Boston College suffered a setback on Wednesday night when it lost a close contest to Rhode Island, 67-65, at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. The loss snapped the Eagles' seven-game winning streak.
The Eagles will look to get back on track when they face South Carolina in Columbia, S.C. at 5:30 p.m. EST on New Year's Day (TV/Radio: ESPNU/WEEI).
The all-time series between Boston College and South Carolina is tied 1-1. The Eagles won the last meeting 85-76 on December 30, 2009. The Gamecocks won the first ever meeting with the Eagles back in the 1971-72 season.
Boston College (10-3) cruised through the month of December, going 6-1. The Eagles have won seven of their last eight games and nine of their last eleven games.
Reggie Jackson continues to pace the Eagles, averaging 18.8 points, 4.7 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals. Joe Trapani is second in scoring, averaging 13.3 points. Trapani is also second in rebounding, averaging 6.1 boards per contest.
Corey Raji leads the team in rebounding (6.3 boards per game) and is third in scoring with 11.4 points. Biko Paris is the only other Eagles' player to average double-digit scoring, averaging 10.9 points.
South Carolina (8-3) has lost two of its last three games. The Gamecocks lost to No. 2 Ohio State, 79-57, on Saturday, December 18th and fell to Furman, 91-75, on December 22nd.
The loss to Ohio State snapped South Carolina's six-game winning streak in which it defeated Radford, South Carolina Upstate, West Kentucky, Delaware State, Clemson and Wofford.
Bruce Ellington leads the Gamecocks in scoring, averaging 13.7 points. Ellington, who is South Carolina's only player to average double-digit scoring, also leads the team in assists with four per game. Sam Muldrow is the Gamecocks' second leading scorer, averaging 9.7 points.
Muldrow, Malik Cooke and Lakeem Jackson are all leading the team in rebounding, averaging 6.5 boards per game.
Boston College return home following Saturday's contest in South Carolina to face in-town rival Harvard on Wednesday, January 5th.