New lowpoint

Wow, not much else to say other than this game makes me sick more than any BC game in a long, long time.

The defense gave up a grand total of 9 points today - 3 set up by an INT and 3 set up by a terrible 'roughing the passer' [bullshit] call. Our defense is amazing. But it ain't enough with offense like that.

I won't say anything bad about any of the guys because they try their hardest and nobody's getting paid here. But the coaches better make sure that through recruiting, game planning, and practicing, the offense is never as absolutely pitiful as it was this season.

I'm beginning to think of Steve Logan as bizzaro Dana Bible. Is there an offensive coordinator out there who believes in both running and passing, depending on the situation? Or do they all have to be so stubborn? 

Bowling

Although it doesn't really feel like it, the Eagles take the field in four hours in a bowl game, looking for 9 straight. The last time BC played in the Music City Bowl, it was a pretty big deal - it was the start of BC's bowl win streak, and it was a matchup with ranked Georgia.

This game doesn't get much hype as Vanderbilt is 6-6 and the Eagles are heavily favored to dispatch them, even in front of 50,000+ Vandy fans. There doesn't seem to be much excitement as fans seem to be a little more disappointed about the ACCCG loss this year, a little less enthusiastic about recruiting, and quite a bit less enthusiastic about the bowl opponent. I know that I've sort of already mentally shifted into hockey mode [with a good dose of hoops, too - the men and the women are both off to good starts, although neither has done much against top competition].

But no matter what the situation, when BC football takes the field, it's a big deal - so I'm starting to get excited to watch these guys one more time. I know that when the final whistle sounds, I'll be greatly looking forward to next fall.

There are plenty of reasons to care about the game today:

-A win gives us 10 on the year for the third straight season

-A loss would be a major black eye. Not really a reason to get excited, but a reason to care.

-A win improves the ACC's bowl record to 4-3; it's been a disappointing bowl season so far, but it can be salvaged if BC, GT, Clemson and VT win.

Go Eagles!

Oh snap...

In the Meineke Car Care Bowl, UNC just pulled a Brady-to-Moss-esque juggling touchdown bomb of about 70 yards to tie WVU 7-7. 

It's a big day for ACC football - UNC is currently playing West Virginia, FSU has Wisconsin at 4:30 in the Champs Sports Bowl, and Miami plays Cal in the Emerald Bowl at 8.

EDIT: Wow, Alric Arnett and WVU just gave it right back to the Heels with a 44 yard TD laser... 14-7 'Eers.

BC Christmas list

Santa's been pretty good to BC this year, so I'm going to be modest in what I ask for under the tree:

-A victory over Vanderbilt to extend the bowl streak.

-Continued improvement by the freshmen and sophomores on BC basketball, and hopefully a shot at a ~.500 record in conference play. If that happens, it could be a fun March.

-A few more recruits with at least some Division 1A offers for the football team.

-New suits and ties from Eastern Clothing for Al Skinner.

-A girlfriend or something for Ted Sarandis.

-A new baseball stadium for BC... let's actually get it started this year!

-A few playoff wins for Matt Ryan's Atlanta Falcons.

-A victory over BU at Agganis Arena on January 17th.

-An NCAA tournament berth for women's basketball & women's hockey.

-BC in DC in April... I've already made my plans to be there, so I hope the Eagles join me. Considering BC hockey's success over the past 11 years, I think this is a pretty modest wish.

-[This one's a secret...shh] A BC acceptance letter for my sister in the spring.

-[Not BC related, but very important] A playoff series victory for the Bruins. Anything more would be gravy, Santa, but let's at least get that...

-Health and happiness to all of my BC friends, and continued good fortune for our beloved school athletically and academically.

Too easy

The men's basketball team came just shy of breaking 100 today in a 99-61 win over Maine, who must be the worst D1 basketball team I've ever seen in person.

There were maybe 900 people there, which was actually kind of neat, in an intimate, cozy sort of way; if you're a purist, and you like hearing on-court conversations and the directions of the coaches from the bench, then you probably would have had fun at the game.

Corey Raji was feelin' it, with a 26 point, 13 rebound double-double. Rice had 21 points, 9 assists, and one of his best defensive games [albeit against a team of midgets].

Next up: a relatively important game against San Francisco on Monday night.

St. John's beats BC again

The team that ended women's basketball's season last year foiled them again today, as St. Johns beat BC 72-63 in Queens. Mickel Picco led BC again with 19 points. Murphy had 16.

BC's 20 turnovers were key, compared to 13 for St. John's.

Two escapes

The men's and women's basketball teams both escaped with solid victories on Saturday afternoon.

The men finally shook off the Providence bugaboo, beating the Friars 81-76 at Conte Forum. They led from start to finish, but very nearly choked it away in the final minutes, letting a fourteen point lead shrink to four points in the last minute. This is an important win against a decent team, and a 9-2 record ain't nothin' to be ashamed of.

The women's basketball team beat a very good Houston team 62-56 on the back of a 27-point second half effort by Mickel Picco. The win came in spite of a woeful first half, after which the Eagles trailed 28-14. The victory put BC into the finals of the St. John's/Chartwell Holiday Tournament; the Eagles will face St. Johns at 3 PM on Sunday. 

ACC: 1-0 in bowl season

It's not a pretty win, but Wake Forest has overcome Navy 29-19 in the EagleBank Bowl, avenging their loss to the Midshipmen earlier this season. Wake overcame an early 13-0 deficit and dominated the 2nd half, somewhat reminiscent of the way they roared to victory over UConn last year.

The next ACC bowl is the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 27 - a good matchup between UNC and West Virginia.

Rivalry hoops

I dismissed Providence College basketball this year when I heard they'd lost to Northeastern 70-66 in their season opener. But since that point, coach Keno Davis's squad has put together a 7-2 record. I'll grant that the seven wins haven't come against the best competition [their most impressive win is probably over Rhode Island], but BC's wins haven't exactly come against world beaters either.

The fact that the Eagles have lost to the Friars two years in a row has been one of the most annoying storylines in BC athletics during my time as a student. The Friars are, I would argue, our best basketball rivalry, and while many BC fans probably view PC as an inferior program, the Friars hold a 57-45 lead in the all-time series against the Eagles.

Last year, BC lost to PC in overtime at the TD Banknorth Garden in front of a crowd that heavily favored Providence. I expect the crowd to be 50-50 at best this afternoon in Conte, as the Friars will be sending busloads of fans up for the game. It should create a lively, albeit tense atmosphere in the Forum. I'm already sad that I can't make it, as I have prior commitments that I can't get out of. The game is on NESN, so I'll fire up the VCR; hopefully it'll be worth watching in full.

BC All Access has a preview up for the game, including a breakdown of PC's starters and leading scorers. Friars.com has posted PC's game notes.

Tipoff is 4 PM this afternoon.

Scratching the hockey itch...

I'm finally done with finals [they went pretty well] and on break... and I'm already suffering from BC hockey withdrawals. No games until Jan. 2, no games that count until Jan. 9. 

Thankfully, I have the red-hot, first place Boston Bruins to tide me over. Last night, I attended the B's-Leafs game - a wild, 8-5 victory for Boston. 

Michael Ryder's goal makes it 7-5:

Adding a college hockey flavor to the night, Phil Kessel (Minnesota) netted two more goals to give him 21 on the year; Mark Stuart (Colorado College; sister attended BC) got into a nice fight in the first period; and Lee Stempniak (Dartmouth) picked up an assist for Toronto. The artist formerly known as "the rink rat," Elliot Olshansky, was in the house supporting Stempniak; I ran into him in the concourse after the second period.

'

BC vs. Providence hoops tomorrow at 4 PM on NESN... as well as the start of bowl season. Wake Forest is in action against Navy at 11 AM.

WBB beats FIU 93-65; Photos from men's and women's games

Maybe it's because I had just been watching the Flex for two hours, but watching Sylvia Crawley's up-tempo offensive style is just incredibly entertaining.

It was far from a perfect day for the women's basketball team, but they still managed to score 93 points and run their record to 8-2 - and a perfect 7-0 against unranked opponents.

The game was even more of a blowout than the score would indicate, but FIU was shooting the lights out - particularly their Croatian Sensation, Monika Bosilj, who left the game with 30 points; she got a pretty good ovation from the BC fans as she left, a truly classy response to her great performance.

Mickel Picco got her stroke back today, knocking down three 3-pointers and finishing with 23 total points. Carolyn Swords was dominant as usual, racking up a double-double: 19 points and 10 rebounds. She's also developing a little bit of range with her jump shot, which could be very scary for opponents.

Ayla Brown had herself a pretty good game, too, with ten points and four rebounds; she looked really comfortable out there, which seemed to be occasionally lacking last season.

Jaclyn Thoman seems to be struggling a bit this year; she finished with two points and four turnovers in 14 minutes. Perhaps she was better suited to Inglese's system? She's a talented ballhandler and I expect her minutes to rise as the season goes on but right now it looks like Brittany Johnson is the go-to player at point guard. Johnson had nine points in 22 minutes.

The overall team D will have to improve and they'll have to convert some of the easy chances that they missed if they're going to knock off strong ACC teams, but all in all, BC looks like an NCAA tourney contender right now. In year one of the new regime, that's about all you can ask. This team will be fun to watch during ACC play.

Photos

Rice misses a shot

Southern at the line

Reggie Jackson

The starting lineup

Intros

Rusin on D

Swords

Final

BC 67 - SC Upstate 55

It was about as inspiring as the scoreline would suggest. Nonetheless, the mantra has to be, once again, 'take the win and move on.'

Tyrese Rice went scoreless, although he did have several assists including a very nice pass to Raji late in the game. 

However, the team seemed to play much better - and much harder on defense - when Rice was off the court. The game was won in a first half sequence with Rice on the bench. With BC trailing by 5 for most of the first half, Tyler Roche suddenly and unexpectedly went off, banging down four three pointers in six possessions including three in a row which gave BC a lead that they would never relinquish.

Roche ended up leading the way with 17 points including 5 tres. Trapani added 16.

Free throw shooting continues to haunt this team, as they simply could not bury USC-U down the stretch despite getting numerous chances to do so at the line.

Biko Paris needs to be the point guard in the future; he runs the offense far better than Rice does, in my opinion; put Rice back in the 2 where he played when we had Louis Hinnant. Maybe that can be a recipe for success.

I'm heading back to Conte now [microeconomics book in tow...ugh... just one exam to go.] for the women's basketball game; pics later.