CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – If you could bottle the season opener for Boston College, last season would be a distant memory. This team looked nothing like last season’s team in several ways in an 84-70 win over Florida International. This team will certainly be better, as expected, but now there’s something to go on for that idea.
Last year, a half like the first half was unthinkable for Boston College. The Eagles scored 49 points, a plateau they didn’t reach in three entire games last season and just did reach in another. They had a 29-13 rebounding edge to dominate the paint and got a number of run-outs.
Although the Eagles didn’t match that in the second half, it was still a game this team didn’t have last year. The 84 points tops their single-game high of 83 points all last season, and they dominated the glass 46-28. They had a 42-20 edge in points in the paint and a 21-9 edge in second-chance points. They also shot just 2-17 from long range, something that likely would have meant a blowout a year ago, but it’s further illustrative of how this is a different team.
In the first half, Boston College held their own at a fast pace, leading almost the entire half. FIU kept pace with a few early three-pointers, but BC was getting run-outs often and never trailed after two Patrick Heckmann three-pointers broke an 18-18 tie, although FIU did rally in the second half to tie at 65.
Even at that point, BC took over the rest of the way, breaking the tie by scoring the next 12 points. FIU got more out of the press in the second half, but BC did enough to not surrender the lead before taking this one going away.
BC should be able to handle the paint better this year, and a lot of that has to do with the two holdovers most expect to lead the way. Ryan Anderson and captain Dennis Clifford are both more physically mature and seem more confident and competitive than a year ago, and that may make a world of difference. Where Anderson certainly looked like the best of the Eagles’ recruiting haul a year ago, on Sunday he looked very much like a future All-ACC player in posting career highs of 29 points and 17 rebounds. Both have clearly put in a lot of work to make a big jump from freshman to sophomore year.
“I thought he was really engaged on both sides, he was talking,” Donahue said of Anderson. “Last year, I thought a lot of it had to do with his physical conditioning not being great. Now he’s much more alert because he’s not worried about his conditioning. He played 36 minutes in a pretty good up-and-down game, he’s moving better, his jumping is much better.”
It’s not that Anderson wasn’t into the game last year or wasn’t competitive. But on Sunday he looked like a very different player. He was a live body, talking often and as Donahue noted, grabbing balls above the rim. Last year, it was clear he was a skilled player, but you would never say he had a motor that was always running. Sunday, his motor was going all the way.
The question mark is probably on the perimeter, especially with Jordan Daniels’ sudden transfer. While it is as yet unproven, the Eagles have talent on that unit with two freshman starters in Olivier Hanlan and Joe Rahon. Hanlan was the best player on the floor in the early going and looks like he’ll make Daniels something of a distant memory, and Rahon didn’t have the best stat line but is very competitive. Hanlan came back to earth after the first few minutes, but what he showed is that he is definitely an upgrade from a talent standpoint.
Lonnie Jackson was part of the shooting struggle, as he was 0-7 from the field including 0-5 from deep. He will be better, and Donahue mentioned he had been shooting well. On Sunday they were okay despite his struggles, but as Donahue added, they will need him to shoot more like he has been in practice.
The Eagles will take on better competition very soon, as they are in the loaded Charleston Classic this weekend. Their first game is against Baylor, then either Dayton or Colorado awaits in the second game. There is only so much to take from Sunday’s game in the big picture, but the Eagles showed something. They showed that this team is significantly better, especially up front. Whether or not that translates into a big jump in wins or the ACC standings is to be determined, but the first impression they left was a very positive one. An effort like that bodes well for later in the season.
