Posted by BillFromTampa

Boston College hosts for the first time ever as Atlantic Coast Conference members the Florida State Seminoles Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM.

As Big East members last season, the Eagles began the season 20-0 and were ranked in the top five. However, they ended the season with mediocre results finishing 5-5 bowing out in the second round of the NCAA 83-75 to Cinderella team Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Despite the average finish last season BC was picked by many to finish second in their inaugural year in the ACC behind Duke. Returning four starters from that 2004-2005 squad was a big reason for those expectations.’,'So far those expectations in conference play have not panned out. Currently the 15th ranked Eagles have a pretty good overall record at 11-4. But so far BC has yet to win a conference game in three tries losing on the road to Maryland 73-71 and Georgia Tech 60-58, and at home to North Carolina State 78-60 (and it wasn’t even that close).

Boston College fans are obviously not pleased with the results so far with one fan yelling out during the NC State debacle “This isn’t the Big East anymore”.

Boston College is a little more of a traditional team that runs a flex style offense. Much more of an inside out offense, it depends on a lot of baskets from the post. They will bump you and knock you around all game long. However, that style has not translated into success in conference play primarily because ACC teams have a great deal of speed especially at the perimeter and can deny the ball inside.

The focus of the team starts with 6-7 forward Craig Smith. The beefy 250 pound senior was not even in the top 400 when he was recruited out of Los Angeles. Now he could be a contender for ACC player of the year. Smith averages 16.9 ppg and 7.3 rpg. He is equally proficient on the defensive boards and offensive boards. Although he does not have anything resembling a perimeter game, Smith is a good finisher around the basket sporting a 57% shooting average. A better than decent defender he leads the team in steals with 19 to go along with a team high 14 blocked shots.

Junior Jared Dudley starts at the other forward position. The 6-7 225 pound junior from San Diego is second on the team in scoring just behind Smith with 16.6 ppg but leads the team in rebounding with 7.5 rpg. Not much better shooting from the perimeter, Dudley also is a good finisher shooting 51% from the floor. What Dudley does better than Smith though is he can put the ball on the floor and slash his way to the rim. Also a decent defender, Dudley is tied for second with 18 steals.

John Oates, a 6-10 255 pound sophomore, has manned the center spot while Sean Williams’ suspension issues were resolved. Oates has struggled at times and averages just 3.9 ppg and 3.3 rpg. He second on the Eagles with 11 blocked shots.

Louis Hinnant (6-4, 190 lbs) took over point guard duties from the graduated Jermaine Watson. Hinnant has 64 assists on the season and carries a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio into the game. Averaging 6.5 ppg and 2.5 rpg, Hinnant is efficient in distributing the ball. While he doesn’t take a lot of them (14-21), Hinnant does knock down the three pointers at a 66% rate.

Junior 6-6 swingman Sean Marshall is third on the team in scoring with 13.4 ppg with 4.3 rpg. He is threat from inside and outside with a 46% overall and from behind the arc (24-52) as well. He also plays decent defense tying Dudley with 18 steals.

Off the bench, head coach Al Skinner found a pretty good guard in freshman Tyrese Rice. At 6-0, Rice is ACC quick, handles the ball well, and has the ability to break down defenses. He shoots at a 48% clip, is the main threat to hit the three point shot with 30-72 and is very good from the stripe connecting on 22 of 28 attempts. That all works out to 10.1 ppg for Rice. His quickness has contributed to his 12 steals on the season to date.

Freshman guard Marquez Haynes and sophomore forward Akida McLain, who has played just eight games this season, are also solid players off the bench for Skinner. They combine for 10.3 ppg and 4.8 rpg.

Sean Williams was allowed to return to school last month. He worked out at the University of Houston, his hometown, during last semester while he sat out. Skinner was counting on Williams to be the starter at the five spot until his legal issues blew up those plans. With just six games under his belt this season, the 6-10 Williams has not been much of a factor for the Eagles yet.

As a team, the Eagles shoot 49% overall and 35% from the bonus sphere. A so-so team from the line they average 67% while pulling down 35 rpg.

On defense the Eagles have struggled notably in the post. Allowing just 34% three pointers, Boston College is at the bottom where teams have exploited them down low shooting 43% overall.

That compares to FSU’s 50% scoring average (37% behind the arc) and 68% from the line. Defensively FSU is among the conference leaders in allowing just below 40% shooting (34% three pointers).

Fresh off their second ACC road win in 34 tries, it will be a tough test for the Seminoles. Likely to run into an angry Eagles team (Leonard Hamilton joked after the Virginia game that he was sure BC was taking the next few days off after their loss to NCS), paramount for FSU will be to defend the post. The Florida State guards will have to do a good job in denying the ball inside to the Eagles’ physical big men.

Where the Seminoles are likely to hold an advantage is their overall team speed. If FSU can force the pace to their transition game, they have a good chance at walking away with their second consecutive ACC road win.