Lids and things

I’ve lamented before that I am not a fan of BC’s current logo. It really cuts down on anything I would think of wearing or buying. So when I found this hat,
Best BC Hat Ever 

at Sports Moments & Memories in the Perimeter Mall I had to buy it. No angry chicken. No italicized letters. Simple. Adjustable-fitted. Perfect. It might be my all-time favorite hat.

Moments & Memories is filled with all sorts of SEC and ACC tchotchkes, but not a lot of BC stuff yet. That is probably best since I don’t have to fight the temptation to buy a BC chips and salsa tray or a BC style miniature stock car. Much to my surprise they did have a foam mascot hat like these (sorry, couldn’t find a pic of the BC one). So if anyone is interested in the foam hat or the perfect hat, let me know. I might be willing to ship. Or you could just call the store yourself.

Good pub, bad research

My former colleague Stewart Mandel thinks BC will adjust well to the ACC. Nice pub, but there was one glaring error (which may get corrected by the time you click the link) -- he lists Blackmon as coming back as a CB. I am sure other fans will let him know.

The week that was

With exams and a new job at work, I’ve been busy and haven't had time to post, so here are the BC sports tidbits from the past week.

First, earlier in the week, the BCS made some adjustments for Notre Dame and the Big East. The Big East will remain in the BCS for now. Notre Dame fans were upset over the reduction of Notre Dame’s upside in the BCS. I agree with the Irish fans. Why take the $1 million guarantee when the real money is in the $14+ million payout. Who knows how this BCS stuff is going to end?

While the Big East is still in the BCS, BC is free to leave its old conference. Final settlement was not disclosed.

Gene D. and TOB do not like the 12-game schedule. Expect home games with local DIAAs like Northeastern, UMass, Maine, URI, etc.

The Alchemist and many other fans were lived with the announcement that Quinton Porter won the starting job based on spring drills. This article was BC approved, so it didn’t say anything enlightening. However, this one ends with this telling quote “Quinton understands now that there's a performance clause in all of this. You still have to perform to keep your job. It's the same for everyone looking to win a starting job on this team." Like I’ve said earlier, TOB is big on seniority and loyalty. There was no way that Porter was not going to be named starter. But TOB also knows that the bar has been raised -- by the ACC move and by Peterson’s play. If Porter struggles I expect a quick hook.

Doug Flutie is back in New England. Paul Peterson is adjusting to Flutie’s old stomping grounds.

In hoops news, SI’s Seth Davis talks about the college 3-point line debate. Moving it back has to help a team like BC, which has trouble defending the 3 and doesn’t depend on it offensively.

Exams are over Wednesday, so look for my Spring recap later this week.

Atlantic outlook; Parsing Porter

I came across two good links. First, the straight forward -- the Florida Times-Union preview of the Atlantic division. Surprisingly BC is predicted to finish second to FSU.

Then I came across this interview with Quinton Porter. Most of it is bland, but he did say this when talking about Peterson running Bible’s offense:

“…I was here with [Brian] St. Pierre who really ran things by the book. But, Paul comes in and all of a sudden he's just doing things and throwing routes that you would never dream of throwing in a certain play because Coach [Dana] Bible would not be happy. But, he made it work. So after watching him, I've learned how to just go out there and cut it loose and forget about the strict rigidity of an offense.”

Quotes like that will add fuel to the Bible-haters fire. I fear that the offense will be less dynamic next season. But as I wrote previously, the offense has been pretty stable (and frustrating) under Bible.

Comings and goings

Long weekend for Dave Kashetta and Tim Bulman. Neither were drafted. Fortunately they were both signed to free agent deals Sunday night. Tim with the Cardinals and Dave with the Redskins. Best of luck to both.

BC held its annual Spring Game over the weekend. Parsing through the reports, I am concerned about Quinton Porter. Rust is natural, but the picks worry me. Even though it was BC vs. BC, he should tear up these scrimmages. Matt Ryan was a little more accurate with fewer attempts. Knowing this staff I guarantee Porter will start this fall even if outplayed this summer. I also predict a return of the “first series of the second quarter” substitution pattern for Ryan. Mediocre play will not cost Porter his job. He’ll have to bomb to get the hook.

In hoops news, Steve Hailey and Gordon Watt announced their intentions to transfer. Both sited lack of playing time. Hailey had his moments, but I don’t think he’ll leave much of a void. Their departures are softened by the announcement that Tyrese Rice signed with BC. Welcome to the Heights, Tyrese.

Bad news for ACC, good news for BC

In less than surprising news, the core of North Carolina’s championship team is departing. Add the other teams’ departures and it looks like it will be a wide open year in the ACC. Earlier this week, ESPN.com Eagle supporters Andy Katz and Pat Forde both wrote articles touting our chances next season.

Getting a better understanding of BC hoops

I've been focusing on football, so the great Kenpom beat me to some analysis of BC's stats. However -- inspired by his earlier work on blocks -- I wrote about Sean Williams' potential for a big soph year right after our season ended.

Kenpom offered good feedback on some of my earlier stuff. Hopefully he'll be able to offer some insight on BC as I dig deeper using some of his stuff and some of Dean Oliver's formulas.

ATL_eagle Scouting Service (look out Mel Kiper)

With the NFL Draft coming up, I thought I would give my own amateur and biased scouting report on the two Boston College players most likely to get drafted. (The fact that we are only discussing two draftees, shows the imperfection of recruiting. BC’s 2000 and 2001 classes were much lauded, yet produced fewer NFL prospects and about the same number of wins and losses as many of TOB’s earlier teams.)

Tim Bulman, DT, 6-3, 294. Tim had a good combine and a solid NFL workout. He is a little undersized to play the interior, but not fast enough to play the ends. Playing next to Kiwi the past few seasons helped free him up and he took advantage. His motor and drive should overcome any size issues. He needs to play a little more under control. Stupid penalties are not tolerated from second day of the draft guys. I could see him going fourth or fifth round. I think he’ll be a solid NFL contributor for a few seasons. Good luck Tim.

Dave Kashetta, TE, 6-3, 247. Kashetta’s career at BC was a letdown. He was highly-touted coming in and never lived up to the hype and in my opinion his potential. He has good size and athleticism and pretty good hands, but never became a difference maker. He would get lost -- and we run an offense that incorporates Tight Ends! Even now -- when you would expect hype -- the coaches still seem lukewarm on him. Although you would expect a BC TE to be a good blocker, Dave was mediocre and a drop off from our recent TEs. I don’t know Dave. He may be a nice kid, but he never showed much heart or desire out there. It never all came together in one game. I think it just might be a case of a big athletic kid who played because he was good at football, not because he had the desire to be the best. I wish him luck. Maybe it will all come together in the NFL. Right now he is a second day pick and a backup Tight End.

A guy who didn’t have Kashetta’s size, but twice as much heart just signed on with the Ottawa Renegades. Good luck Paul. If given the chance, I think he can make it happen in Canada.

ACC news and notes

The ACC confirmed that they will use replay next season. The Big Ten used it successfully this season, so I see no reason why it shouldn’t work this year. I am all for it as long as the right calls are made.

In other news, the ACC initially opposed the expansion of the regular season to 12 games, sighting concerns for the students. I won’t get into numerous hypocritical aspects of that silly stance. Later in the week the conference softened its position. I imagine this will go forward soon. What does it mean? Will the conferences expand their schedules by one game? That would make most sense as it would keep the money in the family. But as mentioned in the linked article, it wouldn’t surprise me if the teams feast on Division I-AA schools.

I am surprised the ACC was the only conference to object to expansion. I would have thought the eight-team conferences would have realized a longer season benefits the big guys more. Larger conferences can easily fill the game and get more TV money. With only seven conference games, the eight-team conferences could potentially have a harder time scheduling. We’ll see how the agendas, egos, timeslots and schedules play out, but I am sure it will get approval, which means more football for me.

Moving...ups and downs

My musings on BC-ND generated a few emails saying that BC will be a permanent cellar dweller in the ACC. I think BC will be a middle of the pack team in the ACC, winning 6 to 8 games every season. My gut told me that good teams remained good, mediocre remained mediocre and bad, bad after conference switches. Looking to support my hypothesis, I went back to examine the records of teams joining major conferences since the Pac 10 expanded in the late ‘70s. I looked at the teams’ five years prior to joining the conference and their first five years in their new conference. I excluded teams joining the Big East since it was a completely new conference and did not include Miami and Va. Tech’s recent moves since we only have one ACC season to measure (although it should be noted that Va. Tech won the conference). The numbers sort of burst my bubble. Take a look. (The winning percentage is in parentheses.)[SCROLL TO SEE TABLES]

Pac 8 expansion

	'73-'77	'78-'82
Arizona State	43-16 (.729)	41-17 (.707)
Arizona	36-20 (.643)	28-26-2 (.519)

Georgia Tech joining the ACC.

	'74-'78	'79-'83
Georgia Tech	30-25-1 (.536)	15-38-2 (.283)

Penn State becoming the 11th team in the Big 10.

	'85-'90	'91-'95
Penn State	42-16 (.724)	49-12 (.803)

Florida State joining the ACC.

	'87-'91	'92-'96
Florida State	53-8 (.869)	54-6-1 (.900)

SEC expansion.

	'87-'91	'92-'96
Arkansas	38-22(.633)	25-29-2 (.463)
South Carolina	31-23-2 (.574)	26-28-1 (.481)

Remnants of the SWC getting swallowed by the Big 8.

	'91-'95	'96-'00
Texas	34-22-2 (.607)	39-20 (.661)
Texas A&M	51-8-1 (.864)	37-23 (.617)
Baylor	34-24 (.586)	11-44 (.200)
Texas Tech	34-24 (.571)	33-25 (.569)

Of these examples, only three teams (Texas, Penn State, Florida State) improved their winning percentages in the first few seasons in the new conference. The average winning percentage declined by 10%. And most fans would point out that the three schools that improved were already established, traditional powers.

Most disconcerting was Baylor’s decline. Many opponents and columnists have mocked BC saying that we’ll be “the Baylor of the ACC.” And while there are similarities between the schools, I think the situations are different enough that our fate will be different. Baylor is a private school in a mega-conference filled with state schools. Also, Baylor is in a football hotbed where high school athletes have numerous choices. BC will be in a conference with a mix of public and private schools, with many of the public schools being like-minded academically. Although the Northeast does not generate as many football players as Texas, BC will remain a unique and appealing option in an underrated recruiting area.

So what does it all mean? The numbers say BC will experience a slight decline. I’ll hold out hope.

BC-ND: past, present and future

There is little news coming out of Spring practice, so Barry Gallup Jr. signing with Notre Dame fired up a lot of Eagle fans. Why the fuss over an undersized Massachusetts wideout? Part of the furor is because Barry Sr. is a former Eagle standout and current BC assistant AD. But if Barry Jr. had signed anywhere else no one would have batted an eye. It was the Irish aspect that sparked calls for Barry Sr.’s head and questioned our ability to recruit vs. the new Irish regime. However, I see nothing wrong with kids going to schools other than the ones that employ their parents. Gene D. and Jerry York both sent children to Notre Dame. BC benefits from this open-minded philosophy too, as the Eaves brother served as the recent core of our Hockey team. If they followed the no place but where dad works mantra they would have been scoring goals at Wisconsin instead of the Heights.

So clearly the fire was all about the Irish. For those uninitiated, here is my somewhat long but hopefully thorough take on BC-Notre Dame.

Past
The Eagles and the Irish had separate identities for most of their existences. BC was the Jesuit school in Boston providing an education to the middle class Catholics of the Northeast. Notre Dame was a small school in Indiana that rose to national prominence on the shoulders of its football program. BC changed with Father Monan’s term as BC Pres and Doug Flutie’s attention grabbing play. The regional Catholic school transformed into a national university competing for the same student who applied to Notre Dame and Georgetown.

Athletically the schools’ paths rarely crossed. The Irish remained independent and developed rivalries with Michigan and USC. BC played mostly Eastern Independents and eventually helped found the Big East. As BC athletics thrived, our original rival Holy Cross deemphasized sports and left BC without a traditional gridiron rival.

As an independent, Notre Dame prided itself on its “national schedule” and in the late ‘80s agreed to a series with the only other Catholic school playing Division IA football -- BC. The series seemed perfect to both sides. The Irish got a series where they received more home games, played in a major East Coast market and got to play a school that shared their perspective on the student athlete. (The contracts were signed when the “Catholics vs. Convicts” were getting national headlines, fights were breaking out in the tunnels and Irish fans were getting pelted with garbage at the Orange Bowl.)

BC got to rub elbows with the Irish and use the national platform as a recruiting tool. Then a few things happened. First Irish fans were dismissive of BC, pissing off Eagle fans everywhere. Then Holtz ran up the score in the first meeting. Then BC coach Tom Coughlin used that slight to motivate his team for the next year, which culminated in BC upsetting No. 1 Notre Dame in South Bend. The loss ruined ND’s 1993 title run and many fans point to Gordon’s kick as the demarcation point in the current decline in Irish football.

Those two games changed BC fans forever. Notre Dame was now THE biggest game of the year. And Notre Dame’s continued arrogance and flippant response to any rival talk fueled the fire. BC followed the 1993 win with another upset this time in Chestnut Hill. Although the Irish dominated the next few seasons, the game still meant something to BC. (BTW, my roommate T-Ray was the first to disrupt an Irish pep rally.)

1997 brought new coaches to both schools. And while Bob Davie was unable to bring consistent performance to South Bend, Tom O’Brien was able to turn BC into a consistent winner. O’Brien’s stubbornness and charisma void was overlooked by BC fans as he started beating the Irish on an annual basis. Frustrated by mediocrity, Notre Dame booted Davie, mishandled a coaching search (George O’Leary) and ended up with Ty Willingham. Willingham got off to a bang. The Irish were undefeated and thinking National Title when BC returned to South Bend. Despite his shortcomings, Willingham knew his history and warned his team not to overlook BC. Then he did the unthinkable -- he broke out the green jerseys. The green jerseys are part of Notre Dame lore and by donning them against BC, he nonverbally acknowledged the importance of the game. BC upset the Irish again and Ty’s time at the Golden Dome was never the same.

With every win, BC fans gloated and taunted ND fans (mostly via message boards), savoring the victories and Notre Dame denials. Irish fans responded with the type of bile they normally reserved for Bo Schembechler, Jimmy Johnson and O. J. Simpson, referring to BC as Backup College and Fredo. (Irish fans were also furious over BC players pulling turf off the field in 2002.) This became the most heated “non rivalry” the Irish had. Add the Irish meddling in BC’s move to the ACC and recent upset of the undefeated hoops squad and there is plenty of bad blood.

Present
Notre Dame has a new coach and a new president. Irish fans have got their admins thinking more about their BCS rankings rather than the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings.

BC is off to a new conference, the ACC. Fans are thrilled about the new opponents. The administration is thrilled with being grouped with like-minded schools like Duke, Virginia and Wake Forest.

With a two-year respite in the football series and the schools in other conferences, BC and ND will have fewer opportunities to take the rivalry to the field. Both fans are saying “good riddance” and “we don’t need them.” But the Gallup episode shows, both sides still care.

Future
BC’s future is certain. We are in the ACC and will have an opportunity to compete for quality bowl games and be seen on national TV in all sports. BC no longer needs Notre Dame for cash and recruiting platforms.

The Irish’s future is more uncertain. Regardless if Charlie Weis succeeds of fails, Notre Dame will always draw attention and be a desirable opponent. But much of their athletic schedule is tied to the fledgling “New Big East.” If the conference falls apart, will the Irish save it? Join the despised Big Ten? Or look to recreate their Big East deal with another, more viable conference. Independence is primary to most Irish fans, so I imagine a partial membership or alliance with the ACC is more appealing then any other scenarios. But what would be in it for the ACC and who would bring the Irish to the negotiating table? It seems like BC would be the logical candidate.

We’ll see what happens. In the meantime this BC fan will miss the Irish over the next two seasons. It is one less win we can count on!

Early preseaon predictions

I am really optimistic about next year’s basketball team. If Craig Smith returns and many of the marquee players in the ACC leave, there is no reason we can’t compete for a top spot in conference. After getting overlooked last year, the national columnists also like our chances. Here is a collection of their thoughts.

ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi thinks we are a 3 seed. His colleague Andy Katz has us in the top 10.

While not in his top 10, SI.com’s Luke Winn groups BC in his others to watch category.

Sportsline’s Gregg Doyel ranks us at No. 12.

Trying to make sense of BC’s offense

I loved watching Paul Peterson play. His ability to keep plays alive with his feet and willingness to throw balls downfield gave me a feeling that we were in every game. And his 11-2 record as a starter, proved that when he was around, we were. Yet, our raw offensive numbers were not dramatically better this season. In fact, even with the shorter season, there was a decline in Total Offense. Was it due to the drop off in talent at Running Back? A lift from the good special teams play? The poor output against Syracuse? The inability to finish off a few key drives? I am not sure, but plan on using the offseason to figure out. In the meantime look at the key numbers of the last five seasons for Boston College’s offense under the much maligned Dana Bible. [SCROLL. TABLES ARE FUNKY IN BLOGGER.]

Year	Total Points	Total Offense	Total Passing	Total Rushing
2004	347	4625	2944	1681
2003 (13 game season)	370	5255	2888	2367
2002 (13 game season)	392	5074	3010	2064
2001	317	4361	2071	2290
2000	347	4564	2353	2211

Unexpectedly our best offenses don’t correlate to our best records. In fact you would say the most accomplished and talented squads were the 2001 and 2004 teams. So were do I go from here? I am going to do my best to figure out what makes a difference in record, in play and in talent. Because on the surface it would appear that the players are interchangeable and Dana Bible’s teams are good for 340 points and seven wins every year. (I’ll also try to factor in defense, special teams and strength of schedule.)

I just think there has got to be a reason Peterson won and our other QBs have been slightly above average. I'll post any progress as I dig deeper.

And if anyone has access to drive BC drive charts or play-by-play logs, send me an email.

A little of this and a little of that

Slow times for BC sports. Later this week, I’ll post a stat piece on BC’s offense under Dana Bible. In the meantime, here are some links to tide readers over.

Gene D. was added to the Massachusetts Sports and Entertainment Commission (second item on the link). This is another sign of his growing influence in the area. Perhaps he’ll be able to bring some additional college events to Boston and Foxboro.

The AJC reports that the Atlanta Sports Council is delaying its pitch for a second Atlanta bowl until next year. I hope this goes through because a game including the 6th or 7th place ACC team has BC written all over it. After following the team across the country, I am all for easy drives and hosting out-of-town friends for bowl games.

A writer in North Carolina captures what many BC fans have been thinking with this succinct headline.

I have a hetero, man-crush on Paul Peterson. But it looks like Meghan still has his heart. Hopefully he can catch on in Canada. I’ll post my farewell to Paul and explain why he is my second favorite athlete when he graduates. (Good work by the writer, Kevin Armstrong.)

Here is a fluff Q&A with O’Brien on Spring Practice. He confirmed that Will Blackmon is moving to offense. Not much else there, but when you are starving, you savor any morsel you get.

Signs of Spring

Spring practice began March 29 so there is a spike in football talk (but not coverage in the Boston media). Tom O’Brien is the lead of the ACC Insider on ESPN.com. There was nothing new, but it is nice to see BC get the publicity. Of course TOB and BC Sports Information worked in the talking points. For new readers, the talking points are “TOB’s amazing rebuilding effort,” “the bowl streak,” and “discipline/graduation.”

Let the Duke hating begin

Living in Atlanta, I am surrounded by a bunch of Dukehaters. I never felt strongly about the Blue Devils (however Jason Williams taunting Walls in 2001 showed they are not all Angels). And while the Packer/Vitale/media love affair with Duke turns my stomach, I give Coach K credit for 1) winning 2) using the media. Both are tough and he does it well.

All that said, the Coach K Amex commercials are getting noticed. The AJC ran a story on the ad Tuesday. In the article they get quote from UGA’s Dennis Felton (which you would expect in an Atlanta paper), Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt (who often whines about Duke) and finally a quote from Al Skinner(?!?). The Skinner quote was innocuous but I was just surprised that the writer sought him out and that he agreed to give a quote. Who knows, maybe Al will be more vocal in the ACC. Or he is just joining the majority of the conference in whining about the Blue Devils.

Blocks, blocks, and more on blocks

Although he is already a fan favorite, some BC fans are worried that with Nate gone, Sean Williams increased minutes will stunt the scoring. I disagree and will dig deeper into the offensive issues later in the offseason. But even if our offensive numbers suffer, the defensive numbers should improve dramatically with Williams increased minutes.

First, for some background, let me relink blogger Kenpom’s post on blocks from earlier this season.

Now look at the top ten college defenses at the end of the regular season and you’ll see that the average blocks per game was 4.58 with UConn (the nations’ top D) averaging a whopping 9.1 per game. (By Sportsline’s rankings BC was 47th in D.) BC averaged 4.1 blocks per game. Williams alone accounted for 2.3 of that 4.1. And a block itself is not the only impact of a shotblocker. An inside force can alter shots, keep people from driving, enable double teams and force your opponent into lower-percentage, outside shots.

Now here are some conservative assumptions to project next year’s output. Sean made a big impact with limited playing time averaging .1375 blocks per minute. Next year, given Al’s short bench I project him to play 30 minutes per game. I’ll assume that with the increased minutes Sean won’t keep up his torrid pace (or else he’ll foul out of every game). So let’s say that his block production per minute declines by 25%. And I’ll forecast a 30 game season (assuming some success in preseason and ACC tournaments).

Williams' projection: Williams’ 2005-2006 projection would be (.135776[avg per minute]*.75[Decline with increased minutes]*30[minutes per game]*30[games per year]) = 92 blocks. That would shatter the school record that he just set and probably make him one of the top 10 individual blockers in college basketball. That increase would also cover any potential shortfall from Nate Doorenkamp’s defensive absence.

Team projection:Without Nate and Sean the team averaged .8 blocks per game. I’ll assume that that the rest of the team will fill at least a portion of Nate’s 28 blocks (say 50%) and maintain their 2004-2005 contribution.

So the team’s season projection would be: 92 [Williams’ expected total] +(28*.5)[50% of Nate’s production] + 24 [.8*30] = 130.

Even going conservative the increase is 5% over last season’s total. So even if Williams does not progress offensively his increased minutes should help BC in many other ways.

Season ends in second round

Saturday was pretty painful. Like last year, I thought that if we just pulled through in the second round we would have gone far. Yet in both cases we lost close games in the final minutes. Fans are gripping about the chokes and sloppy basketball, but ultimately I really think it was both teams playing to their strengths and UWM avoided mistakes with the game on the line.

I look at college sports through maroon and gold colored glasses, but really this team should be disappointed in the way it closed the season. They accomplished quite a bit -- best start in league history and co-regular season champs. Ultimately it was a team with one well-rounded player -- Dudley; one player who brings a lot of upside but has some limitations -- Smith; and then a series of role players who are very limited in certain aspects. We needed better ball handlers Saturday and we don’t have them. The most disappointing aspect of the game was the play of the two seniors Watson and Nate. But neither has played well for weeks.

Next year should be solid. We return most of our production and I expect Williams to mature offensively.

Now that the season is over this blog will change. I’ll add my two cents about Women’s hoops and the Men’s Hockey, but I expect to fill the space with background and stats pieces.

I’ll conclude the 2004-2005 basketball season with this quote from Al in Sunday's Herald "Eventually, we keep knocking on the door (and) it's going to happen for us."

UW Milwaukee preview

In my last scouting report I said BC should go inside. Instead the team shot the lights out from outside. So what do I know? I am glad we won and sometimes you have to take what the other team gives you, but hopefully this team won’t have to rely on Marshall and Watson to go far. Here is my take on the UW-Milwaukee game:

BC on offense: I expect UW-Milwaukee to do what Penn did -- double Smith and Dudley inside. But I don’t see Marshall being as big a factor in this game. UWM will press and that usually means Sean sits. So if the Panthers double and press, look for Craig to force a few more shots and for BC to work the clock and try to get some midrange looks for Dudley off of screens and movement. Watson should get a lot of minutes, so I expect him to score off of some open looks. Nate will have his chances too, but he has played so poorly lately that I would not count on him. I think scoring will be much tougher this time around and we will need strong rebounding from Smith. We didn’t need many second chances against Penn. We will need them Saturday. BC was sloppy with the ball in the first round. Fortunately the Quakers were as bad. BC will need to make better passes and decisions on Saturday.

BC on defense: We haven’t faced many teams that will push the tempo like UWM. We have faced plenty that will try to light us up from outside. After making 10 3-pointers in the first half of their win, there is no reason to think that the Panthers won’t try it again. We need to play tight on the perimeter, disrupt their pace periodically and rebound. When inspired -- like Syracuse and Penn -- Craig can be a great defensive rebounder. So hopefully he can do it again.

Prediction: BC wins 75-70. The pace should be fast, especially if we allow them to control early. I feel good about the way the team is playing and our talent level. If BC can slow it down and exploit their physical advantage I think they will win.

Post game thoughts

BC came out better than I expected and won 85-65. So much for my suggestion of going inside. The team was aggresive from outside right from the start and played their best 20 minutes of the season in the first half. They didn't sustain the momentum in the second and let Penn chip away. Sloppy ball handling and some foul trouble made it interesting before they regained control late in the game. Sean Williams had his best game of the season so I am feeling good about Saturday's matchup against Milwaukee-Wisconsin. I'll post a preview Friday.

Other Eagles in Cleveland

There’s a nice feature on Boston College grad and UW-Milwaukee coach Bruce Pearl in the AP’s coverage of the Cleveland site. Hopefully he’ll land a high-profile job this offseason.

Penn preview

My sister graduated from Penn, so under any other circumstance I would be rooting for them to be this year’s Cinderella. While the Ivy rep has not won a first round game in nearly a decade, I don’t think BC should take the Quakers lightly. Onto the preview and what BC has to do:

BC on offense: Once again, the team needs to go inside, inside and inside some more. Although Penn can probably handle the physical style better than most, I am really most concerned about high-percentage shots and coming out flat. Instead of Nate setting the early tempo it should be Dudley and Smith -- our best players and the most difficult matchups. Also, I expect Penn to follow West Virginia’s model and try to kill us from outside. If they do, we can’t try to match them. I think that was our mistake in a few games this year. Get Dudley inside and get him to the line. Forget about the three until you really need it (like WVU).

BC on defense: Penn will try to come out and take advantage of our porous perimeter. As many have said the majority of perimeter defense is effort. We need to stay tight on the passers and cannot leave people open. And we must do a better job on defensive rebounding. Penn rebounds well, so even if Craig struggles scoring, he can make the difference on the boards (which he hasn’t done since Syracuse). With Watson being a question mark I don’t know if we will be able to use the 1-2-2 like we did in the second half of the schedule.

Prediction: 64-50. Neither team will have much of a crowd there, but if Penn gets going early, the neutral fans will quickly jump on the underdog’s bandwagon. BC needs to come out strong and not try to match their strategy. There is no reason this team cannot go far, but they cannot look ahead.

Blogger bracket

Here is my bracket from Yoco’s blogger challenge. No surprise I picked BC to win it all. While in my heart I want BC to win, deep down I don’t think they will. But this, and most pools, will be filled with UNC and Illinois so I’ll be the contrarian. I used to spend hours analyzing each matchup only to watch someone with no basketball knowledge win every year. So the past few years I’ve gone with my heart.

Also, found this nugget this weekend. Arizona’s 97 team is the last title winner to close their season with more than three losses in their final 10 games. BC’s record in its last 10: 6-4. While these are independent events, the close of the season has been a strong indicator off championship success. Pray that BC is another outlier.

Hot topics

I haven’t posted much the past few days because Mrs. ATL_eagle and I were in Florida for a short getaway. Seems I missed a lot of hurts feelings about our 4 seed and tons of speculation about the Jermaine Watson story.

To reiterate, we faded down the stretch and deserve a 4.

As for Watson, the whole thing sounds funny. And Tuesday, the landlord came out to dispute Jermaine’s version of what happened. Some of Al’s players have had offcourt problems in the past so this might be more of the same. However, I give very little weight to what the landlord says. The typical landlord for student housing around BC cannot be trusted and will do or say anything to make a student look bad. Hopefully this is not a larger issue that will blow up in the coming weeks. I expect things to be swept under the rug and for Jermaine to play as if nothing happened. The team can win with or without him. I am just hoping for a happy conclusion.

Look for my Penn preview and full bracket Wednesday. While in Florida, I read Dean Oliver’s Basketball on Paper, an awesome Bill James-like book. I’ll crunch BC’s numbers after the season.

Gut reaction to seed

BC was given a 4 seed in the Chicago bracket. If they advance to the Sweet 16 they'll face No. 1 Illinois. I am not happy with the 4, but the team played (or stumbled) its way into the spot. I'll put up more detailed previews once I have a chance to read more about the teams. My gut reaction is that we have the toughest time against guard lead teams that shot well from outside...and our Bracket is full of them. But I think we can beat Illinois and do well. It depends all on which team shows up. The first step is beating Penn.

Post loss tidbits

Great article from Adrian Wojnarowski on the Big East’s unfair treatment of BC.

Also, it looks like Gene D. and Mike Tranghese put on a good face after their spat. Regardless of what they say, I think there will always be bad blood.

From the post game articles it looked like Al got upset (as upset as he gets) at halftime and appealed to the team’s pride. Fortunately they showed it. Who knows what will happen next week?

Door hits BC on way out

While the minor sports will play a few more games and tournaments in the Big East, for all intents and purposes, Thursday’s loss to West Virginia marked the end of BC’s affiliation with the Big East. And what a way to go…

In the subhead of this blog, I say that I am capturing the highs and lows of being a BC fan. This game was a microcosm of that experience. I was very low as WVU made 3 after 3 and left us for dead at the half. My heart raced as we crawled back in the second half (at 64-58 I really believed we were going to steal it). And at the end I was left disappointed but optimistic.

I never thought we would win the Big East Tournament for a litany of reasons. Like Syracuse fans, I share the “Big East Tourney is nice, but we really only care about the NCAAs” attitude. Down 22 at the half, I thought this team had peaked in January and was mailing it in. Yet the spark and guts they showed climbing back in the second half has me believing again. Success in the Big Dance will clearly depend on our draw. If we play a team that can shoot from outside, we could go home early. I think we are a 3 or 4 seed now which means will probably play a plucky team looking to be this year’s Cinderella. After this loss, I want them to lick their wounds and get ready to play the whole 40 minutes.

Congrats to West Virginia. They came ready to play and didn't fold as the pressure mounted. Hopefully they can knock of the winner of Pitt-Villanova.

Offseason football coverage

Short story in the The Roanoke Times. Nothing new, but glad someone is covering BC Football this time of year. One tidbit of note: O'Brien credits some of the recent success to down times at Syracuse. Now that we are in different conferences and the Orange have a new coach will that advantage grow or become meaningless?

West Virginia preview

BC takes on West Virginia on Thursday. WVU destroyed Providence in the first round of the Big East Tournament. Everyone is still calling them a bubble team but against Providence the team seemed highly motivated and ready to take on anyone. Here is my take:

BC on offense: Against Rutgers last weekend, BC went back inside and made an effort to get the ball to Dudley. I think they should do more of the same against the Mountaineers. While the team controlled the second half against WVU in the previous two games, WVU comes into this game hot from the outside making 12 3s against Providence. BC cannot fall into the trap of trying to match them from outside. Control the tempo, work the ball for good shots and go to Dudley and Smith all day.

BC on defense: Our perimeter defense has been a weakness. Hopefully Al will throw out the occasional 1-2-2 and try to disrupt their flow. If WVU keeps trying to bomb away we just need to make sure we rebound well (while making 12 they missed 19). Our interior D is stronger than Providence’s so I don’t see the WVU shooting .460 from the floor again.

Prediction: BC wins 66-57. And I think a BC win locks up a 2 seed. West Virginia is a good team and deserves to be in the NCAAs regardless of the outcome of our game (how did they lose to Seton Hall?).

More hardware for Skinner

Al was named Big East Coach of the Year for the second time Tuesday. Hopefully he’ll pick up a few national awards too. Jared Dudley was named Most Improved.

As I've mentioned, Mike Shalin of the Boston Herald has been picking up steam lately. There were an unprecedented four BC articles in Wednesday’s addition of the Herald! One on Skinner and Dudley’s awards, two features on Skinner, including his future (everyone thinks he’s staying at BC), and a BC angle on the WVU-Providence game.

The Globe only had two articles on BC. And Blaudschun had a general Big East piece.

Explaining what goes on behind closed doors

Great article from SI.com’s Seth Davis on the selection process. He explains 10 things he learned after hearing a presentation from the NCAA’s Greg Shaheen. I’ll address the points that impact BC’s selection this year:

1. The RPI matters a lot. Just not in the way you think it does. Basically your RPI doesn’t matter, but your opponents’ RPI does. BC should fare pretty well in this regard due to the relatively strong schedule and some good out of conference wins against UCLA and Holy Cross.

2. Margin of victory does count. Sort of. This has more to do with losses than wins. Which helps BC. We didn’t blow people out and were only blown out once.

5. Head-to-head matchups mean something. Here is where Seth loses me a little. He says that when things are equal a head-to-head matchup becomes important. If this is true how can anyone explain the 2003 snub when BC was left home but an NC State team we beat in Raliegh got off the bubble.

6. The committee members and NCAA staff are free to do their own investigating. This has to do with the whining and/or selling of the program. BC has not be one of those schools that campaigns for a bid and therefore I think we’ve suffered (3 seed in 2001, playing Texas in Dallas in 2002, 2003 snub, etc.). Maybe the move to the ACC will help our future pitches.

9. Technically speaking, the number of teams per conference means nothing. But then Davis goes on to quote an unnamed source about how it does matter. Really this should only impact bubble teams. Not important to BC this year, but critical in after the ACC move.

With all that said, this is my prediction on BC's seeding. Win the Big East Tournament and we are a No. 1. Advance to the Semis and we are a 2. Lose on Thursday and we are a 3.

All Big East

Congratulations to Jared Dudley and Craig Smith for being named First Team All-Big East. Sean Williams made the All-Rookie Team.

Snubs and success indicators

Mike Tranghese’s snub of the men’s basketball team got BC AD Gene DeFilippo fired up. You can argue the merits of rewarding the trophy on the road, but I really attribute Gene’s outburst to the build up of the last two years. Since the ACC talks began, Trangeshe has taken many jabs at BC and Gene -- while being less critical of Miami, Va. Tech and Syracuse. Gene remained silent until now. Who knows why the remaining Big East teams sit on the sidelines as Tranghese continues to plays petty games with ABC/ESPN, BC and other conferences? The inevitable split of the Football and Basketball schools will be messy under his management.

All the talk over regular season titles and trophies got me thinking: what is a better indicator of NCAA success –- Big East regular season titles or Big East tournament titles? Turns out there is not a strong correlation with either. BE Tourney winners advance further (on average), but the mean for both is the Sweet 16. And the correlation between winning the Big East Regular Season title, Big East Tournement Title and the National Championship is very small (.17).

Big East Co-Champs

Congrats to the Men’s team for winning a share of the Big East Regular season title. By virtue of our defeat of the Huskies we also earned the No. 1 seed in the Big East Tournament. We’ll play the winner of the Providence-WVU game on Thursday. My preference would be Providence since WVU will be highly motivated and fighting to get off the bubble. The upside is that we played well against both this season. If we move on, we’ll face the winner of Villanova-Pitt, so I remain pessimistic about our chances to win the Big East Tournament. I’ll post previews later in the week.

On this blog, I’ve focused mainly on Men’s football and basketball and have ignored our other sports. But let me congratulate the Men’s Hockey team for capturing the Regular Season Hockey East title. Also, the women were upset by Villanova in the Big East tournament, but have been ranked most of the season and will hopefully have a strong showing in the NCAAs.

More early football press

It looks like the national media is more optimistic about BC’s 2005 football season than I am. Sportsline ranks us at No. 19. I’ll stick with my early judgment The big questions will be Quinton Porter.

After basketball season ends, I’ll dig a little deeper into our pluses and minuses heading into the new season and new conference.

Rutgers preview

Rutgers' season has been over for weeks. Yet watching their game against Notre Dame, I saw a team trying to win. Instead of rolling over, they were still in it late in the second half. That resolve scares me a little heading into this weekend’s game at the RAC. Here is my short preview:

BC on offense: Get Dudley the ball. When Smith struggled, the team kept coming back to him in the following games. This time Dudley is coming off his worst game of the season and the team as a whole has been flat since Syracuse. Last time out, Rutgers played a fair amount of zone. By getting the ball to Jared in the gaps, he can get some easy baskets, energize the team and take pressure off of our guards.

BC on defense: BC should be well rested after having the whole week off. Rutgers will continue to bomb away from outside. In their last five games, the Knights have hoisted 98 3-point attempts. Look for more of the same this weekend. BC will probably counter by putting Hailey and Hinnant on the court at the same time. Tight perimeter defense and rebounding off the misses will be the key.

BC needs this game. To assure the regular season title. To break out of their recent malaise. To get the swagger back. Rutgers can make their season and everyone else in the Big East smile with a win. I expect a hard fought game. And the RAC is a tough place to play.

Prediction: BC wins 71-62.

The game is not on TV and I won't be following online. Mrs. ATL_eagle and I are headed to the BC club of Atlanta's wine tasting. Very collar up.

More mail

A few Pitt fans sent me email after the drubbing. Most of it was the usual trash talking. One reader did stumble over a fair point, which I will address.

“You BC guys whine about the referees but don’t even realize that some of them do ACC games. What do you think is going to happen when you play Duke and North Carolina. BC will never get the calls…”

He rambled about a few other things, but I wanted to address the ref complaint. Big East basketball is physical and always has been. Yet Al Skinner has never used that style and is stoic on the sidelines. That combo leads to us getting roughed up and our fans complaining about non-calls. But complaining about calls is not unique to BC fans. Everyone does it, especially when the number of calls are lopsided. In our losses to ND and 'Nova, impartial commentators even questioned the calls. I've already admitted that Pitt beat us fair and square.

Next year, you’ll hear BC fans complain about calls in the ACC. Duke and UNC get the calls because they are Duke and UNC. It is just par for the course.

College sports in Boston

It is often said that Boston is not a college sports town. Some challenge the theory and excuse it with various contributing factors. I agree with the critics. BC has a strong core audience and when the team plays well the locals take note, but day-to-day there is not much interest from the casual fan.

The latest example of lack of interest is media coverage. Exhibit A: articles on BC sports in the Boston Globe and Boston Herald on Thursday, March 3, 2004 (not exactly the offseason) = 0.

Articles in my local paper the Atlanta Journal-Constitution = 1.

Articles on Sportsillustrated.com = 1.

Neither article is earth shattering, but it is positive coverage. In the AJC article Tony Barnhart, one of the premiere college writers, gives capsules on all the ACC football teams.

The SI.com article is from their on campus series and was written by a Heights writer, Kevin Armstrong. Good for him.

News and notes

BC scored well in the NCAA graduation rankings. Shalin took it as an opportunity to laud BC’s athletic department.

Also, BC got a small mention in a Sportsline blurb (scroll to No. 6). Doyel wants to see us play Minnesota in the tournament for the Dudley-Coleman storyline.

Picking up the pieces after Pitt

I was in class and followed the game online and assumed by the nature of the gameflow and our past history with Pitt, that we just got beat up. But after watching it on TIVO last night, I realized we got beat and Pitt exposed major flaws on both ends of the court.

Our defense has been strong this season. We play an ameba-like matchup-zone, with lots of switching. That style has created a lot of turnovers and a good rebounding margin. Yet we don’t have a one-on-one defensive stopper, especially on the front line. Last night Pitt cleared space and allowed their big men to kill Nate, Smith and Williams in one-on-one situations. This created momentum and they made some outside shots too. We needed to stop them and couldn’t. After narrowing the score to 34-32, Pitt scored on eight-straight possessions. Forget about the "physical play," "a must win for Pitt," or any other explanation/excuse –- you have to make defensive stops to win.

On offense, we needed more from Dudley and we were too quick to rush outside shots. Craig Smith was getting off shots –- some good, some bad. But too often no one was there to grab the misses. With the guards not hitting anything and Jared not creating for himself, we should of sent it to Smith every time and ask Dudley to crash the boards.

BC won’t win the Big East Tournament. I think we are now looking at a 3 seed in the NCAAs. However, I think this team can win it all. They will have a battle against physical teams like Villanova or Pitt that disrupt the motion in our flex, but they have time to bounce back. Will they?

Accolades begin, polling and projections

ESPN.com’s Pat Forde gives out season awards and names BC in a bunch including COY for Al and Dudley as his Breakout Player of the Year. This stuff is nice, but will only come back to bight us if we don’t perform in March.

Hovering at No. 5 in the AP poll and Lunardi dropped us to a 2 seed.

Ever to excel

Nice article in USA Today on basketball at Jesuits universities. When Father Leahy was hired, many feared that he would deemphasize sports. The opposite has occurred. He has given Gene D. free reign and the overall athletic program flourished without the school suffering. Based on this article, it looks like the Jesuits, as a whole, remain committed to quality athletics.

Pitt Preview

BC won and Pitt lost on Saturday in games that were closer than either score indicated. People who didn’t watch the Pitt game might think they lost it at the foul line, but they were still in it with less than two minutes left. I really think not stopping UConn and forcing bad shots cost them the game. Here is my two cents on what BC needs to do on Monday.

BC on offense: I’m glad the team went inside with Smith and Dudley against Seton Hall because our guards finally went cold. Pitt looked a lot like Villanova and I expect them to get very physical and pressure the man with the ball for much of the game. I think BC will probably put Hinnant and Hailey on the floor together again. I really want to see the offense go inside. Smith will take a pounding, but he will also draw fouls. I expect a big game from Dudley with the usual strong rebounding and points in and around the basket.

BC on defense: Like I said, Pitt looks like Villanova, only their strength is their front line, not their back court. We don’t matchup well defensively. I expect a mix of zone and man and hope their guards keep clanging away from outside. We need to rebound well and eliminate their second chances. I would like to see more of the 1-2-2. UConn used it effectively to disrupt Pitt’s flow.

Prediction: I am worried about this game. But given the national audience and the lackadaisical effort on Saturday, I think BC will come out fired up. I have no idea what to expect from Pitt. They come in reeling and need this game to stop the bleeding. Despite my worries I say BC wins 67-63.

Building blocks

Interesting post from blogger Kenpom about the impact of blocks on overall team defense. Sean Williams has risen to popularity among BC fans by being our first legitimate shot blocker in 20 years. He is closing in on the team’s single season record. Even if his offense only marginally improves over the next three years, I think Kenpom’s research shows the impact he is going to have on the defensive end.

Schedule take 2; Hall preview

The ACC rereleased its future men's hoop schedule. Looks like they got the quirks worked out. No surprises and I think BC will be fine.

Short Seton Hall preview

Saturday is our chance to bounce back from our second loss of the season. Seton Hall is struggling and has been dealing with a series of off court issues of late. I would predict a romp, but they played us tough last time out. Strategy wise, I think BC should still force the ball in low to Smith. While this would seem to play into the Pirates’ physicality and desire to slow the pace, I just think we need to get back to what we do best –- Smith and Dudley close to the basket –- and avoid the jump and long-range shots we’ve been taking. We’re bound to be cold one night and hopefully it is not against a team that will hurt out RPI like Seton Hall.

Prediction: BC wins, 68-58.

Broncos cool, Eaglechickens not

Interesting article from Darren Rovell on Boise State’s marketing and licensing. He states that "earlier this month, Boise State -- with only 52,000 alumni -- cracked the top 50 in royalties among schools that are represented by the Collegiate Licensing Company, surpassing the likes of Northwestern, Boston College and Georgetown."

This lack of interest in BC shows how important the new Red Sox deal is. BC tried to make our logos more edgy and appealing, but what we got was is now referred to as the "angry chicken" (logo in top right).

Leftover thoughts on loss

While fans and players are whining about the refs…again, I think 'Nova beat us fair and square (with an impressive 36-41 effort from the line). Yes they went to the line 18 more times than we did, but they played a lot of aggressive, physical, man D and really kept us out of a rhythm offensively for most of the game. They also exploited a big weakness –- ball handling. This BC team passes well, but Dudley, Hinnant, Hailey and Watson are the only guys who can dribble through midcourt pressure and/or dribble around tight defense away from the basket. This pressure led to Sean Marshall –- one of our better outside shooters –- sitting for large chunks of the game. I also felt that we wasted some opportunities with Sean Williams on offense. He is still raw and lacks confidence (and some of the skills) to make decisive moves when he has the ball. So needing dribblers, you saw Hailey and Hinnant out there together, which helped protect the ball but limited the offense.

Despite these problems, we almost stole another. I thought tempo would be the key to the game and we unfortunately did not do much to slow them down in the first half. Once we went to the full court 1-2-2, it threw the Wildcats off. If we had gone to it a little earlier, I think we could have beaten them.

The loss is disappointing. And I think we’ll drop another in the Big East Tournament, but I am still confident about this team’s chances in March.

I think Villanova has a lot of talent and could win the Big East Tournament. Yet at the same time it wouldn’t surprise me if they go in to the NCAAs hot like their 1995 team and flame out early.

NESN joins the fray

Last week the Red Sox announced a new marketing deal with BC. This week, NESN (the Sox's sports network) added a BC blog to their site. Sign of crosspromotions to come? We'll see. This is the first professional (that I know of) to start blogging about BC. Welcome Jayme Parker and hopefully she'll have something to say.

BC-Villanova preview

While others will point to the UConn or UCLA game, I think the turning point of the season was BC’s 67-66 win over Villanova. Now, coming off an emotional win, the team’s face off again Wednesday in Philadelphia. Here is my take:

BC on Offense: Last time out, 'Nova focused on Smith and Dudley took advantage by scoring a career-high 36. This time I expect them to focus on both – maybe even shadow Dudley and challenge the rest of the team to beat them. Dudley and Smith will get their points. Can their teammates pick up the slack, if needed?

BC on Defense: Instead of tanking after the tough BC loss, Villanova bounced back and comes into the game hot. I expect them to try to shoot us out of the building and push the tempo with their athletic guards. BC has done a good job with their man defense and the guys work well on switches. I think they stay with man to try to keep Nova’s guards from getting too many clean looks from outside.

Prediction: While this seams like another likely stumbling block I still like our chances. Final score: 60-54.

No. 3 in polls; 3s on my mind

BC reached No. 3 in both the AP and ESPN poll. It is the highest ranking in school history.

While I know it is premature to start comparing this team to other recent championship teams, I just couldn’t help myself. And the stat that keeps bothering me when looking at this team is 3-point attempts. While the attempts are increasing and you can’t complain about the record, the team is headed down unchartered waters. Take a look. [SCROLL...TABLES ARE FUNKY IN BLOGGER]

Team	3PA	3PM	3s per game
2005 Boston College	426*	137*	3.83
2004 UConn	619	249	6.0
2003 Syracuse	540	186	5.30
2002 Maryland	580	217	6.00
2001 Duke	1057	407	10.40
2000 Michigan State	669	253	6.49
* BC’s projected numbers

As most fans know, the 3-pointer can bury a team or spark a comeback. I worry that being this untested, the team is going to be cold from outside on a night when they need it. Hopefully the off night is in the Big East tournament, not the NCAAs. BTW, all of this year's top teams have taken more 3s than BC.

Also, want to pass on compliments to Mike Shalin’s recent work. Mike and Mike (the two BC beat writers) get a lot of flak from BC fans. I am sure that being on the beat as long as they have can get monotonous. However, it seems like Shalin is riding the enthusiasm surrounding the program to put a little extra effort in his work. The most recent nugget he included was this: “Remember Colin Falls' 7-for-12 performance from long range in Notre Dame's win against Boston College? The sophomore is just 6-for-28 in three games since.” Nothing earth shattering, but he deserves kudos for adding the extra effort. On the other side, Blaudschun –- subbing while Vega was at Daytona -- kind of mailed it in on the Syracuse wrap up.

Court rushing, calls and 'Cuse

Saturday’s home win went a long way towards building BC’s respect. With a national audience and an excited crowd watching, the Eagles beat No. 9 Syracuse 65-60.

ESPN.com’s Pat Forde had a nice write up. There was a lot to say about the game and in his lead he mentioned the fans and gripes about the refs. I have to defend my alma mater on these little critiques.

While generally I think storming the court is overdone, I’ll give the Superfans a pass on this one. Our home schedule has been dull this season and this was the first meeting of two top ten teams in the building’s history. And even though we were ranked higher, our fans and players still brought an underdog mentality to the game. All those factors combined with the gutsy style of play and the ability to deal with some questionable calls exploded into an on-court celebration. The players liked it and it will probably be the only time this season, so I say let the kids have fun. BC fans are usually criticized for their lack of emotion, so this was a refreshing change.

As for the questionable calls…fellow blogger, the Evil A, predicted before the game that the “refs would not allow us to win the game.” While I don’t think there was an out and out conspiracy, I do think BC’s position in the league and Al’s demeanor sometimes leads to Boeheim and Calhoun getting calls. The calls were so questionable in this game (lowlights included, two technicals, a made basket on a Syracuse charge and numerous no calls while our post players got murdered) that even Len Elmore said the refs were having an off night. Fortunately it seemed to rally the players. If this lopsided officiating continues, winning the Big East Tournament would be nearly impossible.

Final thought on Syracuse (whom we might see again in the tournament). Funny team. I think they have a lot of talent -- Gerry McNamara and Warrick both worried me -– but they seemed flat the whole night and didn’t seem to play with much urgency. Even as they chipped away at the lead towards the end of the game, they seemed somewhat uninterested. Where was the relentless, confident team that stole games from Rutgers and Notre Dame? They have talent, but can they regroup before March?

With many of the top teams losing this past week, BC will probably move up in the polls. They also remain in contention for a No. 1 seed in the tournament.

The next challenge is Villanova on Wednesday. Check back in for a preview later this week.

Schedule snafu

Looks like the released 2004-2005 ACC hoops schedule was more of a draft. Things didn't work out. So expect some tweaks. At the end of the day I expect things to be close to the released, with our schedule heavy with Miami and Virginia Tech. So all my points still stand.

Big build up for 'Cuse

Although no longer undefeated, BC is finally getting attention. Lots of it. Great article from ESPN.com’s Pat Forde. He calls BC “the school that hype forgot…” He also goes on to praise Gene D, the football program and our overall athletic department.

SI.com’s Seth Davis selected the Syracuse-BC game as his featured game of the week. Seth likes BC. Here’s my take:

BC on offense: While we are hot from the outside of late, I still think the key is breaking down the zone and getting good shots close to the basket. Craig Smith needs to get out of his funk and Jared Dudley should be creating inside, not bombing away from outside. Let’s hope Sean Marshall continues his hot streak.

BC on defense: Like all Syracuse opponents I worry about Gerry McNamara. We had trouble guarding perimeter against ND. Expect Syracuse to exploit that weakness. If McNamara is hot, it could be a long night. Not as concerned about Warrick. He is a great player and will kill Nate or Smith in a matchup. I think Al will put Sean Williams on him. Williams is an offensive liability, but is a perfect match for Warrick. If Al doesn’t increase Sean’s time, I think Dudley will get the assignment.

Pick: BC wins, 64-57. The last time Syracuse came to BC for an important event it turned into a total meltdown. There is less at stake in this game, but I would still like a little revenge.

Gut reaction to future ACC hoops schedule

The future ACC hoops schedule was released and things look great from here. I am still very happy with the move the ACC and think the New Big East is a mess with plenty of duds on the basketball schedule. However, some BC fans are griping. I decided to tackle the main complaints and look at them from a “good news, bad news” perspective.

Miami and Va. Tech are listed as our “primary partners.” This means that we will play home and homes with them every year (or at least for the first three years of the new sched). It is also to be expected as the three schools are the newbies and considered to have little basketball traditions amongst the ACC hoop snobs. Good news: despite their recent upswings, we know we can compete against these two programs. Winning three out of four will not be unexpected, gives us a good head start on conference records and put us in a good position for an NCAA bid. Bad news: unless we really change the fan culture with this season’s run, these teams will draw middling interest from local fans. People expect Duke and UNC and are getting the Hokies and the Canes (great in for football, ho-hum for hoops).

The rotating partners system. This groups the teams outside your “primary partners” into three groups “home and home,” “home” and “away.” Good news: This lessons the blow when there are some powerhouse teams, as you might not play them all twice and might just have to face some of them at home. Plus these groups rotate and enable the players and fans to see every conference foe at home over four years. Bad news: attendance…again. Limiting the powerhouses helps the record but hurts interest.

16 game regular season. Some called for an 18 game schedule, which would have provided more conference match-ups. Good news: This frees up BC’s schedule. We can add cupcakes. We can add more regional games to help cost. We can renew old Big East rivals like Georgetown or Villanova. Bad news: this is just more fuel for the fire that will come if BC ever wins a regular season ACC title. Because most likely we’ll hear “they only played Duke [insert conference power here] once and filled their schedule with New Hampshire and Maine.”

The critics can harp but that won’t change my opinion. This is progress and there is no reason we can’t compete with this set up.

3s lead to 21

As I predicted, Rutgers zoned BC and pressured Smith. Despite Smith getting frustrated, BC handled it well and defeated Rutgers 74-64. BC is now 21-1.

The game wasn’t televised so I was forced to follow online and what caught my attention was how aggressive we were from the 3-point line, going 8-18 from long distance. This is after going 9-22 from beyond the arc against Notre Dame. As Shalin pointed out this barrage comes after making just 64 treys in the previous 20 games. In fact as of Thursday, February 17, BC was last in Division I -- as in 330th -- in 3-point attempts, with 235. If teams continue to zone us, and Syracuse obviously will, the number of attempts should start to creep up. But it is good to know we can make them when we need to. At the end of the day, like Al says, we need good shots, regardless of where they are from.

Back to work

After a week off, BC returns to the court tonight to face Rutgers. The question is how will the team respond to their first loss of the season? Fortunately, Rutgers is reeling. They have lost 10 of their last 12, with one of those wins coming off of a questionable call in the Seton Hall game. However, Notre Dame provided a blueprint on how to play BC: 2-3 collapsing zone on Craig Smith and try to bury BC with 3s. This plays right to Rutgers’ strength as they live and die by their guard play. If Scarlet Knights are cold from the outside, BC runs away. It could also be close if Craig Smith is still off. I like our chances and expect the team to respond after suffering its first loss.

Other good news: Steve Hailey is back. Expanding back to an eight-man rotation should give the team some added freshness and takes some of the burden off of Louis Hinnant (who was great in the ND game).

Also, ACC commissioner John Swofford will be in attendance (nice to see him make the effort). I guess he also wanted to hear what the Red Sox had to say.

Finally, national coverage of BC football and basketball tends to fall into two angles: the little engine that could or the team that is not really that good/hasn’t played anyone. That is why I’ve become such an Andy Katz fan. He has been a huge Al Skinner supporter for many years and actually digs a little deeper and tries to take a different angle when writing about BC. Andy’s a Newton boy and his dad is on the faculty which somewhat explains his bias. But his positive news and notes are really refreshing. Take a look at No. 7.

Sox to the rescue?

For diehards BC sports marketing has provided endless frustration through the years. Disappointments included games not getting picked up for TV, mediocre turnout for competitive basketball teams, and seemingly indifferent licensing support from Reebok (true story: this weekend I was at the mall and came across high school merchandise -- Oak Hill, Mt Zion -- and distant colleges like Gonzaga and Fresno State, but no BC apparel anywhere). Hopefully that will change with this announcement. It seems like the heavily leveraged Red Sox are looking to grow their business and BC will be one of the first clients for their new sports marketing arm the Fenway Sports Group.

This has to be an improvement as BC’s past effort have had the effect of a pebble in the ocean. Despite the Patriots ascent, the Red Sox are still the 800-pound gorilla in Boston and hopefully will use this power to promote BC. The two parties have had a long history together due to the former ownership group being run by BC Trustee John Harrington. The new football complex was a gift of the Yawkey foundation (former owners of the Sox). And BC plays the Red Sox in Spring Training every year. Also, Fenway recently expressed interest in hosting the ACC baseball tournament.

In my mind the big upside to the deal is the Sox’s ownership position with NESN. If NESN is willing to carry more BC games, it seems like the ACC’s syndication/production arm (Jefferson Pilot) will too. Overall that is just more good news for displaced fans like me.

Also, BC won the consolation game for the Beanpot. I am so sick of BU winning this thing. The bragging rights would've been nice, but I rather win the NCAA title.

First loss, hope and recruiting update

It sucks to lose. It sucks to lose to Notre Dame. It sucks to lose during your first national television appearance. It sucks to lose after everyone was predicting the loss, including your opponent’s former coach. It sucks to lose after reaching No. 4 in the rankings (the highest ranking in school history). It sucks to lose – period.

That said…I didn’t expect BC to go undefeated. And that it took a lights out shooting night from Notre Dame including a blitzkrieg from beyond the arc, a few questionable whistles down the stretch and Craig Smith’s worst shooting performance of the season to beat us by three points. This team has heart. It needed a test. It needed to work on its perimeter defense (which looked like a Jim O’Brien team). And it needed to get this stinker out of the way.

They now have a week off to regroup. I think this team can put together another run or two and go far into the tournament. Regardless of how the season ends, they deserve a round of applause for this tremendous start and streak (the best in school and Big East history).

It has been a busy week so I wasn’t able to chime in on recruiting. According to the experts it was a down year for BC. They had limited scholarships and did not target as many Five-Stars. The "one that got away" was Jersey linebacker Brian Cushing. Supposedly it came down to BC and USC and he is now a Trojan. It is hard to compete with LA and championships. Recruiting is funny business. I think the rankings have some merit but are far from fool proof. Over the last decade many teams have won championships without marquee classes. As my former colleague Stewart Mandel pointed out, if you reranked in hindsight based on NFL talent and on field accomplishments, things would be different. I have more to say about recruiting in general and past travails, but will save it for a slower time. I am also trying to solidify an interview with a recruiting expert. One final note about recruiting…I was surprised with Mike Vega’s slant on the class. He took the let down angle, which in rare for him. Shalin has slipped in more criticism of TOB the past few seasons, but Vega has more consistently towed the party line. Maybe after eight seasons with TOB, they are finally feeling secure in what they can get away with and still have access.

Rankings and another win

BC reached No. 5 in the latest polls. It is the highest ranking in school history. Fortunately they did not let it go to their heads as the team came out and defeated West Virginia 62-50. In other news, today is signing day. I'll post my opinions once the class is announced.

Still perfect

BC pulled out another huge win last night. With the Duke loss, BC and Illinois are the only undefeated teams left. They were down at various points but fought back with hustle and clutch free throw and three-point shooting. I didn’t see it as I was toiling away in class, but was able to catch the highlights and watch the scores. I know they will lose this season, but right now it seems like they are doing Curt Hennig impressions and everything is going in… "simply perfect."

After the game, Doug Gottlied gave a few backhanded compliments to the team on ESPN. It was the usual stuff: “pulling out narrow wins” “easy schedule” etc. Typical. While I am a believer in point differential when measuring football teams, in basketball the correlation is not as strong. Plus we are only two thirds through the season. And these close wins are signs that the team is poised and will hopefully pull through in the clutch. The schedule…well that is another Big East plan that backfired. They gave us a lousy schedule with very few in-conference marquee matchups. So Fat Mike successfully kept us off national TV, but inadvertently handed us the second best start in school history. Ha!

Here are some good stats about the start and team:

• Second best start in school history

• Second longest win streak in school history

• BC is 28-3 in its last 31 games back to last season

• BC now has the third best start in Big East history

One more thing, Dudley is getting the ink (from me too) and Smith is the known comdity, but Sean Williams is a true stopper on defense. He now has 41 blocks on the season. Just another diamond in the rough (which the New York Times even noticed).

Gut reaction to 2005 schedule

The ACC released its 2005 schedule this week and I’ve been smiling ever since. First let me say how great it is to get it this early. (In the Big East, where Pitt and Temple shared stadiums with professional teams it always seemed like our schedule was not finalized until August.)

Now look at the home schedule for 2004 and the major upgrade in 2005. 2004: Penn State, UConn, UMass, Rutgers, and Syracuse. 2005: Army, Florida State, Ball State, Virginia, Wake Forest, NC State. Wow. A nice mix, a marquee program and only one real dog (Ball State).

Now on to my ridiculously early predictions. (WARNING: This was done with very little analysis and will certainly be revised in the months ahead.)

Sept. 3 at BYU – Win. BYU will have a new coach and is low on talent. I don’t like us in road openers especially if Porter looks shaky, but my initial reaction is that this is a win.

Sept. 10 Army – Win. Home opener against a service academy. I think Ross will have them playing better, but we will still have a huge talent advantage.

Sept. 17 Florida State – Loss. I think this will be closer than most will predict. FSU has struggled on the road recently and will have a young QB, but I still think they will pull it out.

Sept. 24 at Clemson – Win. The team has won 4-1 in the last five games I’ve attended. Plus college friends and family will be there. We better win!

Oct. 1 Ball State – Win. We barely won this year. I expect a better performance. At this point we’ll surely be ranked.

Oct. 8 Virginia – Win. TOB has some anymosity against UVA. He dedicated the majority of his career there and was not even given a look as a head coach. I expect him to have the team well prepared. Plus they know Al Golden.

Oct. 15 Wake Forest – Win. There is no way we are losing three in a row to Wake.

Oct. 27 (Thurs.) at Virginia Tech – Loss. We were lucky last time in Blacksburg. Expect things to revert to normal.

Nov. 5 at North Carolina – Win. I was not impressed with UNC.

Nov. 12 N.C. State – Loss. After a down year, I expect NC State to be much improved.

Nov. 19 at Maryland – Loss. I’ll probably be at this game too. Like NC State, I just don’t see them being bad two years in a row.

Final record: 7-4. Hopefully that will be enough to get a Peach Bowl bid. More likely -- another third tier bowl.

Thank you Dan Coleman

I thought about this post in the shower this morning. Too bad Andy Katz beat me to the angle. Regardless, the homesick Gopher might have been the luckiest break BC fans ever had. Dan Coleman was a well regarded recruit from the Twin Cities. He arrived early in 2003 to practice with the team and take some classes. He was gone by August. Reportedly homesickness(but I've heard other things). Anyway, with a free scholarship, Al and Company took a flyer on a lightly recruited kid fom SoCal. A year and half later the recruit, Jared Dudley, is easily the third best player of the Skinner era (and over four years he may have a chance to be better than Bell and Smith). Last night he capped off a career-high scoring night with two clutch free throws with 5 seconds left as BC beat 'Nova 67-66. The Eagles remain undefeated and are now 4-0 in the Big East. Jared is skinny and doesn't always look pretty, but he has a great feel for the game, makes plays and does the little things. What a find. Now I don't think BC can maintain this pace for the season, but I do think this early success and combo of close wins and blowouts speaks well for their chances in March. Stay tuned.

More wins, no love

The basketball team beat another ranked team on Sunday and remain undefeated. Yet they are only No. 9 in both polls. Not sure what it's going to take to get some attention. Meanwhile it is the second longest win streak in school history.

I love the way they are playing right now. Sure they struggled earlier in the season and squeaked some wins, but that's history. On Sunday after a neck and neck first half, they pulled away on the road against the best West Virginia team in years. Really aggresive D. This might be Al's best team. Hopefully they'll keep it up and get on TV here and there. The internet is not doing them justice. Happiness in the ATL.

Book club

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Mrs. ATL_eagle surprised me at Christmas with a book that I’ve been meaning to read, Every Week a Season. In it, Brian Curtis documents the ins and outs of a program during the college football season. He spent a week at nine schools, including Boston College. It was a fascinating (for me anyway) book to read during Bowl Week. So first let me give an overall review and then I’ll dive deeper into the TOB chapter.

If you are a fan of any of the schools featured (BC, Maryland, Tennessee, LSU, Arizona State, Colorado State, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Florida State) read this book. It is not an expose. Yet the Coaches gave Curtis access to everything. (This unique perspective probably required a positive treatment for the coaches.) But even diehards might learn a thing or two about their favorite team. Some of the chapters get repetitive and I would have liked more on the players and assistants. A solid effort and quick read, overall. ATL_eagle Grade: B

As mentioned in the review, all the coaches come off well. This is to be expected. Yet, reading between the lines and comparing the coaches to each other is inevitable. In this I would say TOB comes off well, yet all the BC fans’ points of aggravation with TOB were on full display. Curtis confirms TOB’s role as a “steward” of the program. Most of the planning falls on the coordinators. This is similar to some of the other coaches featured (namely the more established ones like Bowden and Alvarez). Yet, Nick Saban – who seems to do more coaching than TOB – paraphrases a Buddy Ryan concept that captures the head coaching dilemma: “when I became a head coach, I lost my best assistant…me.”

TOB is not totally detached. He approves the gameplans and adjustments. During the 2003 Miami game (the week Curtis covered) TOB was actively challenging the coordinators about breakdowns and adjustments. The lasting TOB mark on the program is probably the structure he has built. The perception of rigid, predictable order is reality. In the book, his players even admit to the occasional boredom with the way things go. Ever the Marine, Curtis describes TOB’s locker as the most orderly he saw. This order has resulted in a well coordinated recruiting system, third-tier bowls and a collection of mostly solid citizens on the field. There was no indication in the book that TOB is doing anything to make us any more than that.

And one last nitpick; all my talking points were worked in. This just confirms that Sports Information and TOB helped shape Curtis’ image of the program.

I also just finished Stewart O’Nan and Stephen King’s Faithful. It is a shared diary of the 2004 Boston Red Sox season. Another solid effort. I felt the book suffered from a little too much game-by-game recapping by O’Nan and not enough Stephen King. I am not a Sox fan, but I respect the passion these two have. The diary of a diehard helped inspire this blog. Going forward, I’ll try to avoid the recaps, since most readers can get that elsewhere and try to stick to the King style contributions (essays on the team, unique nuggets and the emotional reactions of being a fan). ATL_eagle Grade: B

Crystal ball

Many critcs and fans question our ability to compete in the ACC, but it looks like some of the pundits have come around. The AJC's Tony Barnhart (whom I like) thinks we'll be a Top 25 team next year, and ESPN.com's Pat Forde thinks we'll challenge for a Top 25 spot. What does the ATL_eagle think? I'll let you know once I hear a little about spring practices.

Last laugh

Leaving the Big East was a no brainer and every school in our situation would have done the same thing (all of them tried behind the scenes). Yet it sparked plenty of ugly behavior from the remaining Big East schools. The most outspoken and obnoxious critics were Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and UConn basketball coach Jim Calhoun. All this background made last night’s upset of No. 9 UConn that much sweeter. BC won 75-70 with Craig Smith on the bench most of the game in foul trouble. I didn’t see the game, but based on the gametracker, radio broadcast and highlights, it appears that we played very aggressively on D; attacking the ball and breaking up passing lanes. I am really excited about the season and love sticking it to UConn, their slanderous coach and their bottle throwing fans.

Final rankings

The Final AP and Coaches Polls both ranked BC at #21. With a Top 25 ranking, two wins over ranked teams, a 9-3 record, a shared conference championship and a bowl victory, on paper this season would appear to be TOB's most impressive. But these accomplishments don't relieve the pain I feel from the narrow defeats against Pitt and Wake and the no show against Syracuse.

Plus I will be hearing about these accomplishments ad nauseam from BC PR machine for the next nine months.

Mail time

Much to my surprise, I received email from a North Carolina fan before the game regarding my scouting report and then after regarding my assessment that the Heels are not well coached. With his permission, I am starting a mailbag using part of his second email.

“…can you really say that he was out coached? One fake kick broke our back. Before that the game was pretty even.”

I agree that the fake was the turning point. And by saying that Bunting is a bad coach, I don’t want to imply that TOB is Lombardi. But, before the kick Peterson was moving the ball…again. Bunting – a defensive guy – did not seem to be making adjustments to our above average O. BC is not Utah or Louisville. The 37 points was the highest scoring output of the year. Failing to adjust to our boot action was the most obvious lack of coaching.

The other was the dichotomy of second-half calls. We stubbornly stuck to the ground and really started to wear on your guys. Your offensive coaches turned away from the run when it had fair to good success in the first half. Also, Durant is a playmaker, but not a great passer. Instead of the mid-range throws (that he and your receivers had problems with), you should have tried more deep balls. You obviously scouted us well enough to know that it would work, yet only went deep a few times, even after scoring on a deep TD.

I am sure I’ll have more info on Bunting as our series continues. Thanks for the email. Any other readers can email me your comments and questions here.

Postgame report

Final Score: BC 37, UNC 24

Good overall game. Indicative of our season: good returns, lapses on D, Peterson moving the ball, poor kicking, and a huge special teams play when needed. I won't do too much post game analysis since it is stale now (Jan 1, 2005) and there will be plenty to say about BC football before next season's opener.

I watched from my in-laws' beach house. As mentioned earlier, I was so letdown after 'Cuse that I had no desire to change vacation plans for the Tire Bowl. Mrs. ATL_eagle could tell I was off too, because it took me a while to get into the game.

Paul Peterson finished his BC career in gutty fashion. Fighting through the broken hand only to snap his leg in the fourth. You'll be missed Paul P. Further gushing about Peterson will appear on this blog in the offseason.

For any UNC fans reading...I feel for you. Bunting is not running a good program and you guys are probably stuck with him for at least another two seasons. I think UNC has talent, but they are not well coached. Some bad schemes. Bad tackling and too many arm catches from the wideouts and tight ends.

Always good to end the season on a high note. And here is a funny TOB picture that should bring a smile to any fan's face.

Also, I am reading Stewart O'Nan and Stephen King's diary of the Red Sox season. Their idea somewhat inspired this blog. I am half-way through and will give a final review when I finish the book.