In Chaotic Year, BC Heads To Greensboro Looking To Prove The Impossible
March 02, 2021 | Women's Basketball, #ForBoston Files
It's been a crazy year, but BC is asking, "Why not us?" as Pittsburgh looms.
There is nothing in sports capable of capturing drama and excitement quite like college basketball's March Madness. It brandishes urgency at every turn and turns each game into the organic, grueling emotion that drips annually from its coffers. Every movement is capable of determining whether someone's season ends or not, and its unpredictability builds the images of a legendary, eternal fabric.
Last year's NCAA Tournament never happened after it became the first sports casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conference tournaments stopped, in some cases, in the middle of a game, while others left tournament and championship hopefuls in limbo.
Its return, though, was the promise when college basketball returned in November. That theater and drama is now fulfilled, and the new road to the Final Four, the one robbed by the global pandemic, starts anew when Boston College tips off against Pittsburgh in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"For us, it's going to be a little bit of grittiness on the defensive end," said head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. "Last time we played Pittsburgh, I know we didn't do a great job on the boards. As the game wore on, we looked worn down. So for us, (we have to) be able to keep that energy and consistency throughout 40 minutes and really play to the best of our ability, run when we're supposed to and then slow down and be more patient and poised."
The Eagles understand all too well how to appreciate the road to the NCAA Tournament after their program was left frozen in stasis last year. They advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals with wins over Clemson and Duke less than one week before the cancellation, and their loss to second-seeded NC State only served to solidify their resume when the Wolfpack won the league championship. They felt locked into at-large but still scoreboard watched the other conferences when the disaster scenario struck on March 12.
The disappointment lingered through a long summer, and this season's overall chaos left BC with a balanced combination of both frustration and excitement. There was a general appreciation just to set foot on the court and play once more, but the heightened expectations ran into a wall when a pause followed a number of disappointing losses.
"For us, it's been a little bit of a disappointing year," Bernabei-McNamee said. "So what we're really looking for in this ACC Tournament is to have a showing where we come out, we play really well and hard, and kind we cap off the season on a high note. I think we're pretty motivated, (and) that's the one great thing about my team this season. They're resilient. They're not down. They're looking forward to this next game, and we're going to come out and play really strong and go hard. That's all we can do right now, to add to a year that's had its ups and downs."
There are reasons to believe BC can achieve the impossible. It finished the season 6-11 with only two league wins, but the team's average margin of defeat was only 3.3 points. It hung with both NC State and Louisville in December and January and only faded late in its first loss to Syracuse. BC only lost to Pittsburgh, its first opponent, by three points in the first game immediately following the second COVID protocol pause, and the Eagles beat Georgia Tech in their second to last regular season game after losing by 18 to the Yellow Jackets in December.
Defenses are often the key to championships, and BC remains one of the stingiest situational teams in the bracket. It holds a plus-2.2 turnover margin and forces over nine steals per game, and the three-point defense held teams under 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Eagles won five of their eight games led at halftime and additionally went 4-1 when leading or tied with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. They went 7-1 when opponents shot less than 45 percent from the field.
"I think there's definitely some fire in the sense that going into the game (against Pittsburgh), we were kind of down some players," Bernabei-McNamee said. "We only had a couple of days to practice leading into that game after a pause. So I think we're definitely fueled and geared up to say that we want to owe them a game, and we're excited to get another chance out of them."
The entire season forced teams to focus solely on singular games in front of them, and the pauses and COVID protocols could stop wandering eyes on a dime from drifting beyond the present tense. There's still something special to a single-elimination tournament, though, and the simplistic nature of win-or-go-home. No team wants to end their season with a loss, and coaches often reiterate how difficult it is to end another team's year.
It supercharges this matchup as the only opening round game and a potential springboard for both teams into the next round. The winner of the first game often enters its next game with added momentum while an awaiting bye slot offers dormancy and rest. Not playing the extra game is obviously an earned advantage, but last year saw 13th-seeded Wake Forest upset Virginia Tech in the second round when the Hokies only scored 55 points.
BC was the No. 6 seed in that bracket and endured the momentum of Clemson's opening round win over Miami. The Tigers infamously pushed the Eagles before losing by 12, but they warmed up BC before the 84-77 win over Duke in the quarterfinals.
"I think you get on the court and get all of those jitters and all of those things out," Pitt head coach Lance White said. "Obviously for us, we're playing a fantastic Boston College team, and it's the ability to play. If you're able to advance, I think it helps you a little bit. Those teams that get those byes, they come in and they're a little jittery. You don't get a lot of practice time on the court, but I think your kids don't have that feeling that (they need to get) comfortable."
It sets the stage for the ACC's return to Greensboro. Boston College would need to win five games in five days in the toughest league in the nation in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament, but the Eagles need, more pressingly, to beat Pittsburgh. It's the simplest story in sports, and in a year defined by the chaos of playing through COVID-19's hanging overshadow, it could be the time for one team to go on a run and shock the basketball world.
"We have to approach it in the sense that we're excited to play on Wednesday," Bernabei-McNamee said. "We're going to go out and play hard against a team that's also playing really hard. Both of us, I'm sure, feel like we have a lot to prove in this game. I think it should be a really good battle."
Boston College and Pittsburgh will tip off on Wednesday at 2 p.m. from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. The game will be televised on the ACC's Regional Sports Network affiliated, locally in Boston on NESN-plus.
Last year's NCAA Tournament never happened after it became the first sports casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Conference tournaments stopped, in some cases, in the middle of a game, while others left tournament and championship hopefuls in limbo.
Its return, though, was the promise when college basketball returned in November. That theater and drama is now fulfilled, and the new road to the Final Four, the one robbed by the global pandemic, starts anew when Boston College tips off against Pittsburgh in Greensboro, North Carolina.
"For us, it's going to be a little bit of grittiness on the defensive end," said head coach Joanna Bernabei-McNamee. "Last time we played Pittsburgh, I know we didn't do a great job on the boards. As the game wore on, we looked worn down. So for us, (we have to) be able to keep that energy and consistency throughout 40 minutes and really play to the best of our ability, run when we're supposed to and then slow down and be more patient and poised."
The Eagles understand all too well how to appreciate the road to the NCAA Tournament after their program was left frozen in stasis last year. They advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals with wins over Clemson and Duke less than one week before the cancellation, and their loss to second-seeded NC State only served to solidify their resume when the Wolfpack won the league championship. They felt locked into at-large but still scoreboard watched the other conferences when the disaster scenario struck on March 12.
The disappointment lingered through a long summer, and this season's overall chaos left BC with a balanced combination of both frustration and excitement. There was a general appreciation just to set foot on the court and play once more, but the heightened expectations ran into a wall when a pause followed a number of disappointing losses.
"For us, it's been a little bit of a disappointing year," Bernabei-McNamee said. "So what we're really looking for in this ACC Tournament is to have a showing where we come out, we play really well and hard, and kind we cap off the season on a high note. I think we're pretty motivated, (and) that's the one great thing about my team this season. They're resilient. They're not down. They're looking forward to this next game, and we're going to come out and play really strong and go hard. That's all we can do right now, to add to a year that's had its ups and downs."
There are reasons to believe BC can achieve the impossible. It finished the season 6-11 with only two league wins, but the team's average margin of defeat was only 3.3 points. It hung with both NC State and Louisville in December and January and only faded late in its first loss to Syracuse. BC only lost to Pittsburgh, its first opponent, by three points in the first game immediately following the second COVID protocol pause, and the Eagles beat Georgia Tech in their second to last regular season game after losing by 18 to the Yellow Jackets in December.
Defenses are often the key to championships, and BC remains one of the stingiest situational teams in the bracket. It holds a plus-2.2 turnover margin and forces over nine steals per game, and the three-point defense held teams under 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc. The Eagles won five of their eight games led at halftime and additionally went 4-1 when leading or tied with five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. They went 7-1 when opponents shot less than 45 percent from the field.
"I think there's definitely some fire in the sense that going into the game (against Pittsburgh), we were kind of down some players," Bernabei-McNamee said. "We only had a couple of days to practice leading into that game after a pause. So I think we're definitely fueled and geared up to say that we want to owe them a game, and we're excited to get another chance out of them."
The entire season forced teams to focus solely on singular games in front of them, and the pauses and COVID protocols could stop wandering eyes on a dime from drifting beyond the present tense. There's still something special to a single-elimination tournament, though, and the simplistic nature of win-or-go-home. No team wants to end their season with a loss, and coaches often reiterate how difficult it is to end another team's year.
It supercharges this matchup as the only opening round game and a potential springboard for both teams into the next round. The winner of the first game often enters its next game with added momentum while an awaiting bye slot offers dormancy and rest. Not playing the extra game is obviously an earned advantage, but last year saw 13th-seeded Wake Forest upset Virginia Tech in the second round when the Hokies only scored 55 points.
BC was the No. 6 seed in that bracket and endured the momentum of Clemson's opening round win over Miami. The Tigers infamously pushed the Eagles before losing by 12, but they warmed up BC before the 84-77 win over Duke in the quarterfinals.
"I think you get on the court and get all of those jitters and all of those things out," Pitt head coach Lance White said. "Obviously for us, we're playing a fantastic Boston College team, and it's the ability to play. If you're able to advance, I think it helps you a little bit. Those teams that get those byes, they come in and they're a little jittery. You don't get a lot of practice time on the court, but I think your kids don't have that feeling that (they need to get) comfortable."
It sets the stage for the ACC's return to Greensboro. Boston College would need to win five games in five days in the toughest league in the nation in order to advance to the NCAA Tournament, but the Eagles need, more pressingly, to beat Pittsburgh. It's the simplest story in sports, and in a year defined by the chaos of playing through COVID-19's hanging overshadow, it could be the time for one team to go on a run and shock the basketball world.
"We have to approach it in the sense that we're excited to play on Wednesday," Bernabei-McNamee said. "We're going to go out and play hard against a team that's also playing really hard. Both of us, I'm sure, feel like we have a lot to prove in this game. I think it should be a really good battle."
Boston College and Pittsburgh will tip off on Wednesday at 2 p.m. from the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. The game will be televised on the ACC's Regional Sports Network affiliated, locally in Boston on NESN-plus.
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