Recap:

On Monday Night, Conte Forum finally saw the Boston College Eagles win an ACC game. In an intense back-and-forth affair, the Eagles took down the Notre Dame Fighting Irish by a score of 63-59, Jaeden Zackery led all scorers, with an efficient 20 points. And Quinten Post added 17 points of his own, with 11 coming in the final 5 minutes of the contest. After falling behind by double digits in the first half, the Eagles rallied to open the second half, opening the frame with a 10-2 run to regain the lead. The final 15:00 of this game featured some thrilling back and forth between the two teams, highlighted by three ties and eleven lead changes. 

However, the Eagles nearly gave the game to the Irish, after leading by four points with 19 seconds to play. Up 61-57, the Eagles gave the Irish’s Markus Burton a free layup with the foul, gave up an offensive rebound, and left Carey Booth wide open for a three which would have put the Irish ahead. Fortunately, the Irish big man missed the shot, the Eagles secured the rebound, and escaped the night with a win. 

Keeping The Status Quo:

While it was fun to finally see the Eagles take down a conference opponent in front of a home crowd, my first takeaway is that fans did not really learn anything new about this team. We’re far enough along in the season that we largely know who this team is and what can be expected of them. We know that Coach Grant tends to not call timeouts in the midst of an opposing team’s scoring run. After taking a 17-16 lead early, the Eagles gave up a 15-2 run to the Irish, soon finding themselves down 31-19. We know that these Eagles love to dig themselves into a hole early, but that they can also dig themselves out. Of their eleven wins on the season, the Eagles have trailed by ten or more points in five of them. 

And lastly, we know that the Eagles have had struggles closing out tight games. They could not hold on to late leads against Wake Forest, NC State, or Syracuse. BC nearly blew a four-point lead with 19 seconds to go, and had they been playing a more talented team than Notre Dame, perhaps they would have. However, we don’t live in a world of hypotheticals, and the Eagles will take any ACC win they can get. This win now puts the Eagles at 11-6 (2-4 ACC), and it looks a heck of a lot better than 10-7 (1-5 ACC). 

JZ Returning to Form:

Zackery and Post combined for a total of zero (0) points in a frustratingly close loss to Syracuse. So seeing Zackery tear off a couple of good scoring games against Clemson and Notre Dame was extremely refreshing. In their last two games, Zackery has scored 38 points, shooting a combined 16-22 from the field, and 3-5 from three. Zackery was especially excellent against Notre Dame, and was the main reason the Eagles went into halftime within spitting distance of the Irish.

The junior guard continues to show the value of continuity and veteran leadership on this team. So, with a handful of very winnable games coming up for the Eagles, hopefully Zackery can keep this momentum going. One area that Zackery could look to improve is his three-point shooting. After shooting close to 50% from deep as a freshman, Zackery saw his percentage drop to 32.2% in his sophomore season, and is down again to just 29% this season. If JZ can continue his hot shooting, and get that three-point percentage close to 35%, it

Post’s Health:

After coming down with a stomach illness that kept him out against Clemson, Post came into last Monday’s game having not scored a point in nine days. And, outside of an early bucket, he seemed like he was in for a tough shooting night against the Irish. In the first half on Monday, Post scored just two points on five shots from the floor. Post appeared to be laboring far more than usual, leaving every shot short and playing way out of character.

However, with 5 minutes left in the game, Post was able flip the switch at the exact right time. When the Eagles found themselves trailing 55-49 with 5:12 to play, the big man finally took control of the game, going on a personal 8-0 run, before hitting the go-ahead three-pointer with 44 seconds left on the clock. As mentioned earlier, Post scored 11 of his 17 points in the last 5 minutes of the game. While Post certainly did not look 100% healthy against Notre Dame, the Dutchman made the shots when they counted most. The five day break before tomorrow’s game against UNC should help Post get healthy and back to his normal self. 

Trust in Chas:

My last takeaway from this game was Coach Grant’s unwavering trust in sophomore guard Chas Kalley III. While I was a bit harsh on Kelley III in my player grades, Grant continues to trust the young guard, even calling him “a coach on the floor”. While Kelley III is not stuffing the stat sheet, he’s been a solid floor general, and a willing defender. Despite not attempting a single shot from the field on Monday, he led the team in plus/minus with a +15. The Houston native also hit the game-clinching free throws with seven seconds to play. However, in my opinion, the Eagle will eventually need some scoring from the young guard if they want to compete with the better teams in the ACC. 

What’s Next:

After picking up their second win in the conference, the Eagles will stay in Chestnut Hill, where they will take on the North Carolina Tar Heels tomorrow at 2:15 PM. The Tar Heels, currently ranked fourth in the country, will be the Eagles’ toughest opponent to date. UNC’s RJ Davis has a  legitimate argument for being the best guard in the country, and poses a massive challenge for Zackery defensively. And Armando Bacot, now in his fifth year wearing the Carolina Blue, has owned the paint for the Tar Heels for the better part of his collegiate career. With a 14-3 (6-0 ACC) record, UNC poses a massive challenge for the Eagles, but also presents a tremendous opportunity. If the Eagles can somehow engineer an upset tomorrow, not only will they climb the ranks of the ACC, but the fan support will be back in Conte in full force. The BC Nation got a taste of it on Monday, but a win over a fourth-ranked opponent will bring the “Conte Buzz” to a whole other level.