The BC Eagles hosted #11 Clemson Tuesday night, and faced #7 Wake Forest Sunday afternoon. Both games saw competitive first halves. Both games saw a more talented opponent pull away. But both games, to me, demonstrated that BC belongs in the NCAA tournament.
Last night, the Eagles held a 39-35 lead over the Tigers at halftime. The night ended with Clemson on the good side of an 87-77 score, but the game was much tighter than that, and would have been even closer if not for some generous calls that went Clemson's way.
BC's remaining schedule looks like this:
2/15 vs. #6 Duke
2/21 @ Miami
2/24 vs. #24 Florida State
3/4 @ NC State
3/7 vs. Georgia Tech
They should roll over NC State and Georgia Tech, giving them at least 20 wins on the year. Beating Duke would be miraculous, and would give BC reservations to the Dance, but let's be realistic. If they beat either Miami or FSU, then finish the season with victories over NC State and Georgia Tech, it seems as though BC will make the NCAA tournament.
If they don't beat either Miami or FSU; or don't beat BOTH NCSU and GT, then the Eagles will have to impress in the ACC Tournament.
This is how competitive the ACC is this year. BC is in 7th with a 6-5 conference record. Yet they're only 2 games out of 1st. ESPN.com's Bracketology forecasts 8 ACC teams selected for the NCAAs. That might be on the high side. But what's vital for BC is to separate themselves from teams like Miami, Maryland, and Virginia Tech.
Otherwise, they'll find themselves hosting NIT games.
Source:
ESPN.com
Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer
