BC's Non-Conference Slate Solidified for 2022-23
Andy Backstrom (@andybackstrom)Publisher
Boston College men's basketball's non-conference slate for the 2022-23 season is now complete.
The Eagles will kick off the season with a Nov. 7 home game against Cornell, and they're set to wrap up the 11-game, out-of-league schedule with a Dec. 13 matchup versus Stonehill, a Massachusetts school making its transition to NCAA Division I this year after joining the NEC.
The lineup includes six games in Conte Forum, three contests in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam, a trip to Nebraska for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and a showdown with former Big East rival and 2022 Final Four representative Villanova in the Never Forget Classic.
BC's COMPLETE NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
Nov. 7 vs. CornellNov. 11 vs. Detroit Mercy
Nov. 14 vs. Maine
Nov. 18 vs. George Mason (Virgin Islands, Paradise Jam)
Nov. 19/20 vs. Belmont/Tarleton (Virgin Islands, Paradise Jam)
Nov. 21 vs. TBD (Virgin Islands, Paradise Jam)
Nov. 27 vs. Rhode Island
Nov. 30 at Nebraska (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Dec. 6 vs. New Hampshire
Dec. 10 vs. Villanova (Newark, N.J., Never Forget Classic)
Dec. 13 vs. Stonehill
HOME/AWAY/NEUTRAL SPLIT
HomeNov. 7 vs. Cornell
Nov. 11 vs. Detroit Mercy
Nov. 14 vs. Maine
Nov. 27 vs. Rhode Island
Dec. 6 vs. New Hampshire
Dec. 13 vs. Stonehill
Away
Nov. 30 at Nebraska (ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Neutral
Nov. 18 vs. George Mason (Virgin Islands, Paradise Jam)
Nov. 19/20 vs. Belmont/Tarleton (Virgin Islands, Paradise Jam)
Nov. 21 vs. TBD (Virgin Islands, Paradise Jam)
Dec. 10 vs. Villanova (Newark, N.J., Never Forget Classic)
TAKEAWAYS
— Last year, the Eagles had two true road games (URI and Saint Louis) in their non-conference slate. They lost both of those. This time around, BC has just one non-neutral-site game away from Conte Forum before the start of ACC play.— Like the 2021-22 season, BC will start this year against an Ivy League opponent. Last season, the Eagles handled Dartmouth, 73-57. This year, they'll get a Cornell team that clocked out last spring with a 193rd in KenPom rating and placed fourth in the Ancient Eight standings with a .500 conference record.
— BC will welcome back former assistant coach Chris Markwood on Nov. 14 when Maine comes to town. This offseason, Markwood, a Black Bears alum, was named the program's head coach after serving on Earl Grant's BC staff.
— BC is set to participate in the Paradise Jam, an eight-team, early-season tournament that takes place in late November in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Early-season tournaments haven't been kind to the Eagles of late. BC went 1-3 in Bubbleville in 2020-21, playing four games to start the COVID-19-affected season in the Mohegan Sun Arena. BC put up good fights against then-No. 3 Villanova and St. John's but suffered a blowout loss to Florida. Its lone victory came against Rhode Island, which got the better of BC twice last year, including in the teams' Sunshine Slam matchup in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Eagles lost both of its games in the event, falling to Utah, 68-61, to open the tournament.
— The Eagles are traveling to Nebraska for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge for the second time in five years. BC last faced the Cornhuskers in November 2017, falling, 71-62, in Lincoln after stretch four Deontae "Teddy" Hawkins went down with a season-ending knee injury midway through the first half.
— Villanova leads the all-time series against BC, 53-24. The programs first met in 1945-46. But they've played just twice since the Eagles left the Big East for the ACC. The first time was in the NCAA Elite Eight, a thrilling matchup that saw the Wildcats prevailed in overtime, 60-59. Two seasons ago, BC and Villanova squared off in Bubbleville, with then-Wildcats head coach Jay Wright's team holding off a fierce effort from BC.
