BC @ NC State Liveblog

FINAL: BC loses to a not-so-good team, pisses away an ACC bye, and has made their bubble situation a little more precarious. We now know that the Eagles will suit up next Thursday and have to beat Georgia Tech in Boston on Saturday. This is all a negative development for fans of Boston College, or at least has the potential to be.

BC was off for a week and had to go to Raleigh on Senior Night to play a team with nothing to lose. There’s no excuses for the loss, but I kinda saw it coming. I was afraid it would happen and it did. Now they have to take care of business against GT or else.

8:50pm ET: BC at least trying to make it interesting at the end. I still think they’re going to lose, but yeah.

8:44pm ET: Eagles down 4 with 58 seconds to play. When do they start fouling? Probably very soon.

8:38pm ET: Tyrese threw the ball away. Now it’s just about over.

8:36pm ET: NC State is way outrebounding BC in the last few moments and BC can’t make any shots anymore. Looking like the Wolfpack will win barring a miracle for the Eagles.

8:29pm ET: The Hurricanes’ bubble is also bursting right now. They’re going down in flames in Atlanta to Georgia Tech, the ACC’s worst team. If Miami loses tonight, it’s over for them. It won’t be over for BC should they lose, but it would hardly be inspiring. NC State is a team playing for basically nothing right now except maybe a spot in the NIT or CBI. BC can’t get back over the hump and they look a little sloppy again.

8:19pm ET: BC will have a chance to cut the lead from 3 again after the 11-minute timeout, but they’re still hanging in there. I also notice that VT is hanging around with UNC as they play in Blacksburg. As I said, the Hokies need that game badly for their resume.

8:11pm ET: It took NC State over 4 minutes to score their first points of the half. BC is trying, I’ve got no doubt about that, and NC State certainly doesn’t look as sharp. The Eagles have to finish what they start and when they get it inside to their big man Southern, he has to be able to lay it in. That he’s having those shots blocked is not good at all. BC down only 2 at the 15 minute media timeout.

8:07pm ET: Does Billy Mays have any free time anymore? He must be shooting commercials and infomercials 16 hours a day by now.

8:05pm ET: Almost 3 minutes into the first half, BC has cut the deficit to 4 and NC State has yet to make a basket. They’ve missed a few opportunities but they’re back in the ballgame.

7:48pm ET: If you had told me that BC would be shooting 52% in the first half, I’d have assumed BC would be having a big night. The only problem is that NC State is shooting 59% and 71% from beyond the arc. I couldn’t help but recall another recent game where their opposition shot the lights out from 3-point land. A 9-point deficit at the half is not insurmountable, as BC came back from 15 or so down in Maryland, and NC State will eventually cool down, but Senior Night is always a tough proposition for the opposing team.

7:43pm ET: One piece of relevant information: the last time these two teams played, NC State went on a major run in the 2nd half, cutting a 19-point BC lead down to 3 in a matter of minutes. NC State lost by 11. We know that BC can beat this team, so there’s no sense in panicking, but since when could this team shoot so damn well? I know the lack of BC defense is involved, but come on. BC will trail at halftime.

7:32pm ET: BC can’t let it slip away any further because apparently everyone on the Wolfpack now has dead aim.

7:27pm ET: BC’s hot start has melted and washed away. Now NC State is hitting every shot in sight and BC’s defense can’t do a thing to stop them. I saw NC State play at Conte Forum in January; this team sucks. It’s stunning how bad BC looks against them right now. BC down 7 at TV timeout #3. (notice the trend? Up 7 at #1, tied at #2, down 7 at #3)

7:18pm ET: BC ended up making their first 8 shots, which is fairly impressive. NC State is shooting well also. Nothing’s ever easy with this team, is it? 20-20 at TV timeout #2.

7:09pm ET: At the first TV timeout, BC leads 12-5. Hot start for the Eagles, making all 6 of their shots. So far, so good for BC.

7:00pm ET: SWAC women’s college bowling? ESPNU AIRS this?