Game 12: Boston College-Duke Basketball Gameday
By Joe Micik
Boston College basketball has played their fair share of cupcakes in their non-conference schedule. That ends today with the coming of ACC play and Duke basketball gameday.
The Eagles, who have played satisfactory basketball so far under new head coach Jim Christian, now exit the pillowy-soft portion of their 2014-15 schedule and go right into the pressure cooker. Tonight, they play the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor in Durham, but the rest of their January slate is brutal: Pitt, Miami, Syracuse, Virginia, and Louisville are just some of the teams the Eagles will face before February.
Duke will not make things easy. The Blue Devils, number two in the nation, average about 85 points per game and are one of the hottest-shooting teams in the nation. 6-11 freshman center Jahlil Okafor almost averages a double-double every night, with about 19 points per game and nine rebounds per contest. He has proven a player capable of carrying Duke, but rarely would they need it: Justise Winslow, Quinn Cook, and Tyus Jones are other double-digit scorers Duke basketball has.
For purposes of comparison, Boston College has two players averaging over 10 points per game, Aaron Brown and Olivier Hanlan. Brown is quickly overtaking Hanlan as the offensive leader of the Eagles, with his year so far marked by a real sense of consistency. Yet, Boston College scores about 18 points less per game than the Blue Devils do, and are better than the Eagles in almost every notable statistical consideration.
Keep in mind, that’s with Boston College having played a relatively easy schedule.
Duke basketball could deliver the Eagles a cold bucket of reality in today’s game. Can the Eagles keep up with one of the nation’s top teams?
Follow @SoaringtoGlory for updates on the game.
Boston College-Duke Basketball Gameday:
Game #12 Info
Gametime
4:00pm Eastern
Venue
Cameron Indoor Stadium, Durham, North Carolina
Television
NESN/ESPN3 (Wes Durham, Mike Gminski)
Radio
WEEI 850AM (Online link)
(Jon Meterparel, Danya Abrams)
Boston College Eagles
Records and Rankings
Boston College is unranked, holding a 7-4 record on the season. This will be their first ACC contest of the season and under Jim Christian, as well as their first true road game of 2014-15. On Monday, the Eagles defeated UMass-Lowell, 70-47 and have won five of their last six.
Duke is the #2 team in the country and have a 12-0 record. On New Year’s Eve, they defeated Wofford, 84-55.
Boston College and Duke Basketball Top Performers
Aaron Brown is Boston College’s leading scorer with 16.1 points per game. Olivier Hanlan is next with 15.5, while Dennis Clifford is third with 8.7 and Dimitri Batten is fourth with 8.3.
Clifford is Boston College’s leading rebounder with 5.8 per contest, followed by Patrick Heckmann at 4.8.
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Jahlil Okafor leads Duke with 18.8 points per game, followed by Quinn Cook (14.5), Justise Winslow (12.1), and Tyus Jones (10.8). Okafor also averages 8.8 rebounds per game, while Amile Jefferson is next with 8.1.
Duke is a 53 percent shooting team, including 38.2 percent from three; Boston College shoots 45 and 28.4 percent, respectively.
Recent Results vs. Duke Basketball
February 10, 2013: Duke wins, 62-61 (at BC)
February 24, 2013: Duke wins, 89-68 (at Duke)
February 8, 2014: Duke wins, 89-68 (at BC)
This is the 20th meeting all-time between Duke and BC. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series, 17-2.