Boston College looked like it might be the team to beat in the ACC in the early stages of conference play, as the Eagles won their first three games against ACC opponents. Unfortunately, it's been all downhill since then for the Eagles, who have lost three of their last four conference games.
BC looks to get back on track when it hosts No. 23 North Carolina at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday night (TV/Radio: ACC Network/WRKO).
North Carolina (15-5, 5-1 ACC) leads the all-time series against Boston College. The Eagles won the last meeting against the Tar Heels, 71-67, at Conte Forum on February 20, 2010. Prior to that, BC topped UNC, 85-78, on January 4, 2009 at the Dean E. Smith Center.
UNC won the first two match-ups against BC in 1967 (96-80) and in 1975 (110-90). Boston College responded with three straight wins in 1994 (75-72) and 2006 (81-74 and 85-82). The Tar Heels won the next four games against the Eagles, winning both games in 2207 and both in 2008.
Since BC joined the ACC in 2005, the Eagles are 4-4 against the Tar Heels. BC is 1-2 against UNC in three games at Conte Forum.
The Eagles (14-7, 4-3 ACC) are coming off back-to-back losses to ACC rivals Florida State and Duke. The Seminoles topped BC, 67-51, on Jan. 22. Joe Trapani had 19 points and 12 rebounds and Reggie Jackson was held to 13 points and seven assists in the loss to FSU.
BC faired even worse in its game against then third-ranked Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium last Thursday. Corey Raji led the Eagles with 18 points and Trapani added 14 points and 11 rebounds in the 85-68 loss for BC.
Jackson, the Eagles leader in scoring (18.5 PPG), assists (4.9 APG) and steals (1 SPG), was benched at the start of the first and second halves by Boston College head coach Steve Donahue after not giving full effort in practice. The benching was overblown, however, according to Dan Duggan of the Boston Herald, and Donahue said that Jackson has been practicing hard even since.
Trapani is second in scoring, averaging 14.1 points, and leads the team in rebounding with seven boards per game. Raji averages 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in 19 games for BC.
North Carolina has won three games in a row and eight of its last nine after a 7-4 start. The Tar Heels trounced in-state rival N.S. State, 84-64, in their last game on Saturday. Harrison Barnes scored 25 points in the win for UNC and John Henson totaled 16 points and 15 rebounds.
Seven footer Tyler Zeller leads the Tar Heels in scoring (13.8 PPG) and is shooting 50% from the field this season. Henson leads the team in rebounding with 8.5 boards per game and Zeller is second in rebounding with 7.1 boards per contest. Barnes is averaging 12.5 points for UNC.
The Tar Heels are 34th in the country in scoring, averaging 77.3 points, and are second in the nation in rebounding (42.5 RPG). BC enters Tuesday night's game ranked 67th in scoring (74 PPG), 37th in assists (15.5 APG) and 37th in team field goal percentage (47.4%).
Boston College hosts ACC opponent Virginia Tech in its next game on Saturday, February 5th. UNC takes on conference rival Florida State on Sunday, February 6th in the next game for Roy Williams' team.