the tune of 27-13. C Courtland Reese played just 10 minutes but scored 9 and hauled in 7 boards.

The Eagles scored the first 7 points of the 2nd half to expand their lead to 25, but Miami then went on a 12-2 run. I had to laugh when my Dad got called for a T as he complained about the fouls being called on BC. The lead swung between 12 and 22 points with the Eagles vanquishing the Hurricanes by a final score of 77-63. BC dominated all aspects of the game.

PF Danny Toliver was BC’s top scorer with 16 points and C Courtland Reese had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 11, 2030: #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (13-2, 4-0) vs #9 ranked Florida State Seminoles (13-2, 2-2) at Donald L. Tucker Civic Center in Tallahassee, FL

Rob Cavanaugh, Student Manager

The game’s about to start. I’m a freshman at BC and so get most of the scut jobs amongst the basketball team’s student managers. I’ve already hauled in the bags from the hotel to the bus and then from the bus to the locker room, set things up for the players in the locker room, filled the Gatorade tubs, run numerous errands, made sure the chairs for players and coaches were set up just right, readied the timeout chairs so they can be brought out quickly, made sure the whiteboards and felt pens are right between Coach Fed’s and Asst. Coach Montgonery’s chairs, got the towels and water bottles readied and placed where they need to be. I’ll be doing support work for the players throughout the game (kind of whatever is needed…don’t worry, I won’t bore you with all that), so I don’t get to chart hustle plays and whatever other obscure stats the coaches want for the game. Most of the players are great guys, but a few are a bit demanding. Since I’ll be busy, I won’t be able to give you a blow-by-blow about the game, but hopefully some of the highlights. I do know we’re 3-1/2 point underdogs for this game, but I think our guys will pull it out.

We got the ball on the tip-off, Grannum got the ball into Reese on the left side of the key, Reese used a great cross-over dribble to get past his man and hammer down a huge dunk…nice way to start. Got busy but next thing I knew we’re up 10-2 and they’re calling the first media timeout..gotta run. 6 minutes into the game and C.J. (another student manager) tells me Florida State has already made 6 turnovers…Coach Fed’s gonna be happy with our guys about that and the overall defense so far…just 4 points by the Seminoles. 3 subs going in a couple minutes later…gotta pass out drinks and towels to players coming off the court. Second media timeout…we’re ahead 18-6…athletic trainer worked on charley horse on Graham…Coach replaced Graham with Moss. Coach Fed’s getting on the refs about fouls even though we have a 22-6 lead at midpoint of half. Oh-oh, Coach not happy that Moss let his man hit back-to-back 3’s. Whoa! Great 3 by Glen Robinson making it 27-12. Reese back on the court and really working down low…hits a shot on which he was fouled, made the free throw to put us ahead by 20 at 34-14. Last media time out with us ahead 40-16…Hein spilled entire drink…cleanup time for me. Halftime and we lead 48-21. Stat’s look great…We outshot the Seminoles 60% to 23%, out-rebounded them 19-15, made just 6 turnovers to their 12, and scored 20 points in the paint to their 6. 14 points by Graham, 13 by Reese (plus 6 rebounds). Coach Fed has already put 12 guys into the game.

Some of my friends think I’m crazy to be a gopher and do all this work for nothing, but others understand I get to travel, get to hang with the team, see what’s going on in practices…and what’s more I’m making contacts for sports management jobs in the future.

Second half: Our shots aren’t falling, theirs are. Coach Fed unhappy with our sloppy play…gets on the guys during 2nd media timeout. That got the guys playing better. Coach Fed empties the bench. We blow out the Seminoles 79-55. We’re tied for 1st in the ACC with Duke.

SG Corey Graham tossed in 26 points, C Courtland Reese had 19 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and a block, PF Danny Toliver had 8 points and 8 boards, PG Bobby Grannum only scored 4 points but had 8 assists.

Time for me to collect all the dirty uniforms and towels and get them washed.

[Wayne23]

Break up the Eagles!

[PointGuard]

RyReys Blog, Ryan Reynolds

Best’s and Worst’s

Let’s take a look at the Eagles principal players’ best and worst games:

PG Bobby Grannum: Best is tough…he had 26 and 25 points against Syracuse and Oklahoma and 12 assists vs UCLA, but I think his best overall game was when playing North Carolina: 19 points on 7 out of 10 from the field with 9 assists. Worst was in the game against Oregon when he played 40 minutes, hit 0 of 10 FG’s and scored just 2 points but he did have 4 rebounds and 6 assists to offset 5 turnovers.

SG Corey Graham: He scored 27 vs Michigan and 26 vs Florida State, but didn’t do that much elsewise in those games. But I am picking his play in game against LSU when he only scored 14 points but hit 6 of 10 FG’s and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc (and would have scored more had he gotten to the foul line) and had 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks. Worst was against Oregon…no points, 1 rebound, 1 block (only played 15 minutes though).

SF Darius Hein: Best was against Creighton when he hit 7 of 9 FG’s and scored 16 points plus had 5 rebounds, a steal and a block. Worst: In the first 2 games of the season he scored a total of 1 points, but that was offset by 6 rebounds and 6 assists in a total of 32 minutes of play in the 2 games…so I believe worst was his 20 minutes of play vs Syracuse (2 points, 2 rebounds).

PF Danny Toliver: Best was Eagles’ game against Miami in which he scored 14 points and had 5 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal and a block. Worst offensively was vs Syracuse with just 2 points but he did get 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 3 blocks so very good defensively. That just shows that Danny is a solid player who produces pretty well every game…no huge highs but no terrible games either.

C Courtland Reese: He has 4 double-double games and 2 games in which he scored 20 points, but the game I’m picking was against UCLA when he scored 16 on 8 of 10 shooting, pulled down 9 boards, and had 2 blocks. Worst? North Carolina State: scored just 6 points and had only 5 rebounds…actually hit 3 of 4 FG’s but the Wolfpack’s defense sort of neutralized him.

SF/SG/PG Glen Robinson: His top game was against Syracuse when he dropped in 7 of 10 FG’s including 6 of 9 from 3 point range, scored 23. The worst was one of his three starts…this one against Butler…19 minutes, 0 points, just 3 rebounds.

C Tim Cotton: Best game was against Arkansas…15 points on 7 of 9 shooting plus 5 rebounds. Worst: Just 1 rebound and nothing else in 10 minutes of play against Missouri.

PF Winston Minahan: In the game against North Carolina, he played just 13 minutes but had 7 points and 6 rebounds. Worst was the first game of the season against Colorado when he played 14 minutes and scored just 2 points but recorded no other positive stats.

The rest of the subs get into most games, but don’t get enough playing time to record a lot of positive stats. I think both SG Adrian Moss and SF Maynard Gardner have the potential to have a breakout game sometime this season if they get enough time on the court to do so. I’d also like to see the two walkons, PG Ramond Keep and SF Andy Dawson, both of whom are pretty talented, each get a chance to prove what they can do at some point. But I imagine that won’t happen just because Coach Aura is struggling to provide his non-starting scholarship players enough playing time to keep them from becoming disgruntled.

On another note: Here’s who has the top stats in the ACC thus far:

PPG: SG Trent Coleman, Duke—23.1 ppg
RPG: C Brian Taylor, Duke—10.2 rpg
APG: PG Darius Rose, Virginia Tech—6.7 apg
BPG: PF Morris Blackmon, North Carolina—2.6 bpg
SPG: C Marv Hunter, Virginia Tech—3.5 spg

[PointGuard]

Jan. 13, 2030: Pittsburgh Panthers (9-6, 2-4) vs #8 ranked Boston College Eagles (14-2, 5-0) at Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA

Jason Braxton, Athletic Director

I’d like to say this is a game we should win with ease, but two players on the Panthers could make a statement like that look foolish: freshman C Marques Mohr is a beast inside, averaging 16.3 ppg and 9.7 rpg; and junior SF John Mahorn averages 11.2 ppg and 4.8 rpg and has knocked down 56% of his FGA’s. I’d include junior PG Rodney Winston with them since he has hit 63% of his FGA’s, but he’s nursing an injury so his effectiveness is likely to be hampered.

Even though Pittsburgh isn’t a power in the ACC this season, the success of the Eagles the past few years and this season are keeping the Forum seats filled. That’s a big plus, not only for us financially, but also as support for the team during our games here.

Coach Aura has been playing the bench more of late so our starters’ stats have suffered a bit, but it’s good to have the team’s depth improved in the event there is an injury and as readiness for next season. Our 3 freshman are acquitting themselves well. PG Bobby Grannum is a star. He’s averaging 12.4 ppg, 6.4 apg, and 3.1 rpg. C Tim Cotton has consistently improved as the season progresses and is now averaging 4.7 ppg and 3.2 rpg while playing just 11.9 mpg. He needs to work hard on his defense, though. SF Maynard Gardner, although yet very inconsistent, has shown glimpses of what will eventually be brilliance. Coach Aura has been trying to find more time for him to gain game experience. If he develops the way we expect, he will solve the persistent weakness we’ve had over the past several years at SF.

Pitt scores the first 2 points on free throws, but then Danny Toliver takes Mohr to the hoop to score a dunk and be fouled. Then on Bobby Grannum picks off a pass and drives for the basket. Mohr keeps him from scoring but picks up his 2nd foul at the 18:56 mark…and to the bench he goes. The refs even things up by calling a series of picky fouls on us and Bobby Grannum goes is whistled off with 2 fouls just 5-1/2 minutes into the game. Lots of early turnovers by both teams. Pittsburgh is burning up the nets and takes 5 point lead with 9 minutes to go in the half. Two minutes later we recapture the lead. But Pittsburgh hangs with us the entire half and we go to the locker room with just a 41-40 edge. We hit 50% of our shots, but the Panthers chipped in 58% of theirs.
Courtland Reese leads our scoring with 11 points, but Pittsburgh’s C John Mahorn has 12 points. Word is that Corey Graham has some sort of knee injury.

We have no success in cooling the Panthers shooting early in the 2nd half and the game remains tightly contested. But we go on a run midway through the half and finally gain a double digit lead at 67-55 with 8:47 to go. We’re up by 20 with 7 minutes left. Pittsburgh cuts into our lead with our bench on the floor but there is no serious threat. We come away with an 87-74 victory due to our surge in the middle of the 2nd half. Pittsburgh kept the game interesting by hitting 60% of their FG’s.

Four of our starters score in double figures: C Courtland Reese-19 points, PF Danny Toliver-12 points, SF/SG Glen Robinson-11 points, and PG Bobby Grannum-10 points. All 7 of our reserves who played scored, and totaled 33 points. Pittsburgh C John Mahorn topped all scorers with 20 points.

Follow up 2 days later: We just found out that we’ve moved up to #5 in both polls after our 7th straight victory. The ACC is well-represented in the polls. Duke remains #2, North Carolina is #4, Notre Daye is #8, Florida State is #11, and North Carolina State is #20.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 18, 2030: #5 ranked Boston College Eagles (15-2, 6-0) vs #4 ranked North Carolina (16-4, 4-3) at Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, NC

Biff Conroy, WRKO Radio Sports Talk Host

Hey sports maniacs, glad to have you listening in. The focus for this hour is Boston College basketball. And in particular, their game tonight against North Carolina. It’s a contest pitting #4 against #5 in the polls. The Tar Heels come into the game 2-1/2 games behind the Eagles in the ACC standings, but one place above the Eagles in the polls and a 9-1/2 point favorite by the sports books.

I don’t often do this but I’m encouraging you to watch the game on TV and call into me to discuss the game as it proceeds. Not much time before tipoff but let’s kick things off. Jerry is on the line.

Jerry: What's up with the polls…how could they rank North Carolina above BC since the Eagles had a better record and a higher NET Ranking…and BC ripped the Tar Heels when they played up here last month?

Biff: I agree it doesn’t make sense, but the polls are nothing more than the poll participants’ opinions and biases. And you gotta know that a lot of them begins and ends in Durham and Chapel Hill. Next we have Roger calling in.

Roger: I think BC is the better all-around team but they’re playing in Chapel Hill so I don’t think the Tar Heels being the favorites tonight is out of line. And North Carolina has those two highly rated freshmen big guys who could give BC fits inside.

Jake: Aura needs to shake his guys up. They’re just not protecting the ball at all. At least when they DO hold onto the ball, they’re hitting some shots so they’re only behind 10-9.

Robert: Knight looks as good as they say he is. He’s taking it to Reese inside.

Kenny: Nice 11-2 run by the Eagles. Took them most of the hais clf to get untracked but they’re now up 29-25.

Biff: Yeah, and it all started when Reese came back into the game.

Jake: I think Aura took me up on my suggestion. The Eagles seemed to finally realize they needed to play ball or they were going to go home with an “L” on their record. And I agree that after Reese took a breather, he came back with a vengeance…made 5 of 5 didn’t he?

Biff: Yes, he finished the half with 11 points, all but one of those in the Eagles’ late run that took them to their 31-25 halftime lead.

Alex: Yeah, they got their offense of track alright, but really it was their defense that gave them their lead…holding the Tar Heels shooting to 37% and forcing 9 turnovers…too bad BC made one more than that though. Otherwise they’d have a big lead.

Rebecca: If Graham, Robinson, and Toliver can begin scoring like they didn’t in the first half, I think BC will do alright.

Biff: Coach Aura definitely relied on his starters in the first half. I think he’s going to have to get the bench more involved in the 2nd half. I also don’t think he can count on Knight carrying North Carolina. I believe the Tar Heels will make some adjustments to get their other players doing some more scoring. OK, let’s see if BC can hold on in the 2nd half.

JJ: Damn, The Eagles come out stone cold and North Carolina ties up the score after BC is unable to score in the first 3 minutes of the half.

Frankie: That’s what BC needed to do, keep working the ball inside to Reese and forcing Knight to defend. Now he’s got 3 fouls on himself and is having to warm the bench.

Biff: That was a short rest for Knight. I don’t think he was out of the game over a minute. Maybe North Carolina is getting nervous now that they trail 37-31.
Frankie: Hah! That’ll teach the Tar Heels coaching staff. They put Knight back in the game and quick as a wink he’s got 4 fouls.

Biff: Well this is one helluva defensive battle. BC’s D is just a little better thus far and that accounts for their 48-38 lead. But there’s 8 more minutes to go.

Carlos: Just when it looked like BC would take this one, North Carolina goes on a 19-0 run. The Eagles are going to have a tough time making up the 8 point lead with 2-1/2 minutes to go. The refs are making things really tough on BC right now.

Biff: But mainly its that North Carolina, after shooting poorly the entire game, now can not miss a shot. The crowd’s really helping the Tar Heels.

Ray: The Eagles let that one get away. Their defense completely evaporated in the final 7 minutes. The Tar Heels scored 29 points during that short period of time.

Biff: Yes, it was an extremely disappointing 72-66 loss. But ultimately North Carolina won it at the line, scoring 13 more points than BC on foul shots.

Stan: Four North Carolina players scored in double figures. Just two Eagles did…15 for Courtland Reese and 14 for Bobby Grannum.

Bri: 18 turnovers by Boston College certainly didn’t help either. The Eagles are now 1-1/2 games behind Duke.

Biff: I still think Boston College is the better team. The Eagles and Tar Heels may meet again in the conference tournament and on a neutral court, I think the Eagles will win.