Matchup: #12 North Carolina (17-6, 7-3 ACC)
vs
Boston College Eagles (9-12, 1-8 ACC)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 7, 2015 @ 3:00pm EST
Location: Silvio O. Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, MA
TV/Radio: ACC Network or ESPN3 / Tar Heel Sports Network
The 12th-ranked Tar Heels plunge into a pivotal three-game road trip Saturday against Boston College hoping to put an end to its first losing streak of the season. The Heels (17-6, 7-3 ACC) have lost two in a row and find themselves trying to fight back to the tip-top of the ACC standings when they visit the struggling Eagles in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Losing to #10 Louisville by letting an 18-point lead slip away and then following that up with a lackluster second half effort against #2 UVA, Carolina has arrived at a point in the season where it must dig deep and find that true grit and toughness that defines all great teams. Saturday afternoon in the Conte Forum could be a tremendous opportunity for the Heels to do that as UNC will clash with a Boston College team that is having its share of problems so far this year. Carolina has played well on the road so far during the ACC schedule, holding a 3-1 record with wins over Clemson, NC State, and Wake Forest. The Eagles (9-12, 1-8 ACC) enter today's game versus Carolina having dropped its last three games, five of their last six, and are sitting in the cellar of the ACC tied with Virginia Tech. It has been a rough hill to climb for first-year coach Jim Christian (formerly coached Kent State), but the Eagles have shown glimpses lately that they may be coming around. Earlier this week, Boston College was down big to Notre Dame 34-9; however the Eagles chipped away and showed some heart on the road by making it close in the end.
Of the nine games left on Boston College's ACC schedule, six of those will be at home beginning with Carolina Saturday. Yes, BC has struggled in the conference but it does have three solid victories over non-conference opponents - New Mexico, Providence, and Harvard. It will take a massive effort all-around for the Eagles to defeat the Heels but playing at home should help. And, the fact that BC has a very experienced club could bode well for them (BC starts two graduate students, two seniors, and a junior). The Eagles hope that scoring threats Oliver Hanlan and Aaron Brown can light up the scoreboard against the Heels because, if not, BC may have no other shot of winning this game. Hanlan, a junior point guard, leads the Eagles by scoring 17.0 points per game (fifth in the ACC) while Brown is the only other double-digit scorer on BC with 14.7 ppg (11th in the ACC). Hanlan, ACC Freshman of the Year two years ago, was awesome against the Fighting Irish Wednesday netting 28 points behind 6-of-9 from three-point distance. A native of Quebec, Canada, Hanlan is the only player in the ACC to be in the top five in points and assists in league play. So, look for the Heels to closely guard Oliver and put a hand in his face each time he gets the ball to keep him from putting up those big-time numbers. If the Heels can shut down Hanlan and Brown, the Eagles offense falls off a cliff from there as Patrick Heckmann is the closest with 8.4 pts/gm. Boston College is averaging only 64.1 ppg so it will be extremely hard to match the offensive firepower that the Heels bring to the court. In contrast, the Heels are putting up 78.8 ppg backed by an impressive 46.6% field-goal shooting mark. Carolina loves to get out in the open floor and run but recently Louisville and Virginia have squashed the transition points from the Heels with UNC only coming up with two fast-break points versus UVA. Carolina must attempt to speed up the Eagles by forcing turnovers and creating those fast-breaks that have long defined a Roy Williams-coached team.
UNC junior guard Marcus Paige believes the Heels can get back to their winning ways but he realizes that the players on the team have to focus more on teamwork than individual accomplishments. After the loss to UVA, Paige voiced his opinions to his teammates in the locker room, pointing out that only together as one will the Heels rise above the adversity and truly play the way the coaches expect every game. Paige has been susceptible to bad games too, but it is his leadership on and off the court that is a beacon of light for the Heels. Paige was named for the second year in a row this week as an Academic All-District standout and his ability to stay cool, calm, and collected in clutch situations just adds to his all-around talent. Paige paces the Heels in scoring with 14.2 ppg and in assists with 4.2 apg, but the offense doesn't stop there. Formidable post duo Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson look to once again establish themselves in the paint. Meeks averages 12.7 ppg and Johnson tallies 11.9 but both have been slowed by foul trouble and injuries/sickness over the last couple games which has subdued their effectiveness on the court. Look for Carolina to get Meeks and Johnson going early as the Heels will have a significant advantage over the Eagles in frontcourt size and quickness. Junior 7-footer Dennis Clifford is BC's best post player, leading BC in rebounds and blocks (5.2 rpg and 1.1 bpg), but he has been hampered by injuries all season long and the Eagles have been outrebounded by its opponents on average. Carolina comes in averaging 10.7 more rebounds per game than BC (43.0 to 32.3) so look for the Heels to hound the boards and snatch any chance for the Eagles to claw their way to victory.
J.P. Tokoto is coming off one of his worst performances of the season shooting 0-for-3 from the field and only grabbing one single rebound versus Virginia. The game was completely out of character for Tokoto and Carolina will need for the junior to return to his normal self getting to the offensive boards, dishing out assists, and scoring with his innate ability to get to the rim. Expect J.P. to come focused and poised to produce significant minutes and numbers in Saturday's matchup with BC but he will also need to cut down on turnovers which has not only haunted himself but also the Heels as a whole.
The Tar Heels are averaging 13.1 turnovers/game this season and most of the turnovers have been on bone-head passes or just lack of energy on offense. Lately, these turnovers have led to a plethora of transition points by opponents and has really put Carolina behind the eight-ball coming down the stretch in games. It will be crucial for the Heels to have another single-digit turnover output like they did against Florida State last month (Heels only turned it over five times vs the Seminoles). Boston College has been known to turn the ball over too (12.8 TO's a game) and with its low scoring production, the Eagles cannot afford to be careless with the ball against the Heels. Keep an eye on turnovers. If Carolina can limit these, they should have enough offensive stroke to cage the Eagles.
North Carolina leads the all-time series with Boston College, 11-5. The Heels have won 9 of the last 11 meetings including five in a row. Roy Williams is 9-4 versus BC as a head coach. Carolina is 4-1 against BC on the road in the Conte Forum.
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