Go Cards.
Louisville Cardinals (14-4, 4-1) vs. Boston College Eagles (13-6, 3-3)
Game Time: 12:06 p.m.
Location: KFC Yum Center: Louisville, Ky.
Television: ACC Network/WHAS-11 in Louisville
Announcers: Tim Brandon (play-by-play) and Brian Oliver (analyst)
Officials: Michael Stephens, John Gaffney, Tim Clougherty
About Boston College:
Boston College is off to its best start since 2010-11, and has already eclipsed the 10-win mark for the first time in three years. The Eagles have won more conference games already this season (3) than in the past two seasons combined.
BC is led by junior guard Jerome Robinson, who is first in the ACC in scoring, averaging 23.3 points per game in six conference contests. Sophomore guard Ky Bowman is also posting impressive averages of 16.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. Bowman is coming off a 19/13 performance in the Eagles’ 81-75 win over Florida State.
Notable:
—Louisville is second in the nation in blocked shots (7.4 bpg) and ranks 14th in field goal percentage defense (.388) and 23rd in 3-point defense (.305).
—U of L’s Anas Mahmoud is fifth in the nation in blocked shots (3.56) and Ray Spalding is 12th in offensive rebounds (3.72).
—Boston College’s Ky Bowman is the only player in the country to average at least 16.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game. His 7.1 boards per game average is the best nationally among players that are 6’1 or shorter.
—Bowman is also the only player in the ACC to rank among the top 10 in scoring and assists and top 15 in rebounding.
—Louisville’s Deng Adel has scored in double figures in 20 of his last 21 games dating back to last season.
—This marks the 15th time that Boston College has played on the same day as a New England Patriots playoff game. When BC plays on same day as an New England Patriots playoff game, the Eagles are 7-7. Conversely, the New England Patriots are 10-4 when playing a playoff game on the same day as a BC MBB contest.
—Louisville has a 39-8 record in its conference home games over the last six years (.830), including an 8-1 record last year.
—Boston College is 6-12 all-time and 1-2 in ACC play in games played on January 21.
—Louisville is one of just four schools which have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons (also Kansas, Duke and Gonzaga).
—Boston College is 9-0 this season when scoring 80 points or more.
—In conference games only statistics, Louisville is second in the ACC in field goal percentage (.477) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.398).
—Louisville is off to a 14-4 start for the sixth straight season.
—Louisville has a 43-18 record during the month of January over the last eight years (.705), including a 27-9 record in the last five years.
Ken Pomeroy Prediction: Louisville 75, Boston College 67
