After defeating the reigning national champions, Syracuse (9-7, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) welcomes Boston College (9-7, 3-2) to the Carrier Dome on Wednesday night. The Orange look to build on their first win of 2020 against an inconsistent Eagles team.

Here’s what to know about BC ahead of the 6:30 p.m. tip.

Gambling Odds: Syracuse -12

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 49-26

Last time they played: SU beat the Eagles in the Dome, 67-56, in a battle of Ky Bowman versus Tyus Battle. Both scored 21 points, leading their teams as they did for much of last year. Bowman added eight rebounds, two assists and two steals while Battle added four rebounds and three steals. Buddy Boeheim posted one of his best stat lines of the year, hitting four 3-pointers in 23 minutes. Oshae Brissett recorded a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) as the Orange capitalized on 18 Eagles turnovers.

The Boston College report: BC pairs an adequate defense with a futile offense. Per KenPom, the Eagles rank 251st in adjusted offensive efficiency and 88th defensively. They gather 30.3% of their points from 3 and shoot 30% from behind the arc.

Head coach Jim Christian has piloted the Eagles through an up-and-down season. Despite starting with three wins in four games, a nonconference slate that included losses to DePaul, Saint Louis and Richmond plummeted the Eagles to a sub-.500 record. Heading into the new year, Boston College rattled off four straight wins, including a 64-60 win over California. Then, after a 39-point loss to then-No. 2 Duke in Cameron Indoor, Boston College hosted, and defeated, the then-No. 18 Virginia. Last time out, BC continued its inconsistent play and lost by 19 to Georgia Tech. Starter and leading-scorer Derryck Thornton (13.3 ppg) didn’t play after injuring his right ankle against Duke.

In the absence of Thornton and center Nik Popovic (back), BC has deployed a lineup of Jay Heath, CJ Felder, brothers Jared and Jairus Hamilton, and Steffon Mitchell.

How Syracuse beats the Eagles: Both of these teams took advantage of a remarkably inefficient Virginia team for their biggest wins of the season. While a resume-booster, they prove how sporadic ACC teams can be depending on the night. Luckily for SU, an erratic BC team appears to be in a downswing, with two of its major contributors “questionable” as of Tuesday afternoon. Thornton and Popovic are two of Boston College’s three leading-scorers. BC has looked to Heath (12.1 ppg) and Felder (13 points against GT) to fill the production void.

Syracuse displayed the ability to limit a porous offensive team in their win over the Cavaliers, and a similar strategy might come into play Wednesday night. BC isn’t a good 3-point shooting team, even with Thornton and Popovic on the floor, and the lack of Popovic’s 6-foot-11 frame reduced an interior scoring option. In another low-scoring matchup, it’ll again come down to SU’s zone holding up inside and its 3-point shooters hitting enough to put BC away.

Stat to know: 12.7 — Boston College’s forced steal-percentage, 14th-highest in Division-I.

KenPom odds: Syracuse has a 84% chance to win the game, with a final score of 74-63, per KenPom.

Player to watch: Jay Heath, No. 5, Guard

The freshman shooting guard has immediately found a consistent role in Christian’s rotation. He leads the team in minutes per game (32.4), 3-pointers (39.1%), and is third in assists (28). He’ll find himself patrolling Syracuse’s 2-3 zone looking for shots and also disrupting SU’s offense (22 steals). Virginia Tech’s Jalen Cone altered, and ultimately won, the last game played in the Dome with 3s, and Heath has the potential to do the same.

Published on January 15, 2020 at 12:55 am

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez