Miami Hurricanes Basketball Game 25 Preview: Boston College Eagles
By Sam Jacobs
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
Time: 3:00 PM
TV: ESPNU
Line: Miami -3.5
The Miami Hurricanes basketball team suffered a disappointing loss to Wake Forest on Wednesday. Miami (15-9, 5-6) looks to defeat the Boston College Eagles (9-14, 1-10) for the 10th consecutive time since 2011 when the ‘Canes enter the Silvio Conte Forum on Monday afternoon. With the Hurricanes’ NCAA Tournament hopes hanging on by a thread, this matchup becomes a crucial one.
The Hurricanes defeated Boston College 60-56 back in early January, which earned Miami its first ACC win of 2015. The ‘Canes controlled the majority of the game, but BC made a late run to give Miami a scare. Talented point guard Olivier Hanlan played extremely well for the Eagles, posting 19 points and 4 assists. This game took place in a mythical time in which Angel Rodriguez played well and Deandre Burnett saw meaningful minutes. Rodriguez led Miami with 17 points and Burnett contributed 7 of his own.
Boston College Scouting Report
The Eagles sit at the very cellar of the ACC standings. Boston College’s lone conference victory came versus the next worst team in the ACC: Georgia Tech.
As their record would suggest, BC does not have a very good basketball team. The Eagles rank 263rd in the country in points per game, 153rd in offensive efficiency, 196th in field goal percentage, and 290th in 3-point field goal percentage. They rank towards the bottom of the nation in each major defensive statistic, too.
Boston College plays with a “small ball” mentality. Outside of 7-footer Dennis Clifford, the Eagles mostly rotate between guys 6’6” or shorter. As a result, opponents frequently outrebound them. Miami can either adjust to this by playing Davon Reed at power forward or force BC to adjust by playing a regular lineup.
The previously mentioned Olivier Hanlan is Boston College’s best player. The 6’4” point guard’s 17.5 points per game rank 4th in the ACC and his 4.5 assists rank 5th. Hanlan is extremely quick off of the dribble and does a great job of penetrating defenses. He has a solid 3-point touch, too. He’s averaging 24.7 points per contest over Boston College’s last 3 outings. The Eagles lack consistent offense, so Hanlan will get plenty of shot attempts.
The other go-to guy for BC is 6’5” Aaron Brown. Boston College utilizes Brown at either forward position, but he’s more than capable of doing damage on the perimeter. He has hit multiple 3-pointers in each of his last seven games. The ‘Canes got the better of him the first time around, though, as he was held to just 5 points.
Prediction
Miami: 64 – Boston College: 62
The Hurricanes should beat the worst team in its conference, even though this is an ACC road test, which never come easy. Minus an unearthly performance from beyond the arc held by Wake Forest in the first half, I thought Miami played fairly well. The ‘Canes have played much better in the last two games than they had in the previous few. The level of play that we have seen from Miami recently, if maintained, should be good enough for a win over Boston College. Olivier Hanlan will fill up the stat sheet, but BC’s nearly winless conference record should speak for itself.
Has Angel Rodriguez returned to his old form? He slashed his way through the Wake Forest defense en route to 10 free throw attempts and 15 points. Everyone will remember the unfriendly roll at the buzzer, but overall he had a strong performance. Perhaps the high level of play of Boston College’s point guard will bring out the best in Rodriguez.
Davon Reed has seriously stepped his game up recently. He went for 17 points against Wake Forest and 19 against Louisville. Reed is 8-16 from deep in Miami’s last three games. There’s a good chance that Reed matches up with Aaron Brown for parts of this game, so another major performance would be helpful.
The Miami Hurricanes likely need to win 5 of their 7 remaining ACC games (not including the ACC Tournament) to have any chance at playing in the Big Dance, so needless to say they can’t afford a loss to the worst team in the conference.