Dec. 21, 2026: Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-1) vs Boston College Eagles (7-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
JJ Conroy, BeanTownSports Blog
Yesterday Boston College completed their pre-conference play with an easy win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
Let’s face it. Even though Mississippi State came into this game with an impressive 6-1 record, they gained it by beating at home 6 pushovers. Their only loss was to a fairly good team on a neutral court.
In last night’s game, the Bulldogs turned the ball over on 4 of their first 6 possessions and missed two shots they were able to get off. BC took advantage of such incompetence to post a 10-0 lead in the first 4 minutes of the game. In the final 10 minutes of the first half the Eagles expanded their lead to finish the half with a big 39-20 halftime advantage. Mississippi State hit only 35% of their shots and had 11 turnovers in the half.
Mississippi State was unable to narrow the gap in the 2nd half and BC came away with a solid 80-57 victory. The Eagles scored 46 points in the paint. It looks like the Bulldogs need to spend some practice time on interior defense.
C Courtland Reese topped the scoring with 21 points plus he had 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals. SG James Lilly had 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. PF Jason Caldwell scored 10 points and PG Josh McFadgon finished with 8 points and 9 assists.
So BC goes into ACC play with an 8-1 record. Impressive, right. Well not as impressive as you might think. 8 of their 9 games were played at home. Their only road game was against an Ivy League softy. While I think they’re a better team that last year’s squad, they will be going up against ACC teams that achieved a combined 113-33 record in pre-conference play this season. And 10 of their 20 ACC games will be on the road. At this point it’s not possible to accurately predict how the Eagles will do, but my guess is that they will finish in the middle third of the ACC standings…so OK, but not great. Poll voters don’t put much substance in BC’s record since they have yet to crack into the Top 25 whereas 4 ACC competitors reside firmly in the polls: Clemson, 11-0 is #5, Virginia, 11-0 is #8, Duke, 8-2 is #9, and Syracuse, 7-2 is #17. On the other hand, the Eagles hold claim to the #2 best NET ranking. Since they will play strong competition the rest of the season, their NET ranking may slip some but will probably remain pretty high.
Coach Fred Aura
Immediately after the game, PG Josh McFadgon left to travel to Indiana. His grandfather passed away. Josh wanted to go to his grandfather’s memorial service, but was afraid he wouldn’t be able to get back in time for our next game. I told him not to worry…just go. His family is most important. I let him know that if he isn’t able to be back in time for our first ACC game that, while we’d miss him, we have the players to backfill. With our next game in Syracuse, he’ll rejoin us there if he’s able.