Eagles, Panthers Meet in Steel City on Wednesday

BOSTON COLLEGE VS. PITTSBURGH - ALL-TIME SERIES

Today's game marks the 55th meeting between the two schools.
Boston College is 19-35 all-time vs. Pittsburgh.
In ACC play, the Eagles are 2-6 versus the Panthers.
Last year (Feb. 12, 2019), BC earned an 66-57 home victory.
Pitt countered with an 80-70 win in the opening round of the ACC Tournament in Charlotte on March 12, 2019.
From 1989-2004, both schools were members of the Big East.
The Eagles compiled a 15-27 mark vs. Pitt during that span.
BC is 1-2 all-time at the Pete and 6-15 all-time in games at Pitt.

BOSTON COLLEGE IN ACC PLAY

Boston College is 85-160 in 13 seasons in the ACC.
BC started 2-0 and 3-1 in ACC play for the first time since 2010-11.
Boston College finished with a 5-13 record in ACC play in 2018-19.
The 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).

SHORTHANDED EAGLES

Last time out at Wake, BC dressed seven scholarship players.
Boston College was without two starters: rebounds/steals/blocks leader Steffon Mitchell (flu) and fifth-leading scorer Jared Hamilton (ankle). Reserve guard Julian Rishwain (leg) was also out at Wake Forest.
Both Nik Popovic (back) and Wynston Tabbs (knee) have missed significant time due to injury this year.
Junior Luka Kraljevic made his first start of the season, tallying four points and four boards in 20 minutes of action.
Freshmen Kamari Williams (24 min.) and Andrew Kenny (28 min.) - a recruited walk-on - saw season-highs in playing time

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

With his 14-point performance last time out at Wake Forest, Jay Heath reached the 200-point mark in his 17th game.
Since 1990, only eight other BC freshmen have reached the 200-point mark through their first 17 games.
Craig Smith did so in 10 games in 2003-04, while Troy Bell needed 11 games in 1999-2000.
A season ago, Wynston Tabbs needed 15 games - same as Scoonie Penn in 1995-96.
Olivier Hanlan (2012-13), Jared Dudley (2003-04) and Rakim Sanders (2007-08) needed 16; Ky Bowman (2015-16) took 17.

ON THIS DATE: JANUARY 22

Boston College is 8-8 overall and 0-2 in ACC play all-time in games played on January 22.
On January 22, 1986, Boston College dropped a 64-62 decision at Fitzgerald Field House.
Dominic Pressley had 16 points for the Eagles. Charles Smith led the Panthers with 22 points, 10 boards and six blocks.
January 22 marks the celebration of National Blonde Brownie Day.
On this day in history on January 22 - 1673: Postal service between Boston and New York begins; 1899: leaders of six Australian colonies meet in Melbourne to discuss confederation; 1970: the first transatlantic flight of the Boeing 747 takes place between New York and London; 1990: reigning NL MVP Will Clark of the S.F. Giants signs a four-year, $15mm contract; 2006: Kobe Bryant scores 81 points in a win over the Toronto Raptors - the second-highest scoring total in NBA history; 2017: The New England Patriots beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship. Again.
Notable January 22 birthdays: actress Diane Lane; musicians Michael Hutchence, Sam Cooke and Steve Perry; actors Bill Bixby and Gabriel Macht; poet Lord Byron; and U.S. Senator Birch Bayh, who authored the law that became Title IX.

JAY DOT BUCKETS

Among all ACC freshmen, Jay Heath ranks fourth in scoring (11.8 ppg) and 3FG made (27), seventh in 3FG% (.354), and is first in steals (27).
Entering the Dec. 10 game vs. Albany, Jay Heath ranked fourth nationally among freshman in 3FG% (21-42; 50.0%)
Over the next four games, Heath cooled off, connecting on 2-of-19 from beyond the arc.
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 12 of the 17 games in which he has appeared.
The D.C. native scored a season-best 18 points in the season-opening win over Wake Forest.

FELDER SHINES IN ACC PLAY

CJ Felder is averaging 9.0 points per game in ACC play - tied for eighth-best among freshmen in league play.
Twice Felder has scored a season-best 13 points in league action - at Duke and vs. Georgia Tech.
The 6-7 forward from Sumter, S.C. is also averaging 5.0 rebounds in league games - fourth-best among ACC freshmen.
Felder is the only BC player to appear in all 18 games, earning the start in each of his last nine games.

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 (12.8 ppg) and ranks 14th in the ACC in assists, averaging 3.4 assists per contest.
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 has led BC in scoring on six occasions, including last time out with a 15-point performance at Wake Forest.
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.
His assist/turnover (2.22:1) ranked third and his assists average ranked sixth (4.3) in the Pac-12 in 2018-19.

TRENDING: JAIRUS HAMILTON

Over his last 10 games, Jairus Hamilton is averaging 10.0 points, 5.0 boards, and 1.2 assists.
He has scored in double figures on four occasions, including a career-high 18 points in a comeback win vs. Cal.
Hamilton hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:35 to play and was named the Al Attles Classic game MVP for his efforts.
In a 60-53 win over #18/18 Virginia, the 6-8 sophomore tallied 10 points, seven boards, and two steals
Since returning after missing five games from Nov. 10-23 due to injury, he has averaged 26.0 minutes per game.

STEFFON MITCHELL DOES IT ALL
This season...

Steffon Mitchell leads BC in rebounding (8.5), steals (2.5), and blocks (1.2) per game, while ranking second in assists (2.9).
He is the only player nationally to log 8.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.2 blocked shots per game.
Mitchell has led the team in rebounding in 13 games, steals 11 times, blocks on 10 occasions, and assists eight times.
He has posted four 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.
In the ACC, he leads the league in steals and ranks fifth in rebounding (second in offensive rebounding - 3.4 OR/g).

For his career...

Mitchell has led BC in at least one statistical category (scoring, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks) in 72 of his 78 career games.
The 6-7 forward is the ACC's active rebounding leader, averaging 8.2 rebounds per game for his 78-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 27 occasions.
A skilled passer from the post, he is averaging 2.4 assists per game as well as a 2.01:1 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 assist.

FORMER ALL-AMERICAN TROY BELL TO HAVE JERSEY RETIRED ON JANUARY 25

On January 25 game, Boston College Athletics will retire the jersey of former Eagles' All-American Troy Bell.
A two-time consensus All-American in 2001 and 2003, Bell finished as the program's all-time leading scorer (2,632 points).
During that span, from 1999-2003, Bell was the top scorer in all of college basketball, at 21.6 points per game.
The Big East Rookie of the Year in 1999-2000, he is one of only six players to earn Big East Player of the Year honors twice.
As a sophomore, Bell helped lead BC to a 27-5 overall record and the Big East regular season title.
He also earned the Dave Gavitt Trophy as the Big East Tournament MVP, leading the Eagles to the 2001 championship.
Bell still ranks at the top of the BC record book in career 3-pointers (300), FT made (810), and FT% (86.8%).

Eagles, Panthers Meet in Steel City on Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ky Bowman

CJ Felder

Jairus Hamilton

Jared Hamilton

Jay Heath

Andrew Kenny

Luka Kraljevic

Steffon Mitchell

Nik Popovic

Julian Rishwain

Wynston Tabbs

Derryck Thornton

Kamari Williams

Eagles, Panthers Meet in Steel City on Wednesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ky Bowman

CJ Felder

Jairus Hamilton

Jared Hamilton

Jay Heath

Andrew Kenny

Luka Kraljevic

Steffon Mitchell

Nik Popovic

Julian Rishwain

Wynston Tabbs

Derryck Thornton

Kamari Williams

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