Boston College v. Duke ACC Tournament Preview
Written March 13, 2009 by Jordan Haimowitz
The Eagles from Boston College are 22-10 on the year while posting a 10-7 ACC conference record and nobody would know it. Quietly, Tyrese Rice is leading BC to a very nice season. The star guard averages 17 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists per game. Forward Joe Trapani has also had a nice season posting a line of 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. So if you don’t know much about the Eagles, what better place to learn then here with Jordan and betfirms.com. Boston College averages 75 PPG while shooting a respectable 45% from the field. While Rice and Trapani are their two most productive guys, The Eagles go as far as their supporting casts takes them. Some nights guard Rakim Sanders picks up the slack with the scoring and on other nights big man Josh Southern posts a nice game. Some may remember on 2-15-09 when Boston College upended the Blue Devils 80-74 at home. That was not the only big win for BC this year. they defeated a tough Umass team on the road, vs Providence, a monstrous win @ UNC, @ Maryland and of course the win stated above at home vs Duke. The major factor for the Eagles tonight to see if they can contain Kyle Singler. Josh Southern at 6′10 is not athletic enough to handle the big time talent in Singler. Coach Al Skinner will need to come up with a defensive scheme to keep the Blue Devils off the board. It might not be a possibility though. Tough match up tonight for Boston College. Odds makers have Duke as 10 point favorites over Boston College.
Duke has been one of those teams this year that just does not thrill me. They have plenty of leadership and heart in guard Greg Paulus and forward Gerald Henderson. They have shooters all over the place starting with guard Jon Scheyer who averages 14 PPG, forward Kyle Singler who can drain three’s from long range averaging 16.5 PPG and Gerald Henderson who puts in 16.5 a game as well can score from inside or out. Duke averages as a team 79 PPG while only giving up 66 PPG. They are coached by legend Coach K. The Blue Devils should match up very well tonight considering the Eagles will have no answer for Kyle Singler. A big man that can stretch the court is something BC does not have. Singler had 25 points and 8 rebounds in the last game that the Blue Devils lost to BC. Expect even better numbers tonight. Duke is still hoping for a #1 seed which becomes an outside possibility after Uconn, Pitt and Oklahoma have all made early exits in their respective conference tourneys. 66% of the public are going heavy on Boston College +10 points.
Haimo’s Hot Notes: Boston College has tons to play for. Most people would agree that they are a lock for the NCAA tourney but if we have learned anything about Selection Sunday it’s…You Never Know. Duke wants a #1 seed badly. If they are going to make a serious run in the tournament this year they will need good matchups and a favorable bracket. Tonight I believe people are putting to much faith in Boston College. They may cover, 10 points is a lot to give. Don’t you think for a second though that Duke has forgotten about that loss @ BC on February 15th. Both teams do not have a good Friday night ATS history. Boston College is 4-9-1 in their last Friday night games while Duke is 4-15 ATS. So for all you people who are piling the cash up on Boston College, do not count your winnings just yet. This is not a very safe play. The match ups do not favor Boston College and out of all the top 10 teams Duke has arguably the most to play for. Be careful here, Duke may be the better play.
Key Player For Boston College: Tyrese Rice
Key Play For Duke: Kyle Singler
Player Of The Game Prediction: Kyle Singler
Jordan’s Registered Picks For The Night:
Villanova/Louisville OVER 141.5
Make sure to get all the information you need with Jordan’s Previews and Game Predictions. If there is a certain team that anybody would like to see a preview or prediction on just post a comment and I will gladly have one ready for you.
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