BC BEATS NC STATE IN DOUBLE OT

Boston College had been 1-4 against ranked teams this season, beating only #25 North Carolina back in January. They had lost to the #14 NC State Wolfpack 78-60 in Chestnut Hill on the 10th of January. The Eagles needed two overtimes to do it, but they edged NC State 74-72 to win a very big game. The win gives the #13 BC Eagles a 9-5 ACC record with two conference games remaining, both at home and both against unranked opponents (Wake Forest, Virginia Tech). All BC has to do in order to ensure a 4th seed in the ACC tournament, and a bye, is to win one of those games or have Florida State lose on of their remaining games. Florida State has one of their games against #1 Duke so the odds of them running the table are slim. The Eagles are pretty safe in the 4th spot and if NC State loses their last game against Wake Forest and BC beats both Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, the Eagles will move into the 3rd seed for the ACC tournament. Getting the 3rd seed would bring us out of the bracket with the #1 seed. The ACC tournament will begin on March 9th (March 10th if BC gets the bye) in Greensboro, NC. If the Eagles have a good showing in the ACC tournament, they will probably get a good seed for once in the NCAA tournament.

The game itself was a great one. BC had a lead in the middle of the 2nd half before NC State when on an 8-0 run and got the lead back. Neither team led by more than 6 points the entire game. BC played some amazing defense in the overtimes, as did NC State. Only 12 points were scoredby both teams in the two overtime periods. Sean Williams had 8 blocked shots for BC. He also got 7 boards and a steal to lead the BC defensive effort. Craig Smith had a double-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Eagles blew some opportunities to win this game, but whenever they did so they'd make up for it with a great defensive stand or a big shot such as Sean Marshall's three point play that won the game in double OT.

After starting their first ACC season by going 0-3, BC has gone 9-2 in the league. Their non-conference schedule hasn't exactly been easy, but they've had a few big wins within the league such as this one against NC State, and the win against UNC earlier in the year. They are poised to do some damage in the ACC tournament and if they can win two games in that, they should get a very good seed for the NCAA tournament.

Boston College is also still on top of the Hockey East standings despite a pair of losses to Maine over the weekend. They have three games left before the end of the regular season. They are 3 points ahead of rival Boston University. BU has a much easier schedule going against UVM, and then Northeastern twice. BC plays UMass-Lowell and then two against 4th place UNH. Of the 10 teams in Hockey East, only Merrimack College has been eliminated from making the tournament.