15-6, 3-3 Boston College visits 13-6, 2-3 University of Maryland, in a huge game for the Terps.

MD got smoked Saturday against Duke… alot of credit goes to the Blue Devils, but MD’s own ineffectiveness played just as large a roll.

After that beating, it is fair to question if MD will be able to pick theirselves off the mat, and give the effort and performance needed to beat the Eagles.

If MD can win – and frankly at home they should – MD would pull back to 500 in the ACC.

Boston College has:

Wins against – Central Conn. St, Loyola (MD), St.Johns, UAB, Iowa, @UMASS, Bryant, South Carolina Upstate, Providence, Maine, San Francisco, Sacred Heart, @North Carolina, @Georgia Tech, NCST.

Losses against – @Saint Louis, @Purdue, Harvard, Miami, Wake Forest, @VaTech

Boston College is of course led by Senior Guard Tyrese Rice, who averages 18.4 points per game.

Beyond Rice, BC has 3 other players avg double figure scoring, including former Terp recruit Corey Raji.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/teams/bam/stats

The Eagles have won their last two games, after losing four games in a row.

They proved they could win anywhere, when they won at North Carolina.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/news?slug=teamreports-2009-ncaab-bam&prov=sportsxchange&type=team_report

Boston College Team Report
Yahoo! Sports Jan 22, 4:21 am EST

Getting Inside

The way things were going in Atlanta on Tuesday night, a young Boston College team was looking squarely at coming home to play North Carolina State on Saturday toting a five-game losing streak.

After all, the Eagles blew a 14-point lead in the second half and could have folded completely, especially when they went into overtime with three starters having fouled out.

But they didn’t fold. They scored a character-building win that takes a bit of the pressure off as the Wolfpack comes to town. NC State, which lost to No. 2 Duke on Tuesday night, fell to 10-6 overall, 1-3 in the conference.

BC, on the other hand, snapped a four-game losing streak with its first win since upsetting No. 1 North Carolina. The Eagles had lost to Harvard, Miami, then-No. 3 (now No. 1) Wake Forest and Virginia Tech.

But the win in Atlanta raised the team’s overall record to 14-6 and its league mark to 2-3.
In the world of the ACC, Saturday’s game falls into the category of must-win for BC.

BOSTON COLLEGE 80, GEORGIA TECH 76 (OT): Tyrese Rice woke up in time. After scoring two points in the first half Tuesday night, the BC guard had 24 spanning the second half and overtime to lead his team to victory.
Rice and Corey Raji each scored six points in overtime.

“We were in a good place and then give credit to Georgia Tech because they changed the tempo of the game and we did not react the way we should have,” said BC coach Al Skinner, whose team squandered a 14-point lead in the second half. “But then in the overtime we made the adjustment and were able to get it done.”

Starters Rakim Sanders (19 points, five rebounds) Joe Trapani (12 points, five rebounds) and Josh Southern all fouled out in regulation. BC went smaller in the OT, with backup point guard Biko Paris playing well.

Notes, Quotes
• Boston College is 2-0 in overtime games this season.
• The Eagles are 3-7 all-time against Georgia Tech. Tuesday night’s win was the program’s first in three tries at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
• Senior G Tyrese Rice was only 6-of-19 from the field at Virginia Tech, but his 19 points marked his ninth consecutive game in double figures after going scoreless against San Francisco. He has scored 85 points in BC’s four ACC games.
• The four-game losing streak for the Eagles was their longest of the season, but they had a pair of six-game skids just a year ago. They won only two of their last 15 games last season.

Quote To Note: “It shouldn’t be like that in the league. It should be more consistency in the league.”—Coach Al Skinner, in the Boston Globe, upset with the officials after Jeff Allen bulled his way to 30 points, getting a dozen free-throw attempts along the way, in Virginia Tech’s 79-71 victory.

Strategy And Personnel
Boston College has four players averaging in double figures for the season, but one of them is Corey Raji, who has yet to score more than eight points against an ACC foe. He is averaging 11.4 a game for the season.

Player Rotation: Usual Starters—G Tyrese Rice, G Rakim Sanders, C Josh Southern, F Joe Trapani, F Corey Raji. Key subs—G Reggie Jackson, G Biko Paris, F Tyler Roche.

• G Tyrese Rice scored two points in the first half and then had 24 after that in leading his team to the win over Georgia Tech. Some of his other stats were unimpressive: 7-for-16 shooting, 2 of 8 from 3-point range and seven turnovers. “Believe me, I’m not happy with the ones I had, either, because it makes for a lot of running in practice on Thursday,” Rice said when asked about the turnovers that helped Georgia Tech rally from 14 points down. Rice, who played 41 minutes, added five assists, five steals and three rebounds. He was 10 of 10 from the foul line.
• F Joe Trapani, who was coming off a double-double—a career-high 23 points and 10 rebounds in the loss at Virginia Tech last Saturday—had 12 points and five boards before fouling out Tuesday night against Georgia Tech.
• Freshman G Reggie Jackson played a major role in Tuesday night’s win, with eight points, a season-high nine rebounds (leading his team) and three assists, one of them a nifty no-look pass to Corey Raji in overtime. He played 27 minutes off the bench.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

X