The Eagles look to get back in the win column against that team from Indiana
Who: Boston College Eagles (11-8, 2-6) @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-12, 2-6)
When: Saturday, January 27th at 12:00 pm EST
Where: Joyce Arena, Notre Dame, IN
How to watch: This game will be available on ESPNU.
The Boston College men’s basketball team will travel to Indiana on Saturday to face off against ACC foe Notre Dame, with both teams attempting to crawl out of the bottom of the conference standings. (Eagles fans, click here to read a great piece from Curtis Flannery if you’re in need of some hope for this basketball season.)
The Fighting Irish are in the midst of a disappointing year, as they enter the contest sporting a 7-12 record and only have two conference wins. On the other hand, BC has lost four of their last five games to ACC opponents and only has a better conference record than Louisville. Suffice it to say, both of these teams are looking to turn things around on Saturday.
BC’s lone win in its last five games? Well, that came on January 15th, when BC came back to beat this same Notre Dame team, 63-59. In the Eagles’ last game, they dropped another close one to Virginia Tech in a game where BC came out flat, pulled within four points in the second half, but just couldn’t finish the job. Devin McGlockton put up 19 points, his second-highest total of the season, and if he can string together games like that, the Eagle offense would become even more of a threat. Boston College now sits at 91st in KenPom’s rankings and with the ACC tournament and March Madness quickly approaching, the time is now for the Eagles to start rounding into form.
The Fighting Irish do not rate well by KenPom’s calculations at all: they sit at 150th overall in the country and are 310th in adjusted offensive efficiency. Their saving grace this year has been their defense, which ranks 43rd in adjusted defensive efficiency and has only allowed opponents to score 70 or more points on three occasions this season.
The one Notre Dame player that BC really needs to watch out for is freshman guard Markus Burton, who is averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. No one else on the roster averages double-digit points, and locking down Burton will be key for the Eagles.
Prediction: Boston College Eagles 72 – Notre Dame Fighting Irish 62