University of North Carolina Athletics
Know Your Opponent: Boston College
January 21, 2017 | Men's Basketball
Know Your Opponent: Boston College (BCEagles.com)
Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Rankings: BC - No. 168 KenPom, NR AP; UNC - No. 6 KenPom, No. 9 AP
Records: BC - 9-10, 2-4 ACC; UNC - 17-3, 5-1 ACC
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 15-5 (UNC 68, BC 65, Feb. 9, 2016, Conte Forum)
After posting the ACC's first 0-18 record a season ago, Boston College finally got its first league win under Jim Christian in the 2016-17 opener, an emphatic 96-81 victory over Syracuse. Ten days later the Eagles did it again at home, this time surprising NC State to move to 2-2 in the conference. And even though BC has lost two straight and is likely to be an underdog in each of its final 12 regular season contests, Christian's club has shown clear signs of progress.
While they still trend toward the bottom of the league in offensive efficiency, the Eagles are much more competitive than in 2016. After posting the ACC's worst OE mark of the KenPom.com era last season, BC is up to 99.7 (from 85.5) through six league contests. Improvement has come in a number of categories, most notably 2-point FG percentage and free throw rate. Boston College is making 52.4 percent of its 2s this year (up from 44.1) and getting to the line at a significantly higher frequency (30.0 FTA/FGA vs. 20.4).
A pair of North Carolina natives fuel the BC offense. Raleigh sophomore Jerome Robinson, who missed a month with a broken wrist toward the end of last season, leads the team in scoring at 19.7 points per game and has been one of the ACC's most prolific shooters. Through 19 games, Robinson has taken 31.9 percent of the team's shots while on the floor, which is more than 34 minutes per contest. Freshman Ky Bowman, a scoring point guard from Havelock, averages better than 15 points per game in league play and went for 30 and nine assists in the win over Syracuse.
Aside from Robinson and Bowman, sophomore A.J. Turner and BYU transfer Jordan Chatman take the bulk of the Eagles' shots from the outside. Turner is making 42 percent of his 3s so far, though both have struggled at times against ACC foes. Connar Tava, a graduate transfer from Western Michigan, makes two-thirds of his 2s against conference foes and is the team's most effective player at getting to the line (he ranks 16th nationally in free throw rate).
Defensively, BC has been particularly stingy against the long ball, allowing opponents to make just 30.6 percent of their 3s, 22nd-best nationally. They've also been quite successful at keeping teams off the offensive glass. Overall, the Eagles lead the ACC in defensive rebounding percentage (75.6), and in league play only Carolina is better. Graduate transfer Mo Jeffers from Delaware has had a lot to do with that, as the 6-9 center ranks in the top 10 in the ACC in both offensive and defensive rebounding percentage. He splits time down low with 6-11 freshman Nik Popovic, who is a top-five performer on the offensive glass.
All in all, BC has proven dangerous enough at home to get Carolina's attention, especially after the Tar Heels won by just 3 at Conte Forum last season. And while the NCAA tournament is likely still a ways off, Christian does appear to have this program headed back in the right direction.
