Eagles’ Struggles Against Kansas Don’t Bode Well
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Those who weren’t sure what to make of the 10-2 Boston College was off to may have an idea now. And there were probably quite a few, considering the Eagles’ were winning, but not against the best teams. Yes, they beat Rhode Island – at home, and they probably should have lost that game – and their win at Maryland came against a young, struggling Terrapin team and is just a “name” win.
But on Saturday, the Eagles went up against Kansas, a team that along with Memphis and North Carolina is one of the clear top three teams in the country at this juncture, and basically got run out of Conte Forum.
Granted, every team in the ACC isn’t Kansas – indeed, few teams in America are at the Jayhawks’ level. But the ACC is having a good year and figures to be difficult for the Eagles to navigate because of the overall depth. Kansas is probably closer to the level of team they will play the rest of the way, save for Robert Morris on Monday night, than most of the teams they have played thus far.
This Eagle team is one that plays with the inconsistency you expect a young team to have, and as Saturday showed, they are also thin in the frontcourt. They might not stop post players on other teams, but Kansas’ frontcourt simply dominated the Eagles’ frontcourt as if they were playing a mid-major team with no size up front. They out-rebounded the Eagles 39-24 and had a 54-26 edge in points in the paint.
From the beginning, Darrell Arthur and Darnell Jackson had their way inside. Arthur scored six points early, while Jackson was constantly making plays. They combined for 47 points on 19-25 shooting and had 16 rebounds, and both were primary factors in the Jayhawks breaking the game open in the first half after the Eagles stayed right with them for over 11 minutes. The Jayhawks got every loose ball, especially balls that got tipped at either end of missed shots or passes, and while a lot of that was hustle, their size and athleticism in the frontcourt was a factor as well.
Additionally, if the Eagles don’t support Tyrese Rice, who scored 18 of their 29 points in the first half, they’re in trouble. The second half showed that, as Rice picked up his fourth foul with 16:39 left and had to go out of the game. Rakim Sanders came alive and helped lead a couple of runs to get the game respectable, but he’s been inconsistent amid flashes of great potential. As if that’s not enough, no one else on the team scored more than John Oates’ 8 points on the day. Tyler Roche managed a donut in the scoring column, while Tyrelle Blair had just one point to go with five blocked shots.
This wasn’t a bad loss for the Eagles, although it was a blowout, but it does reinforce preseason perception of the team. The general thought by prognosticators is that this team will struggle in the ACC and looks like an NIT team with its youth. For the most part, their non-conference play hasn’t done too much to dispel that, although there is something to be said for this team pulling out the wins it has. Rice has become a solid leader for this team, and there’s no lack of effort. What’s lacking is frontcourt play, clearly, but that’s not all. The big thing they lack is consistency, as Rice is the only player on the team from whom you know what you’re getting.
Early on, the Eagles didn’t exactly set the world on fire. They just got by a young New Hampshire team to open the season, although they were without two starters and had a tough time with Florida Atlantic two days later. They pulled out a good win against Rhode Island, then later made a great comeback that fell short against Providence. Then last month, they pulled out a close one at Maryland and beat Northeastern on a late runner by Rice after trailing for much of the game, and they had to hold off a Sacred Heart team that has struggled in non-conference play.
So the signs have been there all season that this team has little margin for error and isn’t the team of recent seasons. This isn’t like the teams of a few years ago that won with their youth. They’ve shown the ability to win games, but against better talent, some of those close wins are likely to turn into losses.
As they develop, the Eagles might eventually get to be good enough to knock off a top 3-4 team in the conference late in the season in a spoiler role. They have shown the ability to pull out tight games; for all the questioning one can do about who they have defeated, there is something to be said for winning games. But doing enough to merit an NCAA Tournament bid seems like a long shot. This team is going to have to grow up fast if that is to happen.
