Boston College Athletics
Photo by: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Thursday Three-Pointer: Week Nine
January 16, 2020 | Men's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
Poor shooting doomed losses this week against Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- It was a frustrating week for Boston College after the high of beating the defending national champion. Here's what can be learned from the losses to both Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
1) Stone Cold
Nothing is more frustrating than a team's inability to hit shots when it has good looks at the basket, but it becomes further compounded when it comes after a good offensive night. BC hit 45 percent of its shots against arguably the best defense in the country when it beat Virginia, but the offense endured two bad shooting days early against both the Yellow Jackets and the Orange.
The offense shot under 30 percent against Georgia Tech and failed to hit 10 field goals in both the first and second halves individually, then went 5-of-27 in the first half against Syracuse. The three ball, which is an important part of modern basketball in general, went particularly cold, including an 0-for-14 run in the first 20 minutes at the Carrier Dome.
"BC won at Notre Dame and beat Virginia," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said of his team's win on home court. "It was a combination of us playing pretty well and them missing (shots) in the first half. We played the same in the second half, and it was a one-point game (after halftime). The first half was just an aberration, and we were happy to get that."
On a positive note, the second half of the Syracuse game straightened out the woes from the previous three halves. BC shot 44 percent from the floor, commensurate with its Virginia numbers, and went 6-for-16 from outside. The 37 points scored represented the most points in a half since scoring 38 in the win over Cal. So as long as that performance provides a launchpad to the Wake Forest game, BC will ultimately be okay. It does, however, need to avoid the inconsistency plaguing it in the first half and back to the Georgia Tech game.
"I thought our defense was really good in the first half," Boeheim said. "As the half went on, (BC) got some shots. They just couldn't make any. We got our offense going, and that was the difference. In the second half, they made some shots and it was an even game. It was just a matter of having a little better defense in the first half, and when they had open shots, they didn't make them."
2) Just 2(-3) Sweet
Playing Syracuse is always unique because the Orange employ an incredibly simple but intuitive zone defense. The 2-3, which pits the center in the paint and protects the rim by pulling the entire unit in the direction of the basketball. It's an intelligent defense built on communication and anticipation, all with the goal of forcing teams to bomb from outside in order to protect the basket. Its endgame forces opponents to shoot from outside, which is lower percentage.
The 2-3 zone is effective against running teams capable of pounding the rim, which meant Boston College's offensive strengths ran right into the teeth of another team's heightened strength. The Eagles are at their best when the defense buoys breakout and fast-chance points, but the 2-3's ability to get back against smaller, quicker players to force slow, half-court possessions makes possessions tough.
BC shot 30 percent on three-pointers in the leadup to the Syracuse game, part of an offense over 40 percent shooting. The defense averaged nine steals per game as part of a +2.1 takeaway-to-giveaway ratio. In the wins over Virginia and Cal, BC didn't necessarily shoot well from beyond the arc but produced enough offense by getting to the rim. It also had a downstream effect of creating free throws, and the team shot well over 20 attempts from the stripe in those games.
The 2-3 forced more half court possessions, which slowed down the ability to run the floor. Establishing the zone forced over half of the Eagles' first half shots from the outside, negating the opportunity to get to the rim for offensive rebounds and free throws. Things improved shooting in the second half, but the 2-3 again prevented BC from getting to the stripe. Syracuse finished with 11 fouls, and while BC won the turnover battle, the seven steals were less than the season average.
Teams can't just snap fingers and change their style of play, so this was always going to be a difficult game for the Eagles. There is the encouraging piece of how they stepped up in the second half and played Syracuse to an even 20 minutes, which, again, can springboard the team into the game at Wake.
3) Weird Science
The two losses are a reality check to just how competitive the ACC became this season. The league is top heavy with three or four of the best teams in the nation, but every game to the middle chunk is capable of damaging any oozing confidence. A win over the defending national champion allowed everyone to dream of BC in a tie for second place in the conference, but the last two games highlight the need to look at the next game individually.Â
"Everyone is beating everyone," Jim Boeheim said. "That's just the way it is. Louisville is a really good team, and (the Cardinals) barely got a win at Pittsburgh. Duke's been playing great basketball, and they lose at Clemson. Anyone can beat you. That's just the way it is in college basketball."
The losses dropped BC to 3-3 on the season in conference play and sting the overall record back towards .500, but the Eagles remain in a tight race in the middle of the conference pack. Five teams are currently 3-3, and all are two games back of a three-way tie between Duke, Florida State and Louisville. Virginia Tech is an off-the-radar team on some bubble watches, but the Hokies are one game behind those three. Injuries aside, North Carolina is 1-4 in the league and 8-8 overall, and the Tobacco Road basketball factory currently comprises the bottom two in the league with Wake Forest.
So the notion of predicting wins and losses based on a team's reputation or past performance is almost impossible this year. There's unprecedented parity, and while it might hurt the ACC in bracketology talks, it's going to build up the competitiveness in each game. Short memories are necessary, regardless of win or loss, and critical attention to the next game is imperative.
Layup Line: I'm gonna take my horse to Tobacco Road
The topsy-turvy ACC makes preparing for the upcoming week even more difficult than usual. BC visits Wake Forest on Sunday before heading to Pittsburgh for a midweek, 9 p.m. start against a former Big East rival. Both teams currently look up at the Eagles in the ACC standings, but both are also within two games of tying the logjam in fifth place.
Sunday's game additionally represents the first repeat opponent in 2019-2020 after the Eagles opened the season with a victory at home over the Demon Deacons, 77-70. That game unveiled the new, improved defense in the first half when Wake only shot 32 percent from the floor, and neither despite 24 points from Brandon Childress, the offense never quit got its mojo going. Olivier Sarr shot 1-of-7 from the floor and Chaundee Brown went 4-of-12 despite grabbing 12 rebounds. BC, meanwhile, got strong performances from Derryck Thornton and Nik Popovic and unveiled Jay Heath's overall game on the basketball world.
Brown missed the Deacs' last three games against Florida State, Duke and Virginia Tech with a leg injury and hasn't played since posting 30 minutes against Pittsburgh. Whether or not he can go against the Eagles will be a big deal for the team's ability to push because he averaged over six rebounds and shoots over 34 percent from beyond the arc.
Childress, meanwhile, has been humming along with a 15 points per game average. He's gone cold in the last month shooting, going 2-of-11 against North Carolina A&T and 0-for-6 against Duke, but makes up for poor shooting with an ability to draw fouls. He shot 10-of-12 from the stripe against in a two-point win over nationally-ranked Xavier and posted 9-of-10 attempts against Florida State. Both resulted in him going over 20 points.
The Wake Forest game will be televised on ACC Network with an opening tip at 6 p.m. Radio broadcast can also be heard via WEEI 850 AM on the BC IMG Sports Radio Network.
1) Stone Cold
Nothing is more frustrating than a team's inability to hit shots when it has good looks at the basket, but it becomes further compounded when it comes after a good offensive night. BC hit 45 percent of its shots against arguably the best defense in the country when it beat Virginia, but the offense endured two bad shooting days early against both the Yellow Jackets and the Orange.
The offense shot under 30 percent against Georgia Tech and failed to hit 10 field goals in both the first and second halves individually, then went 5-of-27 in the first half against Syracuse. The three ball, which is an important part of modern basketball in general, went particularly cold, including an 0-for-14 run in the first 20 minutes at the Carrier Dome.
"BC won at Notre Dame and beat Virginia," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said of his team's win on home court. "It was a combination of us playing pretty well and them missing (shots) in the first half. We played the same in the second half, and it was a one-point game (after halftime). The first half was just an aberration, and we were happy to get that."
On a positive note, the second half of the Syracuse game straightened out the woes from the previous three halves. BC shot 44 percent from the floor, commensurate with its Virginia numbers, and went 6-for-16 from outside. The 37 points scored represented the most points in a half since scoring 38 in the win over Cal. So as long as that performance provides a launchpad to the Wake Forest game, BC will ultimately be okay. It does, however, need to avoid the inconsistency plaguing it in the first half and back to the Georgia Tech game.
"I thought our defense was really good in the first half," Boeheim said. "As the half went on, (BC) got some shots. They just couldn't make any. We got our offense going, and that was the difference. In the second half, they made some shots and it was an even game. It was just a matter of having a little better defense in the first half, and when they had open shots, they didn't make them."
2) Just 2(-3) Sweet
Playing Syracuse is always unique because the Orange employ an incredibly simple but intuitive zone defense. The 2-3, which pits the center in the paint and protects the rim by pulling the entire unit in the direction of the basketball. It's an intelligent defense built on communication and anticipation, all with the goal of forcing teams to bomb from outside in order to protect the basket. Its endgame forces opponents to shoot from outside, which is lower percentage.
The 2-3 zone is effective against running teams capable of pounding the rim, which meant Boston College's offensive strengths ran right into the teeth of another team's heightened strength. The Eagles are at their best when the defense buoys breakout and fast-chance points, but the 2-3's ability to get back against smaller, quicker players to force slow, half-court possessions makes possessions tough.
BC shot 30 percent on three-pointers in the leadup to the Syracuse game, part of an offense over 40 percent shooting. The defense averaged nine steals per game as part of a +2.1 takeaway-to-giveaway ratio. In the wins over Virginia and Cal, BC didn't necessarily shoot well from beyond the arc but produced enough offense by getting to the rim. It also had a downstream effect of creating free throws, and the team shot well over 20 attempts from the stripe in those games.
The 2-3 forced more half court possessions, which slowed down the ability to run the floor. Establishing the zone forced over half of the Eagles' first half shots from the outside, negating the opportunity to get to the rim for offensive rebounds and free throws. Things improved shooting in the second half, but the 2-3 again prevented BC from getting to the stripe. Syracuse finished with 11 fouls, and while BC won the turnover battle, the seven steals were less than the season average.
Teams can't just snap fingers and change their style of play, so this was always going to be a difficult game for the Eagles. There is the encouraging piece of how they stepped up in the second half and played Syracuse to an even 20 minutes, which, again, can springboard the team into the game at Wake.
3) Weird Science
The two losses are a reality check to just how competitive the ACC became this season. The league is top heavy with three or four of the best teams in the nation, but every game to the middle chunk is capable of damaging any oozing confidence. A win over the defending national champion allowed everyone to dream of BC in a tie for second place in the conference, but the last two games highlight the need to look at the next game individually.Â
"Everyone is beating everyone," Jim Boeheim said. "That's just the way it is. Louisville is a really good team, and (the Cardinals) barely got a win at Pittsburgh. Duke's been playing great basketball, and they lose at Clemson. Anyone can beat you. That's just the way it is in college basketball."
The losses dropped BC to 3-3 on the season in conference play and sting the overall record back towards .500, but the Eagles remain in a tight race in the middle of the conference pack. Five teams are currently 3-3, and all are two games back of a three-way tie between Duke, Florida State and Louisville. Virginia Tech is an off-the-radar team on some bubble watches, but the Hokies are one game behind those three. Injuries aside, North Carolina is 1-4 in the league and 8-8 overall, and the Tobacco Road basketball factory currently comprises the bottom two in the league with Wake Forest.
So the notion of predicting wins and losses based on a team's reputation or past performance is almost impossible this year. There's unprecedented parity, and while it might hurt the ACC in bracketology talks, it's going to build up the competitiveness in each game. Short memories are necessary, regardless of win or loss, and critical attention to the next game is imperative.
Layup Line: I'm gonna take my horse to Tobacco Road
The topsy-turvy ACC makes preparing for the upcoming week even more difficult than usual. BC visits Wake Forest on Sunday before heading to Pittsburgh for a midweek, 9 p.m. start against a former Big East rival. Both teams currently look up at the Eagles in the ACC standings, but both are also within two games of tying the logjam in fifth place.
Sunday's game additionally represents the first repeat opponent in 2019-2020 after the Eagles opened the season with a victory at home over the Demon Deacons, 77-70. That game unveiled the new, improved defense in the first half when Wake only shot 32 percent from the floor, and neither despite 24 points from Brandon Childress, the offense never quit got its mojo going. Olivier Sarr shot 1-of-7 from the floor and Chaundee Brown went 4-of-12 despite grabbing 12 rebounds. BC, meanwhile, got strong performances from Derryck Thornton and Nik Popovic and unveiled Jay Heath's overall game on the basketball world.
Brown missed the Deacs' last three games against Florida State, Duke and Virginia Tech with a leg injury and hasn't played since posting 30 minutes against Pittsburgh. Whether or not he can go against the Eagles will be a big deal for the team's ability to push because he averaged over six rebounds and shoots over 34 percent from beyond the arc.
Childress, meanwhile, has been humming along with a 15 points per game average. He's gone cold in the last month shooting, going 2-of-11 against North Carolina A&T and 0-for-6 against Duke, but makes up for poor shooting with an ability to draw fouls. He shot 10-of-12 from the stripe against in a two-point win over nationally-ranked Xavier and posted 9-of-10 attempts against Florida State. Both resulted in him going over 20 points.
The Wake Forest game will be televised on ACC Network with an opening tip at 6 p.m. Radio broadcast can also be heard via WEEI 850 AM on the BC IMG Sports Radio Network.
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