Is This The Worst 3-Year Stretch of Boston College Basketball Ever?
By Joe Micik
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Boston College basketball fans have been battered with promises and excuses over the last three years. Also, losses. Lots of them.
The legitimate question we have to ask now is this: has there ever been a three-year stretch as bad as this in Boston College hoops history?
In terms of pure losses, no: this is a record-breaking three years in a bad way.
|
1st Season
2nd Season
3rd Season
Total Losses
1
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
60*
T2
1988-89
1989-90
1990-91
56
T2
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
56
4
1989-90
1990-91
1991-92
53
5
1987-88
1988-89
1989-90
52
Sixty losses in this stretch and the season’s not even over yet — that could easily end up 63 or 64. We all know, however, that teams play more games now than they used to back in the day, so how about win percentage?
(For the sake of all of our sanity, we only examined team records since the team reformed after World War II.)
|
1st Season
2nd Season
3rd Season
Win Pct
1
1953-54
1954-55
1955-56
.347
2
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
.348*
3
1988-89
1989-90
1990-91
.356
4
1997-98
1998-99
1999-2000
.364
5
1975-76
1976-77
1977-78
.410
Again, Boston College is right near the top of the list. If the Eagles should lose out — which is entirely possible — their win percentage for the three years will fall to .333 (32-64 record), with both “records” looking quite safe.
You might think back to how the Eagles beat two ranked teams in the last three years, namely #15 Florida State in 2012 and #1 Syracuse a week ago. Those were clearly the exceptions to the rule, however, and neither one amounted to anything for the program in the scheme of things except for a nice win that was memorable at the time.
Head coach Steve Donahue has said in his defense in the past that certain of his teams could not be judged on wins and losses. Sadly for him, wins and losses are the most trusted metric of success at this level. This is not a fifth-grade participation league where everyone gets a ribbon so they can feel good about themselves, even when they lose. Boston College basketball has lost at an historic clip over the last three years, and no way can a reasonable argument be made that a change would hurt. It’s hard for things to get worse when they’re already as bad as they’ve ever been.