Allow Him To Reintroduce Himself

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Boston College's upset over No. 11-ranked Florida State made an impact throughout college basketball. It was the Eagles' first conference win of the year and the highest rated win according to KPISports, but it felt more like a statement: when the Eagles are healthy, they are capable of competing with and beating anyone. The win inserted the Eagles back into the ACC race because of a clear divide in the middle of the conference and beating a nationally-ranked team essentially announced that BC was very much capable of becoming a team to fill that void.

Part of the reason BC was able to erase the 15-point first half deficit, orchestrate a turnaround, and celebrate the win on the Conte Forum court came from shooting better than 60% from the floor during close to a 20-minute stretch - including making 5-of-8 3-pointers. But as he has done throughout his BC career, Steffon Mitchell had his hand in just about every possession on both ends of the court. The sophomore played 39 minutes and dominated the intangibles, totaling eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks, while scoring five points from the free throw line. That Mitchell made such an impact without attempting a field goal should not go unnoticed, as he posted an efficiency rating of 19. Following the FSU win, head coach Jim Christian highlighted that impact as a larger tenet of the character of the team.

"When we started our preparation for (FSU), I had a good feeling because we had character kids," Christian said. "We have had five ACC games. We were robbed of one of them and bounced back to play well against Louisville, and we knew we were going to play well (against the Seminoles). The character of our team showed up and was clear, and that was fantastic to see."

There is no questioning Mitchell's impact and how it makes Boston College a better team. He missed four games earlier this season, of which the Eagles won only one. With the Shakopee, Minn. native on the court, the Eagles are 9-4 record.

He has 10 or more rebounds in five of his 13 games, all of which happened with approximately 30 minutes or more on the floor. His presence helps the Eagles average over seven points more per game (76.6 points vs. 69.2) than when he's not in the lineup and it has helped create 1.4 more second chance points (10.4 vs. 9.0).

"It was good to see him (back in the lineup)," Christian said. "Against Louisville, I thought the first eight or ten minutes, he was still very tentative. The last 10 minutes of that game, that was the Steff Mitchell that we know. These injuries that these guys have aren't going away, but our medical staff has done a great job of keeping them going forward."

It helps increase nearly every advanced metric, as well. Efficiency ratings are scored by calculating the number of points per 100 possessions. Offensively, the Eagles rate almost 10 points higher in offensive efficiency, scoring 107.3 with him in the lineup against 96.8 without him, while the defense allows almost three less points (101.6 vs. 104.2).

"It doesn't hurt (to have injuries) in the game," Christian said. "It hurts when they can't play. But it hurts in practice because you can't really get into a rhythm playing with one another. You have to change a lot of things for practice. We had all of our guys in practice (before FSU), and that was probably the first time since maybe Thanksgiving. That allowed us to put in a gameplan that we could feed off of."

It isn't necessarily that Mitchell is the "missing link" to the entire lineup, but it shows just how complementary the Boston College game is becoming. The roster is synergetic, and each player has a key role within the team system. One missing piece can tax or hurt the other pieces, resulting in lost points or missed shots. Mitchell's ability to rebound on both the offensive and defensive glass and his penchant for being a good passer opens up better shots for the guards. Over its last two games with Mitchell in the lineup, BC has connected on better than 45% of its 3-point attempts, including a season-high 13-of-21 from beyond the arc against the Seminoles.

"Knowing that he's going to come in and rebound, he's going to try and get people open," Ky Bowman said of Mitchell after the FSU game. "He picks up a lot of the energy when one of us are tired. That energy helps us because he's in it for the team. That's big."

There is still a long way to go in the 2018-19 season, with plenty of opportunities at quality wins against some of the best teams in the nation. The ACC remains the nation's most elite conference, so any wins, starting last week against the Seminoles, are quality victories. With a full, healthy roster on the court playing their roles - including the Swiss Army knife stat sheet stuffer Steffon Mitchell, the Eagles are trending upward.

Boston College is back on the hardwood on Saturday when the Eagles play at Wake Forest at 4 p.m. The game can be seen nationally on regional sports networks (RSN) - locally, the game can be seen live on NESN. The game can also be heard on the BC IMG Sports Network via WEEI 850 AM.

Players Mentioned

Ky Bowman

Steffon Mitchell

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