‘BC’ and ‘NCAA Tournament’ can be mentioned in the same sentence
By Joe Sullivan Globe Staff January 19, 2018
The clock travels with them everywhere. It hangs in the locker room. It goes on road trips and sits on the bench. It doesn’t provide the time of day; instead, it counts down the hours and minutes until Selection Sunday, the day when the field for the NCAA Tournament will be selected.
The idea that such a clock belongs to Boston College is surprising, to say the least. No one considered BC a possible NCAA team when the season began. I mean NO ONE.
Coach Jim Christian had someone make the clock because he wants his players to know, as he says, “We’re playing for something. Why wouldn’t we want them to dream big? I want those guys to pursue that with everything they have. I want them to dream big.’’
BC should be in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament. It’s a statement I never thought I would make in mid-January.
The BC countdown clock.
The Eagles are 13-6 overall, 3-3 in the ACC, with two excellent home-court victories over Duke and Florida State. Sounds like they’re building a résumé, right?
It was the Florida State victory Monday night that started changing my thoughts, but we need to be empirical about this, so I turned to a master, Joe Lunardi of ESPN. Lunardi invented bracketology and he’s still the best there is at it, even though many other people are involved in their own version.
Right now, according to Lunardi, the Eagles are not in — and they have some serious work to do.
Here’s how Lunardi sees BC at this point:
■ Currently No. 84 on his board (16 spots away from the at-large cut line).
■ Classic profile of an NIT team (e.g., middle to sub-middle team in great conference).
■ Will finish .500 or more likely a little below in that conference, needing 2-3 conference tournament wins to be on the board.
■ Has one good and one really good win, both at home, but an 0-6 record against other power teams.
■ They need much more to overcome their nonconference strength of schedule (No. 299), which makes them only 6-6 against Top 200.
Christian accepts that information as realistic but said, “It’s mid January and I think it’s fantastic that we can actually have a conversation about this. It shows we’re having a really good season, but those things change daily, they change game by game.
“The only thing we can focus on is our two-game road swing.’’
That starts Sunday with a noon tipoff against Louisville (Ch. 38) at the Pitino Palace, then continues Wednesday at Syracuse (7 p.m., ESPNU) in the Air Conditioner Unit.
. . .
By Joe Sullivan Globe Staff January 19, 2018
The clock travels with them everywhere. It hangs in the locker room. It goes on road trips and sits on the bench. It doesn’t provide the time of day; instead, it counts down the hours and minutes until Selection Sunday, the day when the field for the NCAA Tournament will be selected.
The idea that such a clock belongs to Boston College is surprising, to say the least. No one considered BC a possible NCAA team when the season began. I mean NO ONE.
Coach Jim Christian had someone make the clock because he wants his players to know, as he says, “We’re playing for something. Why wouldn’t we want them to dream big? I want those guys to pursue that with everything they have. I want them to dream big.’’
BC should be in the conversation for the NCAA Tournament. It’s a statement I never thought I would make in mid-January.
The BC countdown clock.
The Eagles are 13-6 overall, 3-3 in the ACC, with two excellent home-court victories over Duke and Florida State. Sounds like they’re building a résumé, right?
It was the Florida State victory Monday night that started changing my thoughts, but we need to be empirical about this, so I turned to a master, Joe Lunardi of ESPN. Lunardi invented bracketology and he’s still the best there is at it, even though many other people are involved in their own version.
Right now, according to Lunardi, the Eagles are not in — and they have some serious work to do.
Here’s how Lunardi sees BC at this point:
■ Currently No. 84 on his board (16 spots away from the at-large cut line).
■ Classic profile of an NIT team (e.g., middle to sub-middle team in great conference).
■ Will finish .500 or more likely a little below in that conference, needing 2-3 conference tournament wins to be on the board.
■ Has one good and one really good win, both at home, but an 0-6 record against other power teams.
■ They need much more to overcome their nonconference strength of schedule (No. 299), which makes them only 6-6 against Top 200.
Christian accepts that information as realistic but said, “It’s mid January and I think it’s fantastic that we can actually have a conversation about this. It shows we’re having a really good season, but those things change daily, they change game by game.
“The only thing we can focus on is our two-game road swing.’’
That starts Sunday with a noon tipoff against Louisville (Ch. 38) at the Pitino Palace, then continues Wednesday at Syracuse (7 p.m., ESPNU) in the Air Conditioner Unit.
. . .
