Boston College is one of several teams in the mix to finish second behind Duke in the ACC, according to SB Nation's most recent NCAA Basketball Debrief.
Nick Fasulo of SB Nation had Maryland as the favorite to place second behind the Blue Devils, but did have some nice things to say about our hometown Eagles.
Fearless in their new style of play under Steve Donahue, Boston College is fourth in the country in AdjOe (Opponents' average adjusted offensive efficiency), scoring 121 points per 100 possessions. Reggie Jackson has learned how to be a star, leading the Eagles in scoring, assists and steals. Their biggest problem is consistency and scheduling. Remember, this team is 0-2 against the Ivy League this season, and they still must travel to Duke, Florida State and North Carolina. At the very least, the rate this team is playing has put Donahue in the coach of the year discussion, giving boosters a nice early return on investment and reason for fans to invest some time and energy on this team.
Boston College (14-5, 4-1 ACC), which is coming off a closely-contested 70-67 win over Virginia on Wednesday, briefly sat atop the ACC with a perfect 3-0 mark in conference play following Duke's loss to ACC rival Florida State, which the Eagles face Saturday.
Fasulo picked Maryland (11-6, 1-2 ACC) to be the ACC's runner up, and while the Terps have faced some very tough ranked opponents (Pittsburgh, Illinois, Duke and Villanova), they've come up short each time.
As Fasulo pointed out, the ACC is in a down year across the board. With that being the case, second place is truly up for grabs. Not only do Boston College and Maryland have a bona fide shot, but so too does Florida State, Virginia Tech, Clemson and North Carolina State.