Canes Hoops will be looking to take advantage of a prime opportunity to build upon their last victory when they travel up to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts to take on Boston College. The Eagles sit a half-game ahead of the Canes in the ACC standings, presenting Miami with the possibility of moving up to 10th place in the conference with a win today.
Boston College is in similar standing as a program to Miami, as their 2017-18 campaign showed promise, while this season’s performance has left much to be desired. Their best player in 2017-18 was Jerome Robinson, who left at season’s end for the NBA Draft, where he was selected 13th by the Los Angeles Clippers. Robinson’s presence was definitely felt the last time the Canes took the court against BC, as the 6’5” guard averaged 29.5 points in the teams’ 2 meetings last year. Both contests were won by the home team and decided in the final moments, with BC taking the first game 72-70 before the Canes exacted revenge by a score of 79-78 thanks to a clutch shot by Lonnie Walker IV.
This season, BC has been inconsistent, losing non-conference games to IUPUI, Providence, and Hartford. Still, the Eagles are always dangerous, as evidenced by their 1/20 victory over Florida State. Their most lethal option is junior guard Ky Bowman, who is one of the most talented players in the ACC. Despite standing at only 6’1”, Bowman is one of the conference’s leading scorers and rebounders, averaging 20 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He is the team leader in points, rebounds, minutes, assists, steals and 3pt percentage, so the Canes should be focused on limiting his production in whatever way possible. Bowman also has the potential to get hot, with scoring outputs of 44, 38 and 37 points to his credit already this season. BC also uses a shorter rotation, with only 8 players averaging more than 7 minutes per game. Guards Wynston Tabbs and Jordan Chatman as well as forward Nik Popovic are the Eagles other regular scoring options, with all 3 averaging over 13 points per game. No other player on the roster is scoring 6 points per game.
The Canes have been playing better basketball as of late, winning 2 out of their last 3, and coming one shot short of making it three in-a-row. Chris Lykes has been on top of his game, scoring 19.6 points per game on 46% from the field and 40% from deep. Dejan Vasiljevic was the Canes leading scorer in their last matchup, dropping 22 points on only 13 shots.
ESPN’s matchup predictor currently gives the Canes a 45.8% chance of stealing a win on BC’s floor. Tip off is scheduled for 6:00pm ET, and you can watch the action on ESPNU, or via the WatchESPN app or on watchespn.com.