BC Men’s B-Ball Struggles, But What About the Ladies?

The trouble that this very young Boston College men’s basketball team has had in 2011-12 is public, apparent, and widely-discussed by its fans. Indeed, they are 7-15 (2-6) and have been looking forward to the future since this season began. What most BC fans might not know is that the BC women’s basketball team is having an even worse season.

Last night, the ladies took on #10 Maryland at their building and were absolutely decimated, 86-44.  It was not even a competitive contest and the Eagles trailed 51-13 at the half.  They are now 5-17 (0-9) and have already spiraled well out of control. Given their remaining schedule, two ACC wins is probably their ceiling, but the 0-16 season which some thought the men might have could happen to them instead.

A statistical comparison is in order (note: women’s stats are from prior to the Maryland game, though rest assured said game made them worse; men’s stats are current through NC State):

BC Women

Record

7-15 (2-6)

5-17 (0-9)

PPG

60.0

58.0

FG Pct.

41.2%

38.2%

Rebounding mar.

-5.5

-2.3

TO margin

-3.2

-2.4

Scoring margin

-8.1

-7.7

Leading scorer

Humphrey (9.9)

Zenevitch (9.8)

Not in every category are they worse, but it is very fair to say that the women’s team is having as tough a time as the men are. The result is the worst year of Eagles basketball in recent memory.

Now, we know that the men are young, but what is the roster composition for the women’s team? The breakdown is as follows (figures may not add to 100.0% due to rounding):

BC Women

Freshmen

9 (56.3%)

4 (30.8%)

Sophomores

2 (12.3%)

6 (46.2%)

Juniors

1 (6.3%)

2 (15.4%)

Seniors/GS

4 (25%)

1 (7.7%)

Both teams are quite young, with at least two-thirds of each composed of underclassmen.  What’s a little concerning, though, is that a majority of the players on the women’s team have at least a year of prior experience under their belts and this is what we’re seeing.  Freshmen make up almost a third of the ladies’ roster, but the men have more and they’re not doing as poorly.

So, what conclusions can we draw?

• Neither the men’s nor women’s basketball teams are any good at all, as presently constituted. [Combined record: 12-32 (2-15)]
• Both have gotten mauled in ACC play.
• In some areas, the women have been in even worse shape than the men.
• Both programs must take a step forward next season.

I cannot remember a year where both of our basketball teams were this bad. The difference would seem to be that the men’s team has been hanging around in their fair share of games, while the women have had a stretch of games recently where they haven’t even been competitive, though they have played some very strong teams. It’s hard to tell from a distance what is going on, but it certainly seems as though the women’s team is going through plenty of growing pains of its own.