SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

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.

[PointGuard]

Boston College Chronicle

EAGLES READY FOR ACC PLAY

By Kinsey Ramsey

With the completion of their pre-conference play, BC’s basketball team looks to be well-prepared to go up against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents beginning next week. The Eagles sport a solid 8-1 record after beating a series of strong competition the past two months.

“We can’t wait to begin going up against ACC teams,” said Jason Caldwell who has been starting at PF recently. “My teammates and I believe we can compete well against any ACC team this season.”

Caldwell’s confidence seems to be well-placed as the Eagles averaged 78.6 ppg while allowing their 9 opponents thus far to average just 66.3 ppg. The team has almost 50% of their field goal attempts.

Leading the team’s scoring has been C Courtland Reese who is averaging 15.9 ppg. The Eagles other typical starters also are scoring well: SF Sam Dickens (11.7 ppg), SG James Lilly (11.4 ppg), PG Josh McFadgon (9.0 ppg), and PF Jason Caldwell (7.8 pgg). Top reserves have been: C Steve Ross (6.4 ppg), SG Jason Dunn (6.2 ppg), and SF Michael Millford (4.8 ppg). Top rebounders have been: SG James Lilly (6.7 rpg), C Courtland Reese (6.1 rpg), SF Sam Dickens (5.6 rpg), and PF Jason Caldwell (4.2 rpg). Assist leaders are: PG Josh McFadgon (5.0 apg), SG James Lilly (3.7 apg), and SF Sam Dickens (2.1 apg).

Coach Frederick Aura said, “I’ve been pleased by how our team has played. We’ve have shown any really weak areas, although we’re working to cut down on turnovers. We’ve been strong both offensively and defensively and our rebounding has been very good. Even though three of our starters are new to our program, the team has coalesced well. But although we played some good teams thus far, ACC competition will be a step up. We’re continuing to work on all aspects of our game to be ready for that. Having our first two ACC games on the road is a big challenge.”

BC travels to Syracuse, NY to take on the Syracuse Orange Monday. Syracuse is ranked #17 in the polls and has a 7-2 record. The Eagles will then conclude their first week of conference play by taking on North Carolina State in Raleigh, NC. The Wolfpack has a perfect 9-0 record thus far.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 26, 2026: Boston College Eagles (8-1) vs #17 ranked Syracuse Orange (7-2, 0-0) at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY

1st Assistant Coach David Woodruff

We need to try to contain SG Adrian Hooks who’s scored 25.9 ppg. Hooks has tallied 29, 33, 32 and 41 points in the Orange’s last 4 games. He gets a lot of touches and takes a lot of shots and is a wizard at drawing fouls. So my concern is that our guards will get into serious foul trouble. Syracuse’s freshman C Mike Miller has shown why he was the #9 ranked recruit last year by averaging 11.8 ppg and 8.0 rpg. He’s definitely a force to contend against inside.

Josh McFadgon was able to get the last seat on a flight from Chicago to Syracuse and arrived at the Carrier Dome 45 minutes before the game was scheduled to start. We’d planned to start Willis Lofton at PG since we didn’t expect Josh to be with us for this game. But due to Josh’s effort to get back in time for the game, we’ll start him as usual. He may wear down sooner than usual. We’ll keep close tabs on him and insert Willis Lofton and Jon Ray at the Point more than usual, if needed.

On another front, we got word from PF Marvin Reese’s doctor that his broken ankle is mending well, and he is likely to be ready to return to the lineup in 2 weeks. So that means he will miss just 4, or at most 5, of our ACC games. That’ll be a big boost for us.

Both teams had a tough time getting untracked offensively in the early stages of the game. Defense held sway throughout the first half. We opened a 7 point lead midway through the half. But Syracuse came on strong towards the end of the half to come away with a 30-27 advantage at the break. We only hit 30% of our FG attempts.

Our shooting didn’t improve in the 2nd half and Syracuse drew away from us. Our efforts to cut into their ever-expanding lead failed. Syracuse showed why they are a ranked team by smacking us 81-60. The Orange outshot us 44% to 32% and out-rebounded us 41-31.

C Courtland Reese played well, scoring 16 while pulling down 7 boards. SF Sam Dickens scored 11. But we were unable to stop Syracuse’s SG Andre Hooks who scored 32 and grabbed 11 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 30, 2026: Boston College Eagles (8-2, 0-1) vs North Carolina State Wolfpack (9-2, 0-2) at PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

ACC Network

This game pitted two teams that had stellar pre-conference records but were unranked and now have yet to win in ACC play. Boston College’s star-freshman center Courtland Reese came down hard on his hand in practice, and while he was able to start, Coach Aura admitted that his hand was sore. North Carolina State’s star-senior point guard Justin Nelson also entered the game still nursing a sore calf, but was able to start.

The Eagles defense was nearly impenetrable in the first half, holding NC State’s shooting to a measly 23%. BC also COMPLETELY DOMINATED the boards, pulling down 26 rebounds to just 9 by the Wolfpack. The result was a 31-16 lead at the half for Boston College. Even though C Courtland Reese was playing hurt, he still dropped in 12 points and had 5 rebounds in the first half. But the Wolfpack’s PG Justin Nelson played most of the half but scored just 3 points and was a non-factor.

NC State continued to seem bewildered by both BC’s man-to-man and 2-3 zone defenses in the 2nd half. The Eagles opened a 29 point lead with 8 minutes to go. The Wolfpack finally made a run to cut the lead to 14, but then Boston College reasserted their dominance and pulled away again to record a convincing 69-47 victory.

As has been their habit, BC continued to exhibit sloppy ball control, making 21 turnovers compared to just 11 by NC State. But the Eagles outshot the Wolfpack 49% to 32% and owned the boards to the tune of 46-19. BC also scored 36 points in the paint compared to 18 by the Wolfpack and held a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points.

For Boston College, C Courtland Reese had a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds. C Steve Ross scored 11 and SG James Lilly added 10. SG Alvan Daniels with 10 points was the only NC State player to score in double figures.

Security at PNC Arena was called into question when a person in a Joker costume ran onto the court during a 2nd half timeout, tossed a water balloon into the BC team huddled around their coach, wrapped a streamer around one of the referees, sprinted by one security guard, feinted around a second security guard, bowled over an usher and escaped out the doors without being caught.

[Wayne23]

Jokers on the court: IT'S AN OUTRAGE!!!

[PointGuard]

Jan. 4, 2027: Virginia Tech Hokies (7-4, 0-2) vs Boston College Eagles (9-2, 1-1) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Arnold Hackstatter, Professor of History at Boston College

I have two basketball players in my World History class…Josh McFadgon and Michael Millford. Michael is a great student…always prepared, good in discussions, and straight A’s. Josh is a bit of a challenge. He came to us from a junior college and wasn’t exceptionally well-prepared for the academic pressures here. He struggled early, but his coaches got him a tutor the first couple months and have had him on a study table since. His grades are edging up. In my class he’s somewhere between a B and C now. He’s quiet in class and has been tough to draw out, but getting better. Anyway, they challenged me to attend one of their games, so here I am. Outside of PE in high school, I never played basketball. Josh is starting and I’ve been led to believe that Michael is a key reserve. I’m hoping both do well tonight.

Virginia Tech came out hitting nearly every shot and the Eagles fell behind 10-5. Josh McFadgon looked good though. Great ball handler and passer and hit some key baskets. Michael Millford got into the game early. The Eagles fought back and took a small lead with 14 minutes remaining in the half. The game remained close for the next 5 or 6 minutes and then BC drew away. At the end of the half, the Eagles had developed a 38-25 lead. C Courtland Reese was the leading scorer for BC with 8 points, but Josh McFadgon had 7. Michael Millford had just a single point but I thought he’d played well.

Josh and Michael both started the 2nd half. Both teams were scoring freely in the early going of the 2nd half. Michael took a pass at the top of the key and drove down the lane and laid the ball into the hoop to get the crowd roaring. He was fouled on the shot and sunk the free throw for a 3 point play to put the Eagles ahead 52-39 with 15:15 remaining. A couple minutes later, Josh drove into the lane, pulled up and sunk a nice jumper to make it 57-43. Late in the half BC’s shooting went ice cold and Virginia Tech cut the lead to 2 points with 4 minutes to play. But then the Eagles went on a 15-2 run to win going away 78-63.

BC players scoring in double figures were C Courtland Reese with 16 points, PG Josh McFadgon with 14, and SG James Lilly and SF/PF Sam Dickens both scored 11. Josh saw me in the stands after the game. I gave him a thumbs up and he responded with a big smile.

[PointGuard]

2nd Assistant Coach Chris Evans

Marvin Reese has been working out at half-speed now in our team practices. His broken ankle is pretty much heeled. We expect him to be ready to play within the next week. Having him back in at PF will really help us with our interior depth. And when Marvin gets rolling again, he can give us a big boost offensively.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 6, 2027: Boston College Eagles (10-2, 2-1) vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-4, 1-2) at Edmund P. Joyce Center in South Bend, IN

Coach Frederick Aura

Pre-game:

Notre Dame’s lost 2 of their first 3 conference games, but they played all 3 on the road and their sole win was over #5 ranked Clemson. They’ve packed Joyce Center tonight to help motivate their team to beat us. They’ve got some really talented players including freshman SG Freddie Curtis who is averaging 19.8 ppg (and has another freshman, Mario Krimmel who was the #5 ranked recruit last season, riding the bench), PG Tom Tatus (12.4 ppg and 5.8 apg), and SF Rich Thompson (12.3 ppg). Tatum’s nursing an injury to his toe, but I don’t expect that to limit him much. I think we’re a little stronger than Notre Dame up front, but controlling their perimeter game is going to be tough and the Fighting Irish are good defensively. Kenneth Watkins, their head coach, is a superb coach and a good friend of mine, but I’m going to be doing everything I can to put another loss on his coaching record.

Game:

Even though we were having a tough time getting our shots to fall, we took a small lead early in the game due to some solid defense by us. But then our shooting woes got even worse and Notre Dame crept in front. It seemed the only way we could score was at the foul line. We finally put a nice little run together after the last media time out of the half to get within 2 only to have James Lilly pick up his 2nd foul. We tightened our defense at that point and edged in front to take a 27-26 lead to the locker room. After hitting just 20% of our shots throughout the bulk of the half, our effort at the end improved that to 27%. But Notre Dame only hit 39% of their shots. We controlled the boards 21-14. We need to work the ball around better in the 2nd half to get clear shots. In order to win this game we just have to shoot better.

Our ball handling carelessness bit us in the butt early in the 2nd half and Notre Dame went ahead 39-33 with 15:49 to play. I got on the guys during the media timeout. Freddie Curtis caught fire making it tough for us to catch up. We got back into it and swapped the lead back and forth. With 7:53 to go it was knotted at 48-48. We were killing ourselves with turnovers, though. Gotta give some credit to the defense of the Fighting Irish, but a lot was sloppiness on our part. Our offense sputtered and we trailed 52-49 with 3:23 left. We simply were unable to hit our shots the rest of the way and fell 61-56. It was extremely disappointing that we hit just 32% of our FG attempts. While our defense kept us in the game, an anemic offense like that was deadly. Turning the ball over 16 times didn’t help either. This was a game we could have won had we played just a little better.

C Courtland Reese scored 15 points, SG James Lilly hit for 12, and SF/PF Sam Dickens had 6 points and 12 rebounds. SG Freddie Curtis carried the Fighting Irish as their only player to score in double figures. He finished with 18 points.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 11, 2027: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-3, 3-1) vs Boston College Eagles (10-3, 2-2) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

JJ Conroy, BeanTownSports Blog

Jan. 10 Blog:

This week Boston College has two home games. Anything less that 2 wins will signify that the Eagles are likely to yet again disappoint those who have put faith in them. Thus far BC is 2-2 in ACC which puts them in a large muddle of middle roader ACC teams. Their loss to Syracuse was not unexpected since they were playing a solid team on the road. But losing to Notre Dame, a generally unimpressive team this season, indicates they are going to have problems playing away from the friendly confines of Silvio O. Conte Forum. Their two wins have been against teams (North Carolina State and Virginia Tech) that are residing at the bottom of the ACC standings. So there is little to crow about for those victories.

In this week’s home games the Eagles take on Georgia Tech and North Carolina State. For a team to be successful in the ACC they have to win all, or nearly all, their home games. North Carolina State should be a breeze since BC was has already beaten that team on the Wolfpack’s home court. Georgia Tech will be a bigger challenge, but it’s a game the Eagles need to win. Boston College gets PF Marvin Reese back into their lineup after a lengthy rehab after breaking his ankle. If Reese is ready to play up to the level he was prior to the injury, that should be a big boost for the team and will allow Sam Dickens to log most of his minutes at his natural SF position. I hear that reserve SG Jason Dunn sprained his finger in practice which is likely to limit him for the next week or two.

Jan. 12 Blog:

I made my way last night to Silvio O. Conte Forum to watch Boston College go up against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. While there was a good-sized crowd in attendance, it was not a sell out.

There were 9 lead changes and 7 ties in the first half but Boston College gained control late in the half to gain a 6 point lead at 38-32 at the end of the first 20 minutes. Then the Eagles spurted to a big lead in the early going of the 2nd half with as much as a 22 point lead. Georgia Tech cut into the Eagles lead late in the game, but there was never any doubt who would win. BC used a solid defense to cruise to a 77-62 victory.

PF Marvin Reese returned to the lineup with a vengeance, scoring 13 points, hauled down 9 rebounds and had 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. SF Sam Dickens also had a very good game with 14 points and 7 rebounds. C Courtland Reese just missed getting a double-double with 9 points and 11 boards. The bench contributed 29 points. The Eagles kept any of Georgia Tech’s starters from scoring in double figures, although 2 reserves did.

A solid team effort with a win that moved them into a 4-way tie for 5th place in the ACC, 1-1/2 games behind the conference leader. Thus far Florida State is atop the ACC standings with a 5-1 record and ½ game ahead of Syracuse and Pittsburgh and 1 game ahead of Duke.

[PointGuard]

Jan. 13, 2027: North Carolina State Wolfpack (10-5, 1-5) vs Boston College Eagles (11-3, 3-2) at Silvio O. Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

Marvin Reese, PF

Man, it’s good to be back in the lineup and playing basketball again. The past 2 months while I was nursing my broken ankle were pure hell. I’ve never been off the basketball court so long during a basketball season. When I was finally allowed to play in our previous game this week, I was bound and determined to do well…and I did! In fact, I think I surprised everyone. Many felt I’d be rusty and out of shape and it would take a few games before I could resume my form. But I showed everyone.

We ripped NC State 69-47 on their court a few weeks ago. Coach Fed keeps telling us to forget that and not take the Wolfpack lightly. Ivan Sims, the NC State PF who will be going up against me has been averaging 10.1 ppg and 5.5 rpg. My job will be go keep him well under those numbers. Sims is a good defensive player so I’m going to have to work hard on offense as well. The Wolfpacks’ starting guards have combined to average over 26 ppg.

My cuz (Courtland Reese) and I scored the first points of the game to give us a 4-0 lead in the first 34 seconds. By the time the first medial timeout came around we were on top 15-7 as our offense was jammin’. Coach Fed subbed in Jason Caldwell for me at that point. The Wolfpack came back to get within 3 points. Then with 7 minutes left we fell behind 34-27 as we stalled offensively. By the end of the half we trailed 48-36 and Coach Fed gave us hell in the locker room.

In the 2nd half NC State seemed to score on us on just about every possession and we fell behind 69-50 with 12 minutes to play. We tried to come back and got within 6 points with 2 minutes to go but just couldn’t get past the Wolfpack and lost 89-80. We let NC State hit 51% of their FG’s and 52% of their 3’s.

Topping our scoring was C Courtland Reese with 27 points and he also had 10 rebounds. SF Sam Dickens had 14 points and 7 boards. PG Josh McFadgon scored 11 points. I had 9 points. The Wolfpacks’ reserve PG Marcus Shepard killed us by scoring 22 points.

Since we played so poorly defensively, Coach Fed is gonna work our butts off in practice.