Eagles’ Issues Highlighted in Close Win
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Sean Williams hasn’t exactly been the difference-maker many figured he would be for Boston College this season. He’s had foul trouble in a number of games and hasn’t been the shot-blocker he was last season, and as a result, the Eagles have had a gaping hole at center since they have gotten about as much as they can out of John Oates, but he’s limited.
So when Williams came up with two key blocks in the final 64 seconds of Saturday’s 67-61 win over Clemson, the timing couldn’t have been better.
“That’s what he’s here for,” said Jared Dudley, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half, five coming right in a row to break a 59-59 tie.
Williams missed the first semester because of a university suspension, and clearly the missed practice time early in the season has hurt him. He’s been in foul trouble often and had to play limited minutes as a result, and though he’s in there for defense first, his offense has shown no progress. That has led to Oates playing more minutes than most figured he would play before the season and the Eagles to go small more than they would probably like.
“We have to understand that he missed half the season, so time is not there like it is for the rest of us,” said senior guard Louis Hinnant, who quietly had 11 points and four assists, four steals and one turnover. “He wasn’t able to go through drills in the first days of practice. He’s still trying to work his way into it. As time progresses, he’ll continue to get better, and it’ll only make us better.”
The Eagles also know that Williams is a luxury, and that his presence as a shot-blocker can’t make them get lax on defense, where they acknowledge they haven’t been playing well. Teams with shot-blockers can’t let too much penetration happen, because with enough chances, a shot-blocker will get into foul trouble instead of swatting away all shots, and there will be goaltending calls from time to time as well.
“Blocking shots is the last line of defense,” said head coach Al Skinner. “You don’t want to rely on that; if you do, you’re really setting yourself up for trouble.
“We’ve got to settle down and do a better job of cutting down on penetration and being consistent there. It’s nice that he can bail you out at times, but you don’t want a steady dose of that. When you do that, you put him in jeopardy, and he doesn’t get the chance to play the quality game that he could play.”
To that end, they know they aren’t playing as well defensively as they need to. In the previous five games, they allowed every opponent to shoot over 41 percent, and those teams shot a combined 45.6 percent against them. Save for the North Carolina and Georgia Tech games, they haven’t forced many turnovers to compensate for it. In all, ACC teams are shoot over 46 percent from the floor against the Eagles, which puts them near the bottom of the conference in that category.
The Eagles held the Tigers to just over 36 percent shooting, but the game got close in large part due to a period where they got sloppy on offense. The Tigers started to overplay at times in the second half, much like Duke did over a week earlier, and as they did against the Blue Devils, the Eagles fell right into the trap. They built a 55-41 lead with over eight and a half minutes to go, but Clemson then scored 10 unanswered points – the last three of which came off BC turnovers – to cut the lead to four. Six of BC’s eight turnovers came in the second half.
So despite the win – BC’s eighth in nine games and seventh in eight ACC games – it’s clear the Eagles still have areas with a lot of room for improvement. They are alone in third place at the moment, but Miami and North Carolina are among the teams nipping at their heels.
“We’re not really defending that well. Sooner or later, that’s going to come back to haunt you and get losses,” said Dudley. “We can watch film, see why we’re playing poorly defensively, why we’re turning the ball over. A lot of people counted us out when we were 0-3 in the league, now we’re 7-4, we’re trying to make a push.”
Other Notable Games
Louisville 57, USF 54: Don’t look now, but the Cardinals are back in the Big East Tournament picture. Getting a more respectable conference record to impress the NCAA Selection Committee, on the other hand, still requires a good deal of work.
La Salle 79, Xavier 70: All of a sudden, the Explorers are now in fourth place at 7-4 in the Atlantic 10 and have won five straight, three of which have come on the road (including this one). The Musketeers, meanwhile, are 5-5.
Purdue 84, Michigan 70: Not a good week for the Wolverines, who have now lost three straight after cracking the top 25.
Florida 71, LSU 62: The Gators needed this one to get back on track and prove to the doubters that they can beat a good team. The win also snaps a three-game losing streak against the Tigers.
Duke 96, Maryland 88: Another game, another 35 points for J.J. Redick as the Blue Devils win at Maryland, where they had lost three of four. They never trailed in this one. Maryland has now lost four of five.
Canisius 86, Manhattan 75: A shocker in the MAAC, as the struggling Golden Griffins get 27 points from Kevin Downey to knock off Manhattan, which entered the day tied for the lead with Iona, which blew out Fairfield 89-66.
George Washington 64, Saint Joseph’s 62: The Colonials eke out another tough road win to keep the nation’s longest winning streak (12 games) going.
Southern Illinois 74, Creighton 67: With their backs to the wall entering the week, the Salukis won two straight, helping to create a four-way tie at the top of the Missouri Valley at 11-4.
Minnesota 69, Michigan State 55: First Indiana, now Michigan State loses in Minneapolis. Chances are, though, this won’t be part of a tailspin for the Spartans, like it has proven to be for the Hoosiers.
Vanderbilt 84, Kentucky 81: The seat is heating up in Lexington. For the first time since 1974, the Commodores sweep the Wildcats.
Wake Forest 59, Charlotte 56: The Demon Deacons get a much-needed win in a battle of two teams that haven’t lived up to preseason expectations. Duke is ahead on Tuesday.
Washington 70, UCLA 67: The first season sweep of UCLA since 1987 was completed at a great time for the Huskies, who had recently lost three straight before Thursday night’s win over USC. They held Aaron Afflalo and Jordan Farmar to a combined 4-23 from the field.
Tennessee 83, Georgia 78: Can anyone stop Chris Lofton? He had 31 points at Kentucky on Tuesday, then surpassed that with a career-high 33 points (with nine three-pointers) as they pulled this one out.
Kansas 88, Iowa State 75: The Jayhawks stay hot, the Cyclones remain inconsistent at best. Kansas now has its second seven-game winning streak of the season and has won 14 of 16 since starting off 3-4.
Hofstra 89, Northeastern 78: The Huskies drop a second straight road game just as they looked to be getting momentum last weekend. Meanwhile, Hofstra stays hot, improving to 18-4 and avenging their last defeat, which came at Northeastern last month. They are all alone in third place in the CAA at 11-3.
VCU 80, Old Dominion 74: The Rams pull into a fourth-place tie in the CAA with the Monarchs and go up 37-35 in this rivalry.
Penn 81, Harvard 68: One night after a crushing loss against Princeton, where the Tigers won by scoring the game’s final seven points, the Crimson never had a chance against Penn. The Quakers scored the game’s first 11 points and had a comfortable lead for much of the game.
Princeton 52, Dartmouth 49: Don’t look now, but Princeton is right there in Penn’s rearview mirror of the Ivy League at 5-1 after two wins on the road.
Wright State 86, Butler 83 (2 OT): Second place in the Horizon was on the line, and these two teams needed two extra sessions to decide it. Butler could have strengthened its hold on second with a win here, but the Raiders are now a half game back thanks to 33 points from DaShaun Wood. Remember, the top two seeds get byes into the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
Virginia 81, Virginia Tech 77 (OT): The Cavaliers sweep the season series in this rivalry and go above .500 in ACC play. New head coach Dave Leitao continues to get results right away, and while the Cavs won’t contend this season, it’s a good first step.
Northern Arizona 77, Weber State 69: The Lumberjacks bounce back from their first Big Sky loss of the season with this win, keeping up their lead over Montana as they are now 10-1 while the Grizzlies are 7-3 after their 70-61 win over Montana State last night. One more win will clinch at least a tie for the regular season title.
Missouri State 66, Northern Iowa 63: The Panthers are now 2-2 since cracking the top 25. More importantly, they fall into a four-way tie for first in the Missouri Valley at 11-4, while the Bears remain dark horses at 9-6.
Austin Peay 74, Samford 68 (OT): Combine this with Murray State’s win over Morehead State earlier in the day, and Samford now looks like they can only battle for second place in the Ohio Valley. At 12-4, they have to hold off Tennessee Tech, which lost 70-65 at Tennessee State last night, and these same Governors, who are in the mix at 10-7.
Gonzaga 80, Stanford 76: When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and Adam Morrison did just that. He scored 10 straight Gonzaga points and 12 of their last 13 and sealed the game with two free throws in the final seconds, and also added a key block in the final minutes.
