Thursday Three-Pointer: Week Four

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Basketball wins and losses aren't automatically determined by size or skill. Systems built around proper personnel are capable of negating opponents' natural advantages, especially in the college game. A team is always capable of winning games as long as it stays true to its core fundamental values.

Boston College entered the season knowing it would play opponents with bigger, stronger rebounders and more physical frontcourt personnel. The Eagles had an established big man in Nik Popovic, but he possessed a unique skill set designed to draw opposing bigs away from the basket. There was more emphasis on guard play, and aggressiveness on defense would translate into fast-break points going back the other way.

The mentality boosted BC's early-season resume against both Wake Forest and South Florida, and it stifled High Point into a 33-point performance. More recent times, however, have led to disappointing defeats, in particular two more losses in the last week against both Richmond and Northwestern.

"We're just struggling to find the right lineup (combination)," head coach Jim Christian said. "We need to find the (personnel) most committed to playing simple basketball, hard the whole time. If you're not scoring, you have to be extra aggressive on defense, and we have not been in a while."

It's forcing BC to soul search as it heads back into conference play this weekend against Notre Dame. Games create trends, but it only takes one game to reverse numbers both positively and negatively. It's why Christian is simplifying the message for the team to focus on mental aspects almost as much the physical game on Saturday.

"We weren't aggressive going to the basket (against Northwestern) and shot away from contact," Christian said. "Those are things we have to fix. We have to get back to being the aggressive team like we were earlier in the year. We can't let the previous game impact the next game. There's a little bit of 'here we go again,' and we have to fight through that. It's a long year."

Here's what happened on the court as BC looks to turn the corner after the losses this week:

1) Double It Up
A team built on defensive aggressiveness is unique because it aims at turning opponents' possessions into offensive points. It lures an offense into an unforced error, turnover or stop on the defensive end to create convertible opportunities back the other way. Every player is capable of making the stop, and there's a likewise willingness, regardless of position, to immediately switch into a sprinting lane.

It's capable of tilting a basketball court into a swarming tempo as long as two things happen, in no particular order: an aggressive offense doesn't make mistakes and the defense doesn't lapse its own intensity or allow easy buckets. Failing to do one hurts the other, and it led to two major scoring droughts against both Richmond and Northwestern.

"I think there were a lot of double mistakes," Christian said after the Northwestern game. "We keep having these scoring droughts, but our defense was not where it needed to be. We turned it over, but then got beat or gave up an open three. In the second half, we were better offensively, but our defense was not where it needed to be or where it has been. It was very inconsistent."

There's an important correlation between some key postgame stats to indicate the team's overall performance. BC needs to both limit its own turnovers and prevent an opponent from scoring high-leverage points because both are indicators of defensive stops. Richmond had five less turnovers than the Eagles and shot considerably better in the second half when it pulled away, finishing with 28 points in the paint. The Spiders shot 7-of-14 from beyond the arc in the second half after going 2-for-10 in the first half.

Northwestern, meanwhile, finished with three more turnovers than the Eagles but shot 54% on three-pointers in the first half. BC, meanwhile, shot less than 40% from the floor, a number that included 23% on threes in the first half. The numbers evened out in the second half, but by then, BC trailed. Even though there was a late-game push to draw closer, the hole was already dug.

"We had 11 turnovers and a lot of unforced errors," Christian said. "We had dribble turnovers. Guarding the three point line was key. They hit six threes in the first half, and they were on blown switch coverage or chasing a screen the wrong way. We can't let that happen. We have to get better and just keep working on it."

2) Mental Clarity
There is a silver lining to all of this, even though it bounces back to "coachspeak." BC is capable of playing and hanging with any team for extended periods of basketball but is just failing to do it for a full 40 minutes. It's never a good thing to have that as a trend, but the positive at least extends the thinking that BC will be an incredibly dangerous team when it amplifies the mental clarity aspect.

"We haven't had a lot of good possessions consecutively," Christian said. "We were good in the first 10 minutes against Northwestern, and the shots were good. We played out of the post a lot more. But then there was that stretch where a close game goes from a two-point game to 15. You can't dig holes."

There are two ways of looking at it. One focuses on the negative and waiting for the inevitable shoe to drop on the team's performance. The other identifies that some areas are working but lack consistency. It creates a really difficult conversation casting individualized spotlight on the team game even though BC's style is steeped in team performances.

"They know what they want to do on the court," Christian said. "We need leadership on the court for the little things. We just have to keep getting better. It's not acceptable what we're doing. So we have to get better."

It doesn't mean the team has to reinvent the wheel on Saturday against Notre Dame, but look instead for improved chemistry and cohesiveness.

3) Early-Season Shockers
Exposure to the college basketball universe continues to explode at an incredible rate with Internet streaming video. I have always been a fan of watching games, but the number of available games on any given day are going through the roof. It's absolutely amazing, and every night features something different on a tablet, smartphone, or laptop as a side attraction to whatever's on television.

It's led to a number of upsets and shockers across college basketball in the first month. The Stephen F. Austin win over Duke on a last-second layup in overtime is the clear highlight, but there have been some other noteworthy headlines.

Syracuse enters this week on a three-game losing streak after dropping games to Oklahoma State, Penn State and Iowa, the latter two of which were at home. That game against Iowa was particularly intriguing because Luka Garza ate up the Orange paint, a rare shocker against a team known for its defense.

Miami led Illinois, 50-31, at halftime before a wild second half in the Midwest, ultimately winning by two, and Pittsburgh upset Kansas State with last-second points to hand the Wildcats their first loss back in the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Nationally, the last week gave us a Fairfield win over Texas A&M in the Orlando Invitational, and Seton Hall, although maybe not an upset given its skill, beat Iowa State in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Kind of an ironic note that the two teams played each other because they have a scheduled game against one another on December 8. So Seton Hall, which hasn't played since that game, will wind up playing two consecutive games against Iowa State, which played UMKC in between.

I love college basketball season.

Layup Line: Holy War On Hardwood

BC returns to conference play this weekend for its first ACC game since the season-opener against Wake Forest when it heads to Notre Dame on Saturday. It's the last conference game played in between non-league games, meaning the next Eagles' league game after this starts the second half, ACC-exclusive contests.

Notre Dame is one of those teams that really piqued my interest at the start of the season. The Irish struggled through a number of issues last year and finished with a 14-19 record and a 3-15 league record. But they were exceptional at home, going 11-8 at Purcell Pavilion (or the Joyce Center, if you're more of a classic fan), including a blowout win over DePaul and an eight-point win over a plucky Purdue team.

This year, Notre Dame hung with North Carolina to start the season before going on another run through its non-conference schedule. It needed overtime to beat a deceptively-good Toledo team, but with the exception of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge loss to Maryland, there aren't too many concerns about the team's 6-2 start.

Notre Dame is one of those teams that's always been a thorn in BC's side. There's a well-publicized streak against the Fighting Irish, dating back to the team's Big East rivalry, and the game almost never reflects the team's win-loss records.

After Notre Dame, BC returns home for a game against Albany. Saturday's game is at 2 p.m. and can be seen on ESPNU, while Tuesday's game against the Great Danes is at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ACC Network Extra.

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