Know Your Opponent: Boston College

By Bobby Hundley

Boston College (BCEagles.com)
Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Rankings: No. 99 KenPom, NR AP
Record: 14-14, 5-11 ACC
NET/SOS: No. 113 NET, No. 92 SOS
Carolina Series History (Last Meeting): UNC leads 17-5 (UNC 96, BC 66, Jan. 9, 2018, Smith Center)

After six consecutive sub-.500 seasons, Boston College returned to postseason play in 2018 thanks to a 19-win season that featured a run to the ACC quarterfinals and league victories over Duke, Florida State, Miami and Syracuse in a 7-win ACC campaign. Those seven wins were more than BC had managed in three previous seasons under coach Jim Christian, who is now in his fifth season at the helm. The 2018 Eagles also cracked the year-end KenPom top 100 for the first time since 2011, the first year of the ill-fated Steve Donahue era.

Fast forward to 2019 and BC is largely in the same place - good enough to be competitive on a nightly basis in the ACC but unable to push into the league's top half. With two games to go in the regular season, the Eagles face the familiar NCAA tournament hurdle of needing five wins in five days to earn the ACC's automatic bid. Failing that unprecedented accomplishment, BC will miss the big dance for a 10th year in a row.

Ky Bowman is the engine that makes BC go, and he's somehow managed to take on an even larger role as junior. The 6-1 guard leads the country in percentage of minutes played and has gone to the bench for just eight minutes through 16 ACC games. His outside shooting has improved from last year (though not to the lights-out levels of his freshman season) and he continues to be one of the best rebounding guards in America. At 18.8 percent, Bowman basically hits the defensive glass with the same success rate as Zion Williamson (19.0) and Kerry Blackshear (18.9).

With Jerome Robinson off to the NBA following his junior year, the off-guard spot opposite Bowman was a big question mark for the Eagles entering 2018-19. Freshman Wynston Tabbs showed early he was up to the task, and the 6-2 Maryland native averaged nearly 14 points per game through the first 15 games of the season. A knee injury has sidelined Tabbs since the win over Florida State on Jan. 20, however, and BC is just 4-8 without him in the lineup. What's worse is that without Tabbs on the floor, defenses have been able to key on Bowman, who is averaging close to 5.5 ppg fewer than when Tabbs plays.

Familiar faces Nik Popovic and Jordan Chatman both average better than 13 points per contest, while Popovic and 6-8 sophomore Steffon Mitchell are BC's best rebounders (along with Bowman). Mitchell also has a real knack for getting to the foul line, but he makes just 55 percent of his attempts there.

While the Eagles are just 2-7 in Quadrant 1 games, they have been a tough out at Conte Forum. Both Q1 wins - FSU and Louisville - came at home, as did a win over Minnesota and a 6-point loss to Syracuse. While the NCAA tournament is increasingly unlikely, Bowman makes BC a team that no one is going to be particularly excited to face in Charlotte.

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