Analysis and notes from the Eagles 78-77 loss at Miami...

Play of the Game

With just under five minutes left in the first half at Miami, the Eagles had scored just two points in the last eight minutes and only 13 total. Up to this point in the contest Boston College once again was struggling shooting the basketball away from their home floor in a conference game. The Eagles had hit just one 3-pointer in the game, it was made by Ky Bowman on the first possession of the game. They needed a play to provide a spark to the team's offense. On a missed shot the ball went off the rim and towards Mo Jeffers, Connar Tava, and Miami's Anthony Lawrence Jr. when Tava got his finger tips on the ball enough to deflect it away from Lawrence and within Jeffers reach where he punched it out away from the log jam of bodies in the paint. The ball bounced all the way out past the three point line to a wide open A.J. Turner who fielded the ball at the bottom position of the Miami famous "U" logo at mid court. Turner picked up the loose ball with three seconds left on the shot clock and he had to let it fly right away. The ball swished through the net and a sense of relief emitted from the the entire Eagles team in the building. The shot provided the exact spark BC needed, they stepped up their energy on the defensive end that helped them out play the Hurricanes for not just the rest of the first half, but the rest of the game. The Eagles scored the first half's final four points after Turner's three, trailing by just eight at the break. Including Turner's 3-pointer, BC finished the game on a 62-48 run.

Highlight of the Game

With time running out in the game and the Eagles down by six points in Miami 70-64, BC had to get a quick stop and score with a sense of urgency. Miami's best player, senior guard Davon Reed crossed half-court after narrowly getting whistled for a 10-second violation. He instantly gets swallowed by the Boston College defense by way of a half-court trap in the corner as Jordan Chatman and Jerome Robinson forced Reed to pick up the ball. The BC trap was fierce and intense, as Reed tried to create space to find a passing lane, Robinson made a clean swipe at the ball which rattled it loose and allowed Chatman to easily knock it away from Reed. The ball popped straight into the air and towards the sideline as Chatman jumped out to it in an effort to secure it and somehow he found a bolting Robinson perfectly in stride as Robinson glided for an explosive finish above the rim to pull Boston College within just four points with only 99 seconds left in the game. The Eagles finished the game on a 13-8 run thanks to that play.

Player(s) of the Game

After scoring just 22 first half points, the Eagles responded with 55 in the second half thanks to Jordan Chatman, Jerome Robinson, Mo Jeffers, and Ky Bowman finally getting it going on offense in the second half.

But if it weren't for A.J. Turner none of that would of even mattered. Turner's big 3-pointer in the first half was discussed earlier and he also provided all of the offense in the early portion of the second half as the other scorers on the team still couldn't get it going. He provided the offense and the energy on that end of the floor just long enough until his teammates could get hot. Turner finished the game with 15 points on 6-of-11 from the field, including 3-for-6 from deep. He also pulled in four rebounds and dished out two assists with no turnovers. The 6-foot-8 sophomore from Michigan scored ten of the Eagles first 14 points of the second half, a span of just over six minutes. Turner knocked down open and contested 3-pointers, grabbed offensive boards, knocked down close jumpers, forced a turnover that he turned into a dunk, and drew contact around the rim that he was able to hang in the air long enough to get the ball on the glass for the perfect angle for a flashy two points. This was a big time performance by the team's co-captain exactly when they needed one of their leaders to step up on the road. Turner has struggled over the last three games and hasn't been nearly as aggressive on the offensive end of the floor as he has been throughout most of the year. On Wednesday night in Miami for the first 30 minutes of the game, whenever the Eagles needed a play, Turner was the one who delivered.

1-on-1 Perimeter Defense

The Eagles struggled all night to keep the Hurricanes shifty, fast guards in front of them along the perimeter. At one point in the middle of the first half all the Miami offense consisted of was crossing half-court, getting the ball to either Ja'Quan Newton or Bruce Brown and get everyone else out of their way because they were going to go isolation against their one-on-one defender and take it to the rim. Explosive scoring guards like these guards from Miami don't need much space to make something happen on offense, several times the BC defense allowed the the angles they needed to get around them and penetrate the lane. This helped the Hurricanes outscore BC in the paint, 38-34.

Ball Screen Defense

throughout the night the Hurricanes were able to get open looks all around the three point line as the Eagles struggled with defending their offense off of ball screens. Players would be screened and not switch when they were supposed to and other times it would happen vice versa. This also didn't help with the one-on-one perimeter defense as the miscommunication allowed the necessary angle the Miami guards needed to get in the lane. Many of the defensive breakdowns happened because of one of the young Eagles players on the floor still working to learn and understand how to properly play defense at this high of a level. Once they learn they can no longer fight through every single screen like they did in high school or AAU ball, and trust as well as know the defensive plan, these types of breakdowns will stop rearing their ugly head so often. Luckily for the Eagles, the wide open looks from the four minute mark in the first half and on, the Hurricanes struggled to convert. Boston College head coach also switched many times into a 2-3 zone look that seemed to really confuse and rattle Miami throughout the entire second half as the Eagles constantly bounced back and forth between their man defense and the zone which kept the Hurricanes from developing any type of rhythm on offense.

22 First Half Points

No matter if you're playing on the road, at home, or on a neutral site at any level of college basketball it's going to be extremely tough to win a game when you score only 22 points in a half. But that's exactly what the Eagles did, as they scored just 22 points in the first half and exploded for 55 second half points on Wednesday night. The 22 first half points is 15 points below their first half average this season. Luckily for BC, their defense in the final four minutes of the first half shutout the Hurricanes and was able to hold Miami to only 30 first half points. Had the Eagles performed to just their first half average, coupled with their impressive second half performance you may be discussing a conference road win on Wednesday night in Miami. BC finally came out of their ACC road game shooting slump in the second half, which helped them greatly on offense. When the Eagles are hitting from the perimeter, it allows Bowman and Robinson to drive. Which plays into both of their strengths. You were able to see that from Robinson in particular, as he got going in the final 15 minutes using his ability to get by the defender after BC had made some open looks from deep.

Bright Spots

The Eagles sharpshooter Jordan Chatman has been seeing much tighter defenses on him ever since he's shown the ability to both knock down open looks from deep as well as being able to drive by his defender and get to the rim. Chatman showed toughness in the game against Miami on Wednesday night as he had to earn every single point he scored (6 points) in the game. Chatman couldn't get anything to fall early in the game with the defenses draped all over him, but the shooter did what all the good shooters do... He kept on shooting. He did a little of everything in the game too, he rebounded well (4 rebounds) and had a gorgeous assist where he hit Robinson in stride for a wide open dunk as Chatman threw it to him perfectly while saving the ball from going out of bounds after he forced a steal. That steal, along with three others in the game were apart of the best defensive game Chatman has played in a Boston College uniform. It was a tough, all around solid game by Chatman on both ends of the floor and was good to see if you're a BC fan.

It was discussed at length earlier about how A.J. Turner responded strongly after struggling the past three game. He was aggressive, he made plays, he took it to the rack, he hit contested and open shots all while holding down the fort for the first 30 minutes as the rest of the team struggled on offense.

It took a while but finally the Eagles got major production from their leading scorer. Jerome Robinson came back in the second half and made his presence known. He put his scoring arsenal on full display in the second half on Wednesday night. Many of his buckets weren't easy, but with his length, quickness, and knack for getting by his defender he's able to create many offensive opportunities that many other players wouldn't be able to do. He went to the locker room at halftime with only six points, and finished the game with a game high 27. Robinson erupted for 18 points in the final 5:31 of the game.