Boston College did what they had to do on Senior Sunday, beating Wake Forest 84-68 to ice the 5th seed in the 2011 ACC Tournament. The win moves the Eagles to 19-11 (9-7) and sets them up favorably for the trip to Greensboro this week.
The three leading seniors, Corey Raji, Biko Paris, and Joe Trapani, all had monster a Senior Day. Raji was the leading scorer with 21 points, and the leading rebounder with 6. Biko Paris had 19 points, making six three-pointers, while Joe Trapani had 17. In only 20 minutes of playing time, junior Reggie Jackson had 14 points but dished seven assists, and was doubtlessly being rested in lieu of the seniors (and for the ACC Tournament).
Wake Forest got off to a hot start (a start in which, in a classy move, Donahue started only seniors), but after about seven or eight minutes of game play, the Deacs’ clock struck midnight and they turned back into a pumpkin. The turnovers became more frequent and egregious, and the shots were no longer falling. Boston College, however, was able to keep up their offensive intensity throughout the game and eventually pulled out to a substantial lead. The Eagles had thirteen turnovers, which is far too many, but Wake Forest ended the game with fifteen. There were stretches of the game which were sloppy for both teams, but the better team certainly won.
I can’t go further in this article without also talking about the hot shooting. Wake Forest came into this game with the ACC’s worst field goal percentage allowed, and the Eagles took advantage. Boston College shot 58% from the floor for the game, including 55% from beyond the arc. Going 8-13 from the free throw line, however, is the only blemish on that otherwise outstanding offensive performance. Of some concern, however, is how the Demon Deacons shot 50% themselves, and 40% from three. The defense tightened for the Eagles, however, and the only real reason the game narrowed somewhat at the end was the bench players and walk-ons making up BC’s five.
This is not only Boston College’s third-straight win, it’s their third-straight win by 15+ points. Boston College is suddenly playing well heading into the ACC Tournament on Thursday, and with what Boston College fans hope is another demolition of Wake, will doubtlessly make their presence felt as they try to seal an NCAA Tournament at-large bid.
We do not yet know the fullness of the ACC Tournament field, as there are still some seeds to be determined, but tomorrow we will examine BC’s draw, which so far we know to certainly be Wake Forest and then possibly Clemson.
