TUESDAY Bonus Play
7pm ET
#4 Boston College (20-0) at Notre Dame (13-6)
Recommended Play: Notre Dame PK
In their last season as a member of the Big East Conference, the fourth-ranked Boston College Eagles are off to the best start ever in league history and will try to remain unbeaten on the year when they take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tonight from the Joyce Center. Boston College, which is 20-0 this season, set a school-record for a winning streak and remained with top-ranked Illinois as the only unbeatens in Division I. Two Big East teams had gone 19-0 before, but Connecticut in 1998-99 and Syracuse in 1999-2000 both lost in their 20th contest. As for the Fighting Irish, they are in the midst of arguably their toughest part of their schedule, as they have to play four consecutive outings against ranked opponents. This game is the third straight such contest, having played then 23-ranked Connecticut (78-74) on January 30th and most recently, then eighth-ranked Syracuse on Saturday.
The Irish suffered a 60-57 loss to the Orange this past weekend, marking their third defeat in their last four games. Tonight's contest will mark the 21st meeting between these two schools on the hardwood, with the series all tied up at 10-10. However, Notre Dame has won four of the last five meetings and is 6-4 against the Eagles when playing at the Joyce Center.
Boston College has gotten off to undefeated start because of its balanced scoring attack and its ability to dominate opponents on the boards. The Eagles currently have four players scoring in double-figures and are outrebounding teams by an average of 5.4 rpg. Craig Smith is leading the way in both important categories, scoring 18.7 ppg and collecting 8.4 rpg. A clear mid- season favorite to win the Big East Player of the Year award, Smith has been nearly as impressive against conference foes with averages of 17.2 ppg and 8.3 rpg. Jared Dudley has also been a main reason for this squad's unexpected start, contributing with 16.4 ppg and 7.5 rpg. Dudley recorded a double-double in the team's recent win over Seton Hall, posting team-highs with 20 points and 14 rebounds. Smith also had a double-double in the victory, finishing with 15 points and 11 boards. Sean Marshall chipped in with 12 points, as Boston College came away with the win despite shooting just 37 percent from the !
floor and 27.3 percent from behind the arc.
Torin Francis paced the Fighting Irish in their three-point loss to Syracuse, posting a double-double with 15 points and 11 boards. Francis made 5-of-9 field goal attempts, but converted only 5-of-8 from the foul line. Chris Quinn chipped in with 12 points, while Dennis Latimore had 10 points and six rebounds in a key reserve role. Colin Falls added nine points and four assists, which helped to overshadow one of the worst performances of the season for Chris Thomas, who finished with just five points. Although Thomas was able to dish out five assists, he made just 2-of-12 field goal attempts and missed all three of his shots from three-point land. Despite the rough outing against the Orange, Thomas is still leading this team in scoring with 13.7 ppg and ranks second in the Big East with an average of 6.4 apg. Quinn is adding 12.4 ppg on 41.5 percent shooting from behind the arc, while Falls is contributing with 11.5 ppg.
This is one of the tougher matchups of the season for the unbeaten Eagles, who could suffer their first loss of the year tonight. Notre Dame's guards will give Boston College problems and it has the low post players to play the Eagles tough in the paint.
Good luck
Mike Thomas
