Boston College stands 8-8 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. Their lone ACC win was over Syracuse, with their two losses at the hands of Wake Forest and Duke. Wednesday night they will host NC State where they will look to build upon a second half where they outscored Duke 48-40 at Cameron Indoor. What do you need to know about the Eagles?
Jerome Robinson leads the Eagles in scoring averaging 20.6 per game.
Robinson is having a great sophomore season for the Eagles. He has taken the responsibility of being the go-to guy for BC which has helped improve their fast-paced attack. Robinson has a well-rounded offensive game. He shoots well from the field and has a handle that allows him to get defenders leaning to beat them to the basket. The 6-5 guard is talented at taking smaller guards off the bounce, scoring over the top. Robinson also works hard off the ball, cutting backdoor, moving for spot up threes when teammates drive, and curling off of ball screens. His diverse skill set and constant movement make him a difficult cover for opposing teams.
Turnovers plague the Eagles averaging 15.8 per game.
Boston College plays fast and doesn’t mind challenging teams to a track meet. In their last game at Duke, they went back and forth with the Blue Devils; however, their 17 first half turnovers proved to be too much to overcome. A lot of these turnovers were unforced by the Blue Devils, results from poor decisions to rush or attack without numbers.
Boston College plays fast on offense and gives up points defensively.
The Eagles average 74.6 points per game on the season although they have improved that average to 81.3 per game in their three ACC games. BC’s fast-paced attack leads to lots of possessions offensively but it has also strained their defense. In conference play, they are allowing 84.2 PPG. Transition defense hasn’t been great for Boston College as they have been punished for live-ball turnovers. Duke converted 24 points off of Boston College turnovers in the first half. BC’s inability to control turnovers and stop opposing teams consequently slowing their success.
The Eagles can play with any team in the ACC; however, they have not secure a big win due to defense and turnovers. Rebounding has also been of concern as they have a negative rebounding margin in ACC play at -2.7. One thing is sure the Eagles are improving under Coach Jim Christian. Wednesday night Boston College will look to clean up turnovers as well as build upon their second half as they look to beat NC State.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.
News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.
After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.
This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.
James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.
Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.
Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.
Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.
After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.
ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.
With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.
NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.