Four Boston College Players Sign Free Agent Contracts With NFL Teams

By ljcool110 | Published 04/30/2013

A Division one college football programs can be judged in various ways, include, national championships, bowl appearances, conference championships, won lost records and by how many players are taken in the NFL draft.

The 2013 NFL draft is over, seven rounds and 254 player selections were made and for the first time since 2005, none of those selections came from Boston College. The Eagles have made their mark in the draft. In fact since 2000, BC has had twenty- two players drafted, five in the first round with Luke Kuechly, the ninth overall pick by Carolina in 2012, being the latest. Now after a disappointing 4-8 2012 season, in which the Eagles struggled to stay healthy and play consistently on both side of the ball, NFL scouts decided to go in a different direction to find players worth taking in the draft process.

Following the official draft, four Eagles players did find teams willing to sign them to free agent contracts. Those players are linebacker Nick Clancy, tight end Chris Pantale, offensive linemen Emmett Cleary and John Wetzel.

Clancy, a 6-3 232 pound linebacker from Plainfield, Illinois was a 2012 All-Atlantic Coast Conference First Team Honoree. He led the conference in tackles with 145 (81 unassisted and 64 assisted) in 12 games played, averaged a conference best 12.08 tackles per game and had at least 10 tackles in 8 games, Clancy’s best performance came in a 22-13 loss at Northwestern on September 15, a game in which he registered 24 tackles, 14 solo and 10 assisted, a performance which earned him ACC linebacker of the week honors. Clancy signed with the Atlanta Falcons.

Chris Pantale’s senior season got off to a slow start as he missed the first four games due to a foot injury suffered in pre season camp. He would come back and start seven games for the Eagles, catching 21 passes for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns, Pantale averaged nine yards per catch. During his BC career, Pantale recorded 98 catches, good for 966 yards and 7 touchdowns. The 6-6, 255 pounder out of Wayne, New Jersey signed with the New York Jets.

Offensive tackle John Wetzel was a four year starter for the Eagles. The 6-8 302 pounder from Pittsburgh PA, played every down for Boston College at right tackle last season. During his career Wetzel play in 886 snaps, Wetzel signed with the Oakland Raiders.

Emmett Cleary was a four year letterman and two year starter for Eagles. The 6-7, 313 pounder from Arlington Heights Illinois, started every game for the Eagles last fall at left tackle. Cleary signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

 

John Doucette
ACC-fans.com Staff Writer

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ACC March Madness Update

By larry | Published 03/26/2013

ACC MARCH MADNESS UPDATE

 

The Atlantic Coast Conference, as much as it would like to say that it has a strong football brand, will always be a basketball school. Everyone knows that the league was thinner this season than it typically is, but the first weekend of the NCAA tournament achieved one very important objective: The two teams that dominated the league all season long found their way to the second weekend, and now have very legitimate opportunities to reach the Final Four, which is what the ACC expects of its elite basketball schools.

 

The Duke Blue Devils and the Miami Hurricanes towered above the rest of the ACC in the 2013 conference season. Miami won the double championship – the regular season and conference tournament crowns – but Duke defeated Ohio State and Louisville, among other teams, in non-conference play, forging a comparable body of achievement. One of the big stories from Selection Sunday was that neither school gained a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs, all while Gonzaga – a team bereft of high-end wins (fourth-seeded Kansas State was its best one) – was awarded that prize in the West Region. Kansas, a team that lost to TCU, got the top seed in the South Region. Duke and Miami had reason to be angry after the brackets were revealed. Moreover, Duke received a nasty draw that was likely to put the Blue Devils in the path of Missouri Valley Conference champion Creighton in the round of 32, followed by Michigan State in a regional semifinal and Louisville in a would-be regional final.

 

Duke must still contend with Michigan State and will likely have to face Louisville if it can beat the Spartans this Friday night in Indianapolis, but the good news for the Blue Devils is that they got by Creighton, and did so on a night when their best big man, Mason Plumlee, fouled out with almost three minutes left in regulation. Josh Hairston also fouled out for Duke, while forward Ryan Kelly – whose defense on Creighton superstar Doug McDermott was one of the key factors in the game (McDermott scored 21 points, but he hit just 4 of 16 field goal attempts) – picked up four fouls and had to play through a lot of foul trouble as well. The Blue Devils were playing on a high wire for much of the night in Philadelphia. Their ability to hold Creighton, a high-scoring  team, to just 50 points speaks well of their defensive effort. They’ll need every ounce of that combativeness against Michigan State in a few days.

 

Speaking of combativeness, one of the videos that’s gone viral on the internet in the wake of the round of 32 was the scene in the Miami locker room after Sunday’s come-from-behind win over Illinois in Austin, Tex.

 

Miami, the second seed in the East Region, trailed Illinois at the three-minute mark of regulation, the two-minute mark, and at the 1:05 mark as well, but guard Shane Larkin – the team’s leader and foremost playmaker – hit a ballsy stepback three with 1:00 on the clock to push the Hurricanes past the Illini in a riveting affair. Miami’s ability to get tough stops and late-stage rebounds showed how much grit and toughness the ACC champions possessed. The Hurricanes revealed themselves as fighters, the one thing head coach Jim Larranaga said he wanted to see from his team on Sunday. Larranaga praised his team in the locker room after the win. Because his team proved to be a bunch of fighters, Larranaga performed his best rendition of a Muhammad Ali dance, sending his players into a delighted frenzy. Miami basketball has reached its second Sweet 16 in program history, the other time coming in the year 2000. ACC champions are supposed to make Final Fours, but for a success-starved group in Coral Gables, Fla., this “Sweet” celebration was certainly deserved and earned.

 

North Carolina fell to Kansas in the NCAA tournament’s round of 32, and North Carolina State completed a very disappointing campaign by losing to Temple in the round of 64, but two other ACC teams are still alive in the NIT. Maryland and Virginia will play in the NIT quarterfinals after winning two games last week. Maryland whacked Niagara in round one and then dug out of a 48-39 deficit in the final nine minutes of regulation to beat Denver in round two. Virginia held Norfolk State and St. John’s under 57 points in a pair of comfortable home-court wins. Maryland will now visit Alabama, while Virginia will host Iowa, with a trip to New York for the NIT semifinals on the line.

Matt Zemek

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Terps Bubble Bursts

By ljcool110 | Published 03/21/2013

The dream of playing in the NCAA tournament came to an abrupt end for the Maryland Terrapins with a third loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels, 79-76 in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.

Maryland ended the regular season with losses to the Virginia Cavaliers and North Carolina, meaning their only shot at being invited to the Big Dance was to win the ACC tournament.

They began the tournament in good shape, beating Wake Forest 75-62 and Duke 83-74 to set up their third meeting with the Tar Heels. Dead tired after playing three games in three days, they came out flat, and after scoring the game’s first basket, trailed the rest of the game.

Their determination and desperation allowed them to cut a double-digit deficit to three points, but a Logan Aronhalt 30-foot three pointer with 10.9 seconds to play never had a chance and ended a rollercoaster season.

Dez Wells was the star for the Terrapins and was named to the ACC All-Tournament first team. He averaged 22 points in three games including a career high 30 points in the quarterfinal win against Duke. Wells ended the season leading the team in scoring, averaging 13 points a game.

The Terps  disappointing season began with high hopes and included a 13-game winning streak. Unfortunately their weak non-conference schedule did not prepare them for ACC play. They did well at home, but few opponents feared the turtle on the road, and it showed, as they finished 2-7 in ACC play away from Comcast Center.

Maryland ended the season 22-12, with an 8-10 record in ACC play good for a seventh place finish in league play.

With 7-foot-1 potential NBA-bound center Alex Len manning the post and Wells on the perimeter, Terrapin fans expected a better showing but this youthful team displayed both greatness with wins over ranked opponents Duke and NC State, combined with head-scratching road losses to Boston College and Georgia Tech, both below the Terps in the final ACC standings.

Len received honorable mention All ACC honors and was named to the All-ACC Defensive Team. Len ended the season with 60 blocked shots, and helped the Terrapins limit opponents to a league-leading 37.9 percent shooting. He finished the season averaging 11.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

The Terps season did not officially end and they will play in the consolation prize, the N.I.T. tournament. Fans hope the same team that beat Duke twice this year will show up during the tournament and give them a glimpse into the Terrapin basketball future, which is still very bright. They are a #2 seed and will play #7 seed Niagara (19-13) at Comcast Center where they finished the season 16-3.

 

By Timothy Earl
ACC-fans.com Staff Writer

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ACC Tournament Championship Game

By larry | Published 03/18/2013

ACC Tournament Championship Game

(1) Miami 87 (3) North Carolina 77

If you like haymakers, you surely loved the championship game of the 2013 ACC Tournament on Sunday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C. The Miami Hurricanes and North Carolina Tar Heels threw lots of punches, in the form of long three-point shots. If you looked at shot charts from this contest, you’d see a lot of green circles (as opposed to red Xs) at least 27 feet from the basket. This was the rare day when long hoists, those ridiculously deep threes launched well behind the arc, frequently dropped. This was not high-percentage basketball, but players on both sides managed to make these deep jacks with uncommon frequency. The result was an immensely entertaining show, one in which North Carolina played its best game of the season against Miami in three showings.

Yet, Miami still had all the answers in the end.,

Indeed, amidst the theater created by this wild “three-for-all,” in which two teams combined to hit 25 of 51 three-pointers and shoot just a shade under 50 percent (57 of 119 field goals) for the entire afternoon, Miami – the regular season champion of the league – managed to add a conference tournament title as well. The Canes displayed unquestioned ownership of the ACC, winning their first championships in the conference since their arrival in 2004. It is quite remarkable, and richly ironic, that a football school won its first big-ticket championships in basketball, and that’s something which will make Miami coach Jim Larranaga a presence on the recruiting trail in the coming years. This might be the weekend when South Florida youngsters aiming for a future in basketball make Miami a destination city not just for professional hoops, but college hoops as well.

What’s the relevant game summary for a contest with 25 made threes that were roughly split between each side (13 for Carolina, 12 for The U)? Very simply, Miami produced the last and biggest push. North Carolina led, 67-64, with 7:44 left, but Miami then dug in its heels on defense against the Tar Heels, holding the third seed scoreless for the next three minutes and 16 seconds. By that time, Miami had reeled off eight straight points for a 72-67 advantage. North Carolina pulled within three points on two separate occasions, but with the score standing at 74-71 with 2:40 left, the Tar Heels turned the ball over. Miami’s two best players on Sunday, Shane Larkin and the aptly-named Trey McKinney Jones, then scored baskets surrounding a missed three by UNC’s Reggie Bullock. Miami quickly pushed its lead to 79-71 with 1:38 left, and after two more missed shots by Bullock, it was all over but the shouting. North Carolina did well to reach this final, but Miami – playing what amounted to a road game in the Tar Heels’ home state – was able to win its third game against UNC this season.

Larkin finished with 28 points for Miami on 8-of-15 shooting, 4-of-7 marksmanship from three-point range, and a perfect 8-of-8 outing at the foul line. McKinney Jones popped in 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting from three-point land. North Carolina’s mad bomber was P.J. Hairston, who tossed in 28 points on 6-of-13 shooting from three-point range. Marcus Paige hit 3 of 6 triples to finish with 17.

 

Matt Zemek

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ACC Tournament – Semifinals

By larry | Published 03/17/2013

ACC Tournament – Semifinals

 

(1) Miami 81 (5) North Carolina State 71

Miami advances to play (3) North Carolina in the championship game on March 17

The North Carolina State Wolfpack hit 50 percent of their field goal attempts on Saturday afternoon in Greensboro, N.C., in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament. They hit 44 percent of their three-pointers.

They lost by a comfortable margin. That tells you something about the way the Miami Hurricanes played.

Miami, the regular season champion of the ACC, is now one win away from winning a tournament championship as well. The Hurricanes, knowing that tournament favorite Duke was no longer sitting on the opposite side of the tournament bracket, played a liberated brand of ball on Saturday, disposing of an NCSU team that was picked to win the ACC in preseason polls. The Wolfpack wanted to win the ACC Tournament after stumbling in the regular season, but the boys from Raleigh, N.C., were unable to redeem their season inside the Greensboro Coliseum. They’ll have to make a run in the NCAA tournament to make 2013 a good year.

How did Miami win this game by a legitimate 10 points (the margin was as large as 19 points in the first half) despite allowing North Carolina State to shoot so well? Two keys immediately surged to the surface: foul shooting and offensive rebounding. Miami finished with nine more points at the charity stripe (23-14), a reality produced in part by North Carolina State’s horrid 14-of-25 showing at the free throw line. The Hurricanes also smashed NCSU on the offensive glass, 13 to 7. They also committed three fewer turnovers (11 to NCSU’s 14). Those added possessions and free-throw makes enabled Miami to establish and maintain a substantial cushion for most of the game. The Wolfpack cut a hefty Miami lead to six, at 50-44, near the 12-minute mark of the second half, but big shots from Miami’s Durand Scott (12 of 18 from the field) parried every NCSU thrust.

 

(3) North Carolina 79 (7) Maryland 76

North Carolina advances to play (1) Miami in the championship game on March 17

 

The North Carolina Tar Heels lost a lot of NBA-level talent from last year’s team. They started this 2012-2013 season without confidence or conviction. They looked like an NIT team for several weeks.

They’ve come a long, long way.

North Carolina, in control of the proceedings in Saturday’s second ACC semifinal, began to sweat in the final minutes of regulation. The Tar Heels had led by a 68-58 score with 7:40 left, but a flood of turnovers enabled the Maryland Terrapins to close within one point, at 71-70, with three minutes to go. A young North Carolina team, playing a game it was expected to win, needed to find stability and poise.

A freshman delivered the goods for head coach Roy Williams.

Marcus Paige scored only eight points on Saturday, but five in the final 2:50. He hit a fall-away baseline jumper with 2:50 left to give North Carolina a 73-70 lead and a badly-needed infusion of confidence in the midst of Maryland’s surge. Later, with the Tar Heels leading 75-72, Paige hit a tough floater against solid defense to push Carolina’s advantage to five points, at 77-72, with just 36 seconds left. Maryland could not hit a three-pointer in the final minute, but it did get one last chance to tie the score with eight seconds left after North Carolina missed two of four foul shots in the closing 30 seconds. Logan Aronhalt’s 30-footer, however, didn’t come close to the net, and the Tar Heels escaped. Maryland’s faint hopes of an NCAA tournament at-large berth were extinguished, while North Carolina earned a third crack at Miami in Sunday’s title fight.

 

Matt Zemek

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ACC Tournament – Quarterfinals

By larry | Published 03/16/2013

ACC Tournament – Quarterfinals

 

(1) Miami 69 (8) Boston College 58 

 

Miami advances to play (5) North Carolina State in the semifinals on March 16

 

The Miami Hurricanes could not shake the Boston College Golden Eagles for the first 36 and a half minutes of Friday’s first ACC Tournament quarterfinal in Greensboro, N.C. They finally managed to pull away in the final three and a half minutes of an entertaining and contentious battle.

 

Miami, tied at 55 with Boston College at the 3:26 mark of regulation time, used an 8-0 run to escape from the No. 8 seed and advance to the semifinals on Saturday against North Carolina State. Miami fell in love with the three in this game, ignoring its size advantage in the paint. However, guard Shane Larkin nailed a massive three with 1:50 left to give Miami a 60-55 advantage. The Hurricanes relaxed after that moment, while Boston College’s composure evaporated. Miami still has an outside chance for a No. 1 seed if it can win the ACC Tournament. The Saturday semifinal with North Carolina State promises to be a big-boy battle against the club that was picked in the preseason as the ACC’s best team.

 

(5) North Carolina State 75 (4) Virginia 56 

 

North Carolina State advances to play (1) Miami in the semifinals on March 16

 

The North Carolina State Wolfpack likely knocked the Virginia Cavaliers from the NCAA tournament to the NIT… not necessarily by defeating the Hoos on Friday in the ACC quarterfinals, but by defeating them so decisively.

 

Conference tournament quarterfinal games, especially ones that involve No. 5 and No. 4 seeds, are meant to separate pretenders from contenders. They’re also meant to test bubble teams such as Virginia, which stood right on the middle of the cut line when Friday began. Losses are not unforgivable sins, but 19-point no-shows give the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee an easy and perfectly valid reason to send a team to the NIT. Virginia pulled a no-show against North Carolina State, and that’s why it will be so hard to envision the Cavaliers in the field of 68 on Selection Sunday afternoon.

 

North Carolina State was always in control of this contest. The Wolfpack outshot and outworked the Cavaliers, getting at least 17 points from three different players. Scott Wood threw down 23 points thanks to seven made three-point field goals. Forwards T.J. Warren and C.J. Leslie chipped in with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Virginia hit under 39 percent of its field goal attempts and made only 9 of 15 foul shots. Akil Mitchell scored 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but he received virtually no help from his teammates. Virginia’s collection of bad losses will likely outweigh its wins over Wisconsin and Duke, sending the Cavs to the NIT, barring a Selection Sunday surprise.

 

 

(7) Maryland 83 (2) Duke 74

 

Maryland advances to play (3) North Carolina in the semifinals on March 16

 

The Maryland Terrapins flourished on Friday evening in Greensboro, putting coach Mark Turgeon’s team back in the conversation for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Terps must beat North Carolina on Saturday in the semifinals to get that at-large bid, but if they do indeed score a victory against the Tar Heels, the Terps will have a credible case after being viewed as a lost cause this past weekend, following a terrible loss at Virginia.

 

Maryland simply stayed the course against Duke. The Blue Devils played poorly for most of the evening, but after being down by as many as 13, coach Mike Krzyzewski’s club pulled within one point of the Terrapins, at 47-46, with 13:02 left. Right then, Maryland faced its biggest challenge of the night, and contrary to the way in which the majority of the season unfolded, the Terps showed some steel in the face of adversity. Shaquille Cleare hit a jump shot less than a minute later to restore order and halt Duke’s momentum. The Blue Devils, who displayed poor shot selection throughout this contest, continued to launch and miss threes. Duke finished 4 of 25 from the three-point arc, the signature statistic from this game. Maryland, meanwhile, hit 23 of 25 foul shots, preserving its lead in the final minutes at the charity stripe. Dez Wells scored 30 for Maryland in a truly spectacular and complete performance. Four other Terps chipped in with 10 points apiece.

 

Duke will probably still get a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but the Blue Devils might have to worry about their seeding if other teams run the table in conference tournaments.

 

(3) North Carolina 83 (6) Florida State 62

 

North Carolina advances to play (7) Maryland in the semifinals on March 16

 

The Florida State Seminoles were blown out by the North Carolina Tar Heels on Sunday, March 3, and they were blown out by Carolina on Friday in the last ACC quarterfinal of the day in Greensboro. North Carolina watched wing P.J. Hairston go down with an injury late in the contest. The Tar Heels probably won’t have him available for the semifinals against Maryland. Other than that setback, everything else went right for North Carolina on Friday.

 

Hairston scored 21 points before his injury, and teammate Reggie Bullock added 17 on a night when North Carolina shot 49 percent from the field and hit 10 of 22 threes. The Tar Heels forced 18 Florida State turnovers while giving up only 7 turnovers. Added possessions buried Florida State, as North Carolina advanced to a semifinal round in which Duke will not compete.

 

Matt Zemek

Posted in ACC Sports General | Leave a comment

ACC Tournament – First Round

By larry | Published 03/15/2013

ACC Tournament – First Round

 

(8) Boston College (9) Georgia Tech

 

Boston College advances to play (1) Miami in the quarterfinals on March 15

 

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets scored the first 15 points of Thursday’s ACC Tournament game against the Boston College Golden Eagles in Greensboro, N.C.

Everything went downhill from there for the Rambling Wreck.

Boston College didn’t merely avoid quitting after being skunked in the opening minutes of this first-rounder against the Yellow Jackets. The Eagles went on two separate runs near the end of the first half, an 11-0 burst and then, shortly thereafter, a 13-2 surge that gave them a 38-33 halftime advantage. In the second half, Boston College used a number of seven, eight, and nine-point jabs to land Georgia Tech on the canvas.

Olivier Hanlan was the star of the show for Boston College. He tossed in 41 points on 14-of-18 shooting, hitting 8 of 10 threes on a day when everything went right for him. If Hanlan can maintain his hot shooting hand against Miami, Boston College will have a chance to upset the ACC regular season champions from South Florida.

 

(5) North Carolina State 80 (12) Virginia Tech 63

 

North Carolina State advances to play (4) Virginia in the quarterfinals on March 15

 

The North Carolina State Wolfpack knew that only one player could beat them on Thursday afternoon in the first round of the ACC Tournament. They decided to lock him down.

Erick Green, the ACC Player of the Year for 2013, has carried the Virginia Tech Hokies on his back. One of the nation’s foremost scorers, Green was the one big worry for the North Carolina State coaching staff. Head coach Mark Gottfried had to like what he saw from his defense in this first-round clash, as NCSU limited Green to just 15 points on 5-of-19 shooting from the field. North Carolina State was able to contain Virginia Tech’s perimeter attack at the defensive end of the floor, and that energy carried over to the offensive end. The Wolfpack’s superb forward, Richard Howell, was extremely efficient in this contest, scoring 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting while adding 12 rebounds to his collection. North Carolina State met Virginia in last year’s ACC Tournament quarterfinal round. It will do so again.

 

(7) Maryland 75 (10) Wake Forest 62

 

Maryland advances to play (2) Duke in the quarterfinals on March 15

 

The Maryland Terrapins knew that when they entered the ACC Tournament, they would need at least two wins, probably three, to have a good chance at an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament. They’ve gotten one win. Now the big test against Duke awaits.

Maryland earned the right to face the Blue Devils in a huge ACC quarterfinal after disposing of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in the first round on Thursday. Maryland’s Dez Wells was tremendous in this game, hitting 7 of 10 field goals, each of his two threes, and 5 of 6 foul shots, en route to a 21-point performance. Wells enabled Maryland to hit 48 percent of its shots and gain a 10-point advantage at the free throw line, 22 to 12. Wake Forest hit just 4 of 18 threes on Thursday, as head coach Jeff Bzdelik watched his team’s season come to a quiet conclusion.

 

(6) Florida State 73 (11) Clemson 69  

 

Florida State advances to play (3) North Carolina in the quarterfinals on March 15

 

The Florida State Seminoles almost coughed up a 14-point lead with three minutes left in regulation, but their most dependable crunch-time shooter was there to save the day.

Michael Snaer, the big-shot artist who has won so many games in the final minute of regulation for Florida State this season, hit four free throws in four tries in the final 23 seconds to lift the Seminoles past the Clemson Tigers in Greensboro. Florida State fouled Clemson shooters on three-point tries, giving the Tigers quick points after forging a hefty 65-51 advantage. Clemson pulled within two points, at 71-69, with seven seconds left, but Snaer – who had just hit two foul shots 16 seconds earlier – made two more to put the game away. Jordan Roper scored 18 points to lead Clemson, while Okaro White stepped up big for FSU with 24 points. Clemson, which has been bothered by poor foul shooting all season long, made only 19 of its 31 tries from the charity stripe, a big key in this contest.

 

Matt Zemek

Posted in ACC Sports General | Leave a comment

Terps Wake Up Against Wake

By ljcool110 | Published 03/13/2013

They finally did it again. The nightmare is over. The Maryland Terrapin basketball team won another ACC road game. They beat the Wake Forrest Deamon Deacons 67-57 ending a streak of bumbling and fumbling to a 1-6 ACC road record, with ACC cellar dweller Virginia Tech their only other ACC road win.

The miracle was brought about by the offensive prowess and determination of sophomore Dez Wells. Wells willed the Terps to victory and was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points. The only thing more amazing than the victory was his shooting accuracy. He was 11 for 12 helping the Terrapins shoot nearly 50 for the entire game.

Those who have lived through the road woes at Miami, the heart breaker at Florida State and the panic attack at Georgia Tech were giddy and relieved that the Terrapins finally found the courage to fight through their usual 19 turnovers, missed layups and crazy offense decision-making to hold on and hold Wake Forrest scoreless for the final 2:58 to secure the precious road victory.

Sharpshooter Logan Aronhalt and Nick Faust each scored nine points for the Terrapins.

 

By Timothy Earl
ACC-fans.com Staff Writer

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Boston College Back in the Win Column 75-68 over Clemson

By ljcool110 | Published 03/11/2013

Following a difficult month of January, in which Boston College claimed only one, ACC conference win. The Eagles were hoping that February would provide them with better results. BC started February on an up note as they built a twenty point lead, and then hung on to defeat Clemson Tigers 75-68 at Conte Forum.

The Eagles got a career high 26 points from freshman guard Joe Rahon on 9 of 12 shooting, with 6 of 7 from three point land. Rahon received help in the form of backcourt mate Lonnie Jackson, who contributed 14 points and six assists. Ryan Anderson did his part as well, scoring 12 points with some strong inside play. What really made Head Coach Steve Donahue happy was 20 assists on 26 made baskets. Sharing the basketball, making the extra pass allowed the Eagles to get wide open looks and they made the most of it. The Eagles shot    58% (26 of 45) from the field 55% from three point land (11 of 20). The winning team also did good work in the paint, outscoring the Tigers 26 to 12.

Boston College had to fight off a late game run by the Tigers to get win number two in the ACC. Poor foul shooting (12 of 24, 50%),  along with late game turnovers turned what should have been a comfortable win into a bit of a nail biter.

It took both teams a few minutes to get into the swings of things. Most likely the noon time start had something to do with it. Boston College settled down and ran off a 10-2 spurt, with Rahon producing five of those points on a jumper and a three point field goal. A dunk from Eddie Odio, off a pretty feed from Rahon and another three pointer from Lonnie Jackson had BC off to a good start. The Eagles stretched the lead out to 15-6 on an Andrew Van Ness basket, off another nice feed from Jackson and a three point make from Danny Rubin. Boston College finished the half the way they started it with a 10-4 burst with Eagles getting five points apiece from Rahon and Odio giving BC a 30 to 19 lead heading to the locker room.

The Eagles solid play continued as the second half began as they jumped off to a 8-2 start with three point makes from Rahon and Olivier Hanlan and an inside basket from Anderson providing BC a 38-22 advantage with just over seventeen minutes left in the game. A milestone was reached by Clemson’s Devin Booker (19 points, 10 rebounds) as after being fouled by BC’s Odio, Booker stepped up to the foul line and made both foul shots to give him a thousand points for his career.

BC’s lead would be their largest at twenty (57-37) with 9:00 to play in the game.  The Tigers began to shoot themselves into the game. Back to back three point baskets by Jordan Roper (11 points) and Milton Jennings (13 points) brought the Tigers to within fourteen at 59-45 with 7:15 left in the game. Things then got really interesting after the Tigers went on a 13-0 run to get within four at 65-61, forcing BC to call timeout with 2:25 remaining in the game.

A hoop by BC’s Anderson gave the Eagles a six point lead at 67-61 with a 1:45 to play. After a Clemson timeout, the Tigers get a bucket from K.J. McDaniels and a three point bomb from Adonis Filer (10 points) forcing BC to call timeout with a one point lead at 67-66 with seventy-five seconds left in the game. Following the timeout, the Eagles put the game out of reach with a game ending 8-2 run. Baskets by Anderson and Rahon sandwiched around four huge free throws from Jackson giving BC the win 75-68.

The win is BC’s second in conference to go along with six defeats, the Eagles overall record now stands at 10-11, the ten wins surpasses last season win total. Clemson’s drops to 12- 9 and 4- 5 in the ACC.

 

John Doucette
ACC-fans.com Staff Writer

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ACC Basketball Week in Review – March 4, 2013

By ljcool110 | Published 03/06/2013

ACC Basketball Scores

Tuesday, February 26

  • Florida State 76 Wake Forest 62

Wednesday, February 27

  • North Carolina State 82 Boston College 64
  • Georgia Tech 78 Maryland 68
  • Miami 76 Virginia Tech 58

Thursday, February 28

  • Virginia 73 Duke 68
  • North Carolina 68 Clemson 59

Saturday, March 2

  • Maryland 67 Wake Forest 57
  • Duke 79 Miami 76
  • Virginia Tech 69 Clemson 61

Sunday, March 3

  • North Carolina State 70 Georgia Tech 57
  • North Carolina 79 Florida State 58
  • Boston College 53 Virginia 52

The Atlantic Coast Conference has not been as great this season as it’s been in past years, but on Saturday evening in

Cameron Indoor Stadium, the league put on as good a showcase of college basketball excellence as anyone reasonably could

have hoped for.

Duke was throttled by Miami the last time the two teams met. The Hurricanes humiliated the Blue Devils in a game that

was essentially over at halftime. The Hurricanes have been the foremost surprise of this season, with head coach Jim

Larranaga being a shoo-in for the National Coach of the Year award. Miami is, even now, a near lock to win the outright

ACC regular season championship, but on Saturday, Duke wanted to achieve three things: Defend its honor; show Miami that

it could play well; and gain a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils did all those things, and their hero was the man whose absence has made them a lesser team over the past

several weeks.

Ryan Kelly is the interior defender and perimeter shooter who gives Duke so many more dimensions and options at each end

of the floor. Kelly’s length as a defender enables Duke to deny the rim so much more effectively, and his shooting

ability makes it hard for opponents to double-team Seth Curry, the Blue Devils’ sharpshooting guard. Kelly had been

injured for most of the ACC season, but he was announced as the starter shortly before game time against Miami on

Saturday. College basketball watchers eagerly awaited Kelly’s return; that it happened in a high-profile game between

two top-five teams made Canes-Devils that much more of a five-star event.

What stunned so many observers in Durham, N.C., was not that Kelly played with passion, igniting Duke and giving Mike

Krzyzewski’s team a spark. No, what was shocking about Saturday’s epic game is that Kelly was the best player on the

floor, playing not just serviceably well, but spectacularly. Kelly, in his first game back, was not gentle or cautious

in anything he did. In what was anything but a “feel your way around until you gain confidence” type of performance,

Kelly exhibited full command of his skills from the start. Any worries about his mobility or health never seemed to

surface. Kelly scored 36 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field (9 of 12 from the free throw line), as Duke held off

a spirited charge from Miami in the kind of back-and-forth, nip-and-tuck game that leaves an audience mesmerized. There

was an Elite Eight-style atmosphere in Cameron, and when it was over, Duke had still not lost a game this season in

which Kelly has started. This reality makes Duke a strong No. 1 seed. The Blue Devils will have to collapse in the next

two weeks to give that top seed away to Miami or some other team.

Elsewhere in the ACC, Virginia continued to create one of the most remarkably contradictory at-large resumes of all

time. The Cavaliers have tons of great wins and awful losses, and their past week – featuring a win against Duke on

Thursday, followed by a loss at Boston College on Sunday – continued that maddening trend. North Carolina and North

Carolina State affirmed their NCAA tournament positions with league wins. Maryland lost ground with a loss at Georgia

Tech.

By Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer

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