Resume update: Beat Terps, go down?

The resume tracker for Boston College men’s basketball has been holding largely steady since I started it a few weeks ago. As of today, February 16, the Eagles’ 16-9 (6-5) record is combined with tournament-caliber RPIs and SOSs of 43 and 19, respectively. Furthermore, Boston College currently has 7 wins against teams ranked in the RPI Top 100, and will probably need to gain a few more before all is said and done, but they are hardly out of the mix.

The win against the Maryland Terrapins this past weekend was crucial, and according to all of the bracketologists, the Eagles are still in. Jerry Palm has us in as a 10-seed in the Southeast and Andy Glockner put us in as a 10 in the Southwest. Joe Lunardi, however, dropped us in his most recent bracket from an 11-seed to a 12, keeping us in one of the “First Four” matchups. I’m inclined to stand with Palm and Glockner; BC might be standing at a 10 or 11 right now, but I don’t think we’re as low as a 12, especially after getting that big win at home against the fading Terps.

Let’s make no doubt about this, however: BC has a borderline tournament resume. It’s not a guaranteed tournament resume, and it’s not an NIT-but-nothing-else resume, either. Right now, with five regular-season games to go, it’s just barely good enough to get us into the dance, but these last five (plus the games in Greensboro) will decide our fate. Boston College still controls their destiny, and there will be opportunities to improve the resume. North Carolina on the road looks like a defeat (even though I’m virtually certain BC will put forth a more representative effort than last time), but each of the last four – Miami, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest – are all potentially winnable.

Remember, 20 wins should be the goal between here and the time they check out of the ACC Tournament. The Eagles will be favored against Virginia and Wake Forest, and will probably be slight favorites over Miami. Should they win those three games, that gets them to 19. It will then require BC to beat either UNC or Virginia Tech, or win a game in the ACC Tournament. There is a catch, however: if the Eagles are the 5 or 6-seed in Greensboro, they will face a team like Georgia Tech or Wake Forest, neither one of which is worth noting. Those wouldn’t exactly be resume-enhancers, so then it comes to Day 2 of the ACC Tournament. If BC is sitting on 20 wins going into that quarterfinals game, even if BC plays well but loses, I think that will send enough of a message to the committee. If BC gets their doors blown off in either Day 1 or Day 2 of the ACC Tournament, then we probably have issues regardless of what our win total is.

There are a lot of variables and moving parts, and recall that not only are we up against our ACC opponents, but all of the other teams fighting for position on the bubble. We have a general idea of what the Eagles need to do, but it’s not an exact science. BC just needs to close the season strong and let the chips fall where they may. If they do close out on a good note, then it’s likely we’ll be a Tournament team again.