Eagles Play at #2 Duke on New Year's Eve

BOSTON COLLEGE VS. DUKE - ALL-TIME SERIES

This is the 25th meeting between the Eagles and Blue Devils.
Duke holds a commanding 21-3 lead in the all-time series.
In ACC play, Duke is 17-2 vs. the Eagles dating back to 2006-07.
Duke has won 12 of the last 13 meetings between the two schools.
BC has yet to win at Cameron Indoor Stadium (0-10 all-time).
Boston College dropped an 80-55 decision at Cameron on Feb. 5.
Jordan Chatman scored 16 points, while Nik Popovic had 13.
BC's last win over Duke: an 89-84 home victory on Dec. 9, 2017.

BOSTON COLLEGE IN ACC PLAY

Boston College is 84-156 in 13 seasons in the ACC.
The Eagles are 2-0 in ACC play for the first time since 2010-11.
BC downed Wake Forest, 77-70, in the season and ACC opener.
On Dec. 7, the Eagles were victorious at Notre Dame, 73-72.
The Eagles finished with a 5-13 record in ACC play in 2018-19.
BC's 11th-place finish a year ago was its best finish since 2012-13.
The Eagles were 7-11 in ACC play in 2017-18.
BC's best ACC mark came in its inaugural season, going 11-5 in conference play in 2005-06 en route to a third place finish.
BC also tied for third in 2006-07 (10-6) and finished fourth in 2010-11 (9-7).

NOW TRENDING: JAIRUS HAMILTON

Jairus Hamilton is averaging 11.8 points over the last five games. BC is 4-1 during that stretch.
He is also averaging 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists over the span.
Last time out, Hamilton poured in a career-high 18 points - including the go-ahead 3-pointer - in a comeback win vs. Cal.
He was 5-of-10 from the floor (2-4 3FG) to go along with a season-best eight boards in 34 minutes.
Hamilton missed five games from Nov. 10-23 due to injury. Since returning, he is scoring nearly 11 points per game.

NOT THROWING AWAY HIS SHOT

Over his last 10 games, Jared Hamilton has connected on 33-of-65 shots - just under a 51% shooting percentage.
Last time vs. Cal, he scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half in a 64-60 win at Chase Center.
He scored a season-high 18 points on Dec. 15 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.
He has scored in double-digits in five of 12 games and ranks fifth on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg).
His 42.3% shooting clip (11-26) from beyond the arc leads Boston College this season.
The elder Hamilton is also averaging 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

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

For close to a seven-minute stretch vs. Cal, a Hamilton brother scored 15 consecutive points for Boston College.
Last time out vs. Cal, Boston College posted its first comeback win from a 10+ second half deficit of the season.
It was the first second half comeback win when trailing by 10 or more since Nov. 6, 2018 (13 pts. vs. Milwaukee).

ON THIS DATE: DECEMBER 31

Boston College is 6-2 all-time in games played on December 31.
In addition to being New Year's Eve, December 31 marks the celebration of National Champagne Day.
Several historic events occurred on December 31 - 1600: the British East India Company formed; 1857: Queen Victoria names Ottawa as the capital of Canada; 1862: Abraham Lincoln signs act admitting West Virginia to the Union; 1890: Ellis Island opens; 1904: first New Year's Eve celebration in Longacre Square (now Times Square); 2007: Boston's "Big Dig" ends.
Notable December 31 birthdays: actor Anthony Hopkins, singer Donna Summer, Olympic gymnast Gabby Douglas, actor Ben Kingsley, explorer Jacques Cartier, singer John Denver, and notable quitter British Gen. Charles Cornwallis.

STEFFON MITCHELL HAD QUITE A WEEK

Steffon Mitchell posted the most complete stat line among all Division I players from Dec. 9-15.
During that week, 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 has his second double-double of the season, with 15 points, 13 rebounds to go with five steals.
Against 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.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

Derryck Thornton returns to Cameron Indoor Stadium for the first time since his freshman season at Duke.
As a Blue Devil during the 2015-16 campaign, Thornton averaged 7.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.
His best game at Cameron came almost four years to the day - Dec. 30, 2015 - an 18-point, 5-assist effort vs. Long Beach St.

JAY DOT BUCKETS

Entering the Dec. 10 game vs. Albany, Jay Heath ranked fourth nationally among freshman in 3FG% (21-42; 50.0%)
Over his last three games, he has cooled off, connecting on 2-of-17 from beyond the arc.
His 23 made 3-pointers rank him 30th 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 12 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 (12.3 ppg), second in 3FG%, third 3FG made, and is second in steals (18).

STEFFON MITCHELL DOES IT ALL
This season...

Steffon Mitchell leads BC in rebounding (8.9), steals (2.3), and blocks (0.9) per game, while ranking second in assists (3.2).
He is the only player nationally to log 8.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.3 steals, and 0.9 blocked shots per game.
Mitchell has led the team in rebounding in 10 games, blocks on seven occasions, assists six times, and steals six times.
He has posted three double-doubles this season, including in consecutive games vs. Albany and Central Connecticut.
He set a new career-high with six steals on Dec. 15 against Central Connecticut.
Against High Point, Mitchell logged his seventh career double-double, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
In the ACC, he leads the league in steals, ranks fourth in rebounding, and is 12th in assist/turnover ratio.

For his career...

Mitchell has led BC in at least one statistical category (scoring, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) in 68 of his 74 career games.
The 6-7 forward is the ACC's active rebounding leader, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game for his 74-game career.
Last year, he ranked fifth overall in the league (7.9 rpg). As a freshman, he ranked seventh in the conference (8.3 rpg).
The Shakopee, Minn. native became the first true freshman in Boston College history to average better than 8.0 rpg.
He has registered 10 or more rebounds in a game on 25 occasions.
A skilled passer from the post, he is averaging 2.4 assists per game as well as a 2.07:1 assist/turnover ratio in his career.
The point forward has dished out four or more assists on 21 occasions - including nine games with five or more assists

ALLOW ME TO RE-INTRODUCE MYSELF

Graduate transfer Derryck Thornton has returned to the ACC to play his final season of eligibility.
He is Boston College's leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and ranks 15th in the ACC in scoring.
Thornton also ranks 14th in the ACC in assists, averaging 3.6 assists per contest, and 10th in steals (1.6 spg).
His top two career scoring performances - 23 vs. Wake Forest and 22 at USF - came in the first two games of the season.
Overall, three of Thornton's top four and six of his top 10 single-game scoring totals have come in a BC uniform.
Thornton began his career at Duke in 2015-16, averaging 7.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 36 games (20 starts).
The L.A. native played two seasons USC, averaging 6.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and a 1.73:1 ATR in 57 games.
Last season, the 6-3, 195 lb. point guard averaged 7.7 points, 2.8 boards, 4.3 assists, and a 2.2:1 assist/turnover ratio.
His assist/turnover mark ranked third in the Pac 12, while his assists average ranked sixth-best in the conference in 2018-19.

SWISH-RAIN

Last time out versus Cal, Julian Rishwain tallied 10 of his 12 points during a key second-half run.
He connected on 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 4-of-7 from the floor in the Dec. 21 win in San Francisco.
His best shooting night of the season came in BC's home game versus DePaul, knocking down 4-of-7 from beyond the arc.
The 6-5 freshman guard tallied a season-best 15 points vs. the Blue Demons, adding 3-of-4 from the foul line.
For the season, the freshman guard has connected on 15 3-pointers, shooting just under 36% from the perimeter.

FIRST FOUR, NEXT FIVE, FOUR-GAME WIN STREAK: 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.
During its current four-game win streak, BC is averaging 21.8 points off turnovers.
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.
BC is scoring 25.0 points in the paint over its last four games - all wins.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ky Bowman

Jordan Chatman

Jairus Hamilton

Jared Hamilton

Jay Heath

Steffon Mitchell

Nik Popovic

Julian Rishwain

Derryck Thornton