Eagles Face Cal in Al Attles Classic on Saturday

BOSTON COLLEGE VERSUS CALIFORNIA

BOSTON COLLEGE VERSUS THE PAC-12 CONFERENCE

Boston College is 8-14 against teams that are members of the Pac-12.
USC and UCLA are the Eagles' most common Pac-12 foe.
BC's last Pac-12 opponent - a 75-71 home L vs. USC on Dec. 21, 2014.
BC vs. the Pac-12: Arizona (0-3); Arizona State (1-2); California (2-0); Stanford (1-0); UCLA (1-3); USC (0-4); Utah (1-2); Washington (1-0); Washington State (1-0).

STEFFON MITCHELL HAD QUITE A WEEK

Last week, Steffon Mitchell posted the most complete stat line among all Division I players.
From Dec. 9-15, he averaged 14.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 5.5 steals per game in a 2-0 week for the Eagles.
On Dec. 10 vs. Albany, Mitchell posted his second double-double of the season, with 15 points, 13 rebounds to go with five steals.
Last time out vs. CCSU, he stuffed the stat sheet again, with 13 points, 12 boards, three assists, and a career-best six steals.
Mitchell connected on just under 60% shooting from the floor (10-17), including 2-of-4 from the perimeter.
In the 10 games prior to this past week, Mitchell was 3-of-13 from beyond the arc on the season.

To put this into perspective...since 1996...

There have been six instances where an ACC player tallied at least 13 points, 12 rebounds, 5 steals and 2 assists in a single-game. Steffon Mitchell had two of those six performances last week alone.
There have been three Division I players to total 28+ Points, 25+ Rebounds, 5+ Assists & 11+ Steals in a two-game span.

THE BAY AREA AND BACK DOWN

Boston College is 6-10 all-time in games played in the state of California.
BC's last trip to California came in 2015 as the team took part in the Wooden Classic.
Today's game marks the second appearance for the Eagles in the City by the Bay.
55 years ago to this date, BC was victorious in their lone previous game in San Francisco - a 78-62 win over Saint Mary's on Dec. 21, 1964 at the Kazar Pavilion.
Records around the Golden State: Anaheim (1-3); Los Angeles (0-3); San Diego (2-0); Fullerton (1-2); Santa Clara (1-1); Moraga (0-1).

TODAY'S BOSTON COLLEGE NOTE(S) YOU CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT

Steffon Mitchell's 12-rebound performance vs. CCSU marked the 40th time in which he has led BC in rebounding.
Derryck Thornton has faced Cal four times in his career, while playing with USC from 2017-19.
Thornton is averaging 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists over those four games.
On Jan. 3, 2019, the Los Angeles-native tallied 13 points, seven rebounds, and a career-best 12 assists vs. the Bears.

ON THIS DATE: DECEMBER 21

Boston College is 14-10 all-time in games played on December 21.
In addition to today being the Winter Solstice, December 21 marks the tri-celebration of National French Fried Shrimp Day, National Crossword Puzzle Day, and National Maine Day.
Several notable events in history occurred on December 21 - 1891: James Naismith holds the first-ever game of "basket-ball" with 18 students at what is now Springfield College in Springfield, Mass.; 1898: Pierre & Marie Curie discover radium; 1909: the first junior high school - now Willard Middle School - was established in Berkeley, Calif.; 1948: the Republic of Ireland Act was signed into law; 1952: the Broadway tunnel opened in San Francisco; 1968: Crosby, Stills, and Nash first perform together in Laurel Canyon, Calif.; 1995: The San Francisco Giants announce plans to build a new stadium in the China Basin.
Notable December 21 birthdays: actor Samuel L. Jackson; actor Kiefer Sutherland; French president Emmanuel Macron; tennis star Chrissie Evert; talk show host Phil Donahue; colonial pioneer Roger Williams.

CALIFORNIA KIDS

There are three California natives on the Boston College roster.
All three players - Derryck Thornton, Sam Holtze, and Julian Rishwain - are from the Los Angeles area.
Three BC alums in the NBA play with California franchises - Ky Bowman is with the Golden State Warriors, Jared Dudley is with the Los Angeles Lakers and Jerome Robinson is with the Los Angeles Clippers.

JAY DOT BUCKETS

Jay Heath ranks 15th nationally among freshman in 3FG%, making close to 43% of his attempts from beyond the arc (23-54).
His 23 made 3-pointers rank him tied for 17th nationally among all freshmen.
Earlier this season, Heath knocked down 5-of-7 from deep versus Eastern Washington.
The last BC freshman to make five 3-pointers in a game: Ky Bowman (5) vs. Notre Dame on Feb. 14, 2017.
Heath has scored in double figures in 10 of the 11 games in which he has appeared.
The D.C. native scored 18 points in the season-opening win over Wake Forest.
He ranks third among all ACC freshmen in scoring (13.0 ppg), first in 3FG% and 3FG made, and is third in steals (16).

NOT THROWING AWAY HIS SHOT

Over his last nine games, Jared Hamilton has connected on 30-of-58 shots - just under a 52% shooting percentage.
He scored a season-high 18 points last time out vs. CCSU, making 6-of-9 shots (3-3 3FG).
At Notre Dame, Hamilton made 6-of-8 shots from the floor (1-1 3FG), scoring a season-high 13 points.
Against Eastern Washington - Hamilton made 5-of-9 shots (1-3 3FG), scoring 12 points.
He also scored a dozen against High Point, making 5-of-6 attempts - including 2-of-2 from 3-point land.
Hamilton ranks fifth on the team in scoring, at a career-best 8.0 points per game, this season.

NOW TRENDING: JAIRUS HAMILTON

FIRST FOUR, NEXT FIVE, LAST THREE: COMPARE & CONTRAST

Boston College averaged 21.0 points off turnovers per game through the first four contests of the season. BC was 3-1.
Over the next five games, that figure dropped to 10.6 points. BC went 1-4 during that stretch.
The Eagles bounced back at Notre Dame with 18 points/turnovers and have averaged 24.0 P/TO over the last three games.
The Eagles scored an average of 37.0 points in the paint through the first four games.
Over the next five, points scored in the painted area dipped to 20.4 per game.
At Notre Dame, BC scored 24 points in the paint and have averaged 28.0 PITP over the last three games.