It's not all that uncommon for a college basketball team to have an off night, but it's rather unfortunate when it comes against a team like the Duke Blue Devils.
That was the case for Boston College, which made 28-of-61 shots en route to an 84-68 loss against No. 3 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Thursday night.
BC (14-7, 4-3 ACC) made 7-of-20 three pointers (35%) and 5-of-9 free throws (55.6%). The numbers weren't terrible, but Steve Donahue's team never was able to find its stride. When that's the case, and you're playing Duke, you're just out of luck.
Reggie Jackson, the ACC's second leading scorer, was held to seven points and six assists. Reports indicated that Jackson was sick and did not start as a result. His minutes were reduced as well, which ultimately hurt the Eagles.
Corey Raji had a team-high 18 points and Joe Trapani totaled 14 points and 11 rebounds for Boston College. Biko Paris amassed 11 points and seven rebounds and Dallas Elmore added 10 points. Josh Southern chipped in with six points and seven rebounds in the loss.
The Eagles collected 31 rebounds and had 16 assists, three steals and 13 turnovers in their second straight loss.
Nolan Smith scored a game-high 28 points to pace Duke (19-1, 6-1 ACC). Seth Curry scored a career-high 20 points and had three assists and three steals and Kyle Singler added 14 points and six rebounds. Mason Plumlee finished with eight points and 12 rebounds.
Ryan Kelly, who entered the game having made 13 field goals in a row, made his first five shots to extend the streak to 18 straight field goals. Kelly finished 6-for-9 with 14 points, four blocks and four rebounds.
Duke made 30-of-60 shots (50%), 10-of-22 three pointers (45.5%) and 14-of-19 free throws (73.7%). The Blue Devils amassed 31 rebounds, 16 assists, 10 steals, six blocks and seven turnovers.
Boston College kept the game within reach all throughout the first 16 minutes, trailing the Blue Devils 28-27 with 3:35 left in the opening half, but Duke pulled away in the final four minutes to take a 41-32 lead heading into halftime.
The Blue Devils took a firm grasp on the game early in the second half, taking a 69-47 lead after ten minutes. Duke continued to keep BC at arms length for the final ten minutes, preventing the Eagles from making a comeback.
Boston College returns to action on Tuesday evening when it hosts North Carolina at Conte Forum. Duke travels to face St. John's on Sunday afternoon.