Boston College at Wake Forest Preview: A Tale of Two Coaches

Joshua S. Kelly-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Donahue and Jeff Bzdelik have something in common.

Yes, both are at Atlantic Coast Conference coaches, but what we were looking for is “they were both hired prior to the same season.”

If everything keeps to the plan, they’ll both be out following the same season as well. Namely, this one.

For the Wake Forest Demon Deacons under Bzdelik, things have not been rosy. Whereas Donahue at least had one year with Al Skinner’s players to make an attempt at a tournament bid, Bzdelik’s Deacs went into a full nosedive from day one, losing 24 games in his first season and 18 in each of the previous two. This year’s team is slightly better at 15-13, but they are well out of contention in the conference.

As for Donahue’s Eagles, the last three years have been straight from hell. Boston College has had three losing seasons in a row, two of them with at least 21 losses. A few more defeats for this group and the 2013-14 team will go down as not only the most disappointing BC team ever, but also the worst. This junior class has already lost more games than any junior class in Boston College basketball history.

No matter which way the two coaches approached their futility, they both find themselves in the same spot. As such, does it really even matter who wins today?

In terms of securing current employment, no, since both Donahue and Bzdelik are believed to be done at their present schools. How about in terms of future employment? Again, no, because nobody is going to dig up game film of Boston College-Wake Forest for a future job interview. Finally, the impact on the win-loss bottom line is so negligible, especially for the 7-21 Boston College Eagles, that victory or defeat might only slightly tweak seeds on the first day in Greensboro.

Irrelevant game with lame-duck coaches? You bet.