Boston College and Harvard aren't exactly storied rivals, but the Crimson have matched up very well with the Eagles in their past few seasons.
The Eagles look to avenge their 74-67 loss to Harvard last season when they host the Crimson at Conte Forum Wednesday night at 7 p.m. EST (WEEI).
The first meeting between the two in-town foes was in the 1905-06 campaign, and the Eagles lead the all-time series, 32-11. Harvard currently holds a two-game winning streak against the Eagles, as they also defeated Boston College 82-70 in 2008.
The last time the Eagles defeated the Crimson was Dec. 22, 2006, when BC, which was then ranked No. 14 in the country, posted an 89-55 victory. Jared Dudley had 16 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Boston College (11-3) is coming off an impressive 85-70 win over SEC opponent South Carolina on New Year's Day. Joe Trapani scored a game-high 23 points and also had 10 rebounds and Biko Paris added 18 points for the Eagles.
With the win, the Eagles have won eight of their last nine games and ten of their last twelve. Boston College had its seven game winning streak snapped by Rhode Island in Kingston following the Running Rams surprising 67-65 win.
Reggie Jackson, who scored 14 points in the win over South Carolina, continues to pace the Eagles, averaging 18.5 points, 4.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals. Trapani is BC's second-leading scorer, averaging 14 points, and also averages 6.3 rebounds per game.
Corey Raji is third in scoring, averaging 11.8 points, and leads the team in rebounding with 6.8 boards per contest. Biko Paris is the only other Eagles player to average double-digit scoring, averaging 11.4 points.
Harvard (9-3) is riding a two-game winning streak and has won four of its last six games. The Crimson defeated in-town rival MIT 84-58 on December 31st behind Laurent Rivard's 17-point performance. Keith Wright had his fifth double-double of the season in the Harvard victory, amassing 15 points and 13 rebounds.
The Crimson lost their first game of the season 66-53 against George Mason but responded with five straight wins against Holy Cross, Mercer, Bryant, Colorado and Fordham, respectively. Harvard's winning streak was snapped by a 65-62 loss to Michigan, but the Crimson then rattled off back-to-back wins against Worcester Tech and Boston University.
In their next game against No. 4 Connecticut, the Crimson were dismantled 81-52. Keith Wright had a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds in the loss for Harvard, which shot an embarrassing 30% from the field.
Nevertheless, Harvard regained its composure and defeated Monmouth on December 29th and MIT two days later.
Wright leads the team in scoring (14.9 points per game) and rebounds (8.8 boards per game). Christian Webster is right behind Wright in the scoring department, averaging 14.5 points per contest. Rivard is the only other player to average double-digit scoring for the Crimson, scoring 11.8 points per game.
Eagles head coach Steve Donahue is very familiar with Harvard, which is a member of the Ivy League. Donahue faced Harvard twenty times as the head coach of Cornell's men's basketball team from 2000-2010 before joining Boston College.
Here's a complete look at Donahue's record as a head coach at Cornell against the Harvard Crimson.
- Harvard 65, Cornell 67 - Friday, February 2, 2001
- Harvard 93, Cornell 84 - Saturday, March 3, 2001
- Cornell 63, Harvard 62 - Saturday, February 9, 2002
- Harvard 55, Cornell 46 - Friday, February 22, 2002
- Cornell 82, Harvard 69 - Saturday, February 15, 2003
- Cornell 68, Harvard 63 - Friday, February 23, 2003
- Cornell 91, Harvard 79 - Friday, January 30, 2004
- Harvard 81, Cornell 78 - Saturday, February 21, 2004
- Harvard 74, Cornell 65 - Saturday, January 29, 2005
- Cornell 67, Harvard 63 - Saturday, February 19, 2005
- Cornell 79, Harvard 77 - Saturday, February 4, 2006
- Cornell 71, Harvard 44 - Friday, March 3, 2006
- Harvard 65, Cornell 64 - Saturday, February 3, 2007
- Harvard 85, Cornell 79 - Friday, March 2, 2007
- Cornell 72, Harvard 71 - Friday, February 15, 2008
- Cornell 86, Harvard 52 - Saturday, March 1, 2008
- Cornell 96, Harvard 75 - Friday, February 13, 2009
- Harvard 71, Cornell 70 - Saturday, February 28, 2009
- Cornell 86, Harvard 50 - Saturday, January 30, 2010
- Cornell 79, Harvard 70 - Friday, February 19, 2010
Steve Donahue's Record Against Harvard - 12 wins, 8 losses.