02-25-2025, 10:29 PM
Stanford favored by 11.5, O/U is 141.5, implied score is 76.5-65. Boston College comes in with a record of 12-15, 4-12 in the ACC, & 0-7 as a visiting team. Stanford is #77 according to Massey, while the Eagles are #133. Among the 5 ratings I look at, this disparity between the 2 teams is the least. BC is performing "down to expectations", as they were decimated by the transfer portal (and rebuilt somewhat by it) and picked to finish 18th (last) in the pre-season ACC poll (as opposed to Stanford's lofty pre-season ranking of 17). So this should be a cakewalk for Stanford. As Lee Corso might say, "Not so fast".
BC won their 2 games last week (after losing 10 pf their previous 11). They beat Virginia Tech 54-36 and Georgia Tech 69-54. Two pretty comfortable margins and 2 real low scoring games. The 2 Techs combined to shoot 33-107 (30.8%). The Eagles are tied with NC State at #16 in the ACC. They are 1 game behind Cal & Syracuse in the battle for the last spots in the ACC tournament. So they will be a desperate team in their final 4 games.
As a team, nothing really stands out for BC in the ACC stats other than that they are #3 in blocks with 4.0 per game. Donald Hand Jr. stands out individually. He ranks 8th in scoring (16.6ppg), 16th in rebounds (6.3rpg), 4th in FT% (86.5%) & 5th in 3pt FGs (64). He was also the ACC Player of the Week last week - for the 3rd time this season. Only 2 other players have been ACC PoY 3 times this season - no surprise, those players are Cooper Flagg & Maxime Raynaud. Chad Venning & Jayden Hastings are 4th & 8th in blocks per game with 1.66 & 1.26, respectively. And Venning is 2nd in FG% (54.4%).
Starters in their games last week were:
#13 Hand (6'5/210 So G) Who will guard him? Donavin Young?
#32 Venning (6'9/270 Gr F/C) their big man, scores 12.9ppg (with that high percentage-so likely mostly at the rim), 4.2 rpg, grad transfer from Saint Bonaventure where he was All-Atlantic 10 as a senior;
#1 Dion Brown (6'3/180 Jr G) 7.1ppg, transfer from U of Md Baltimore Co. where he was All-Rookie All-America East as a freshman & All-League as a sophomore;
#3 Roger McFarlane (6'4/215 Gr G) 5.0ppg & 5.0rpg, grad transfer from Southeastern Louisiana where he was All-Southland Conference as a senior;
#00 Chas Kelley III (6'3/185 Jr G) 4.2ppg
Rounding out their rotation are 2 more big men and 2 more guards:
#22 Hastings (6'9/240 RFr F) 3.6ppg, 3.1rpg;
#31 Elijah Strong (6'8/235 So F) 9.3ppg, 4.2rpg;
#5 Fred Payne (6'1/185 So G) 7.3ppg;
#7 Joshua Beadle (6'3/180 Gr G) 6.4ppg, 51.5% on 3s (but low volume - 17 of 33), grad transfer from Clemson where he played 11 minutes per game on last year's Elite 8 team
BC seemed to be a team on the rise last season. They finished 20-16, including a first round NIT win. Only 1 of their top players was running out of eligibility - Quinten Post, who is now playing for the Warriors. But they ended up losing: Claudell Harris to Mississippi State, Jaeden Zackery to Clemson, Devin McGlockton to Vanderbilt, Mason Madsen to Utah, & Prince Aligbe to Seton Hall. Hand is the only one of the top 7 that stayed.
So hopefully Stanford can take advantage of this situation. This may be their last regular season game as a favorite - even if not, they certainly won't be a double-digit favorite again. It was interesting to me that in the press conference following the Cal game, Maxime talked about the importance of finishing strong, noting that the team was 3-12 during the final 5 games of the past 3 seasons. So obviously this is something the coaches & players have emphasized. Winning this game would seem to be required for any chance of a strong finish. It would also get them one step closer to a 20 win season and put them into a great position to get a first round ACC tourney bye.
Press conference: https://youtube.com/watch?v=6qlgctEJ25g
BC won their 2 games last week (after losing 10 pf their previous 11). They beat Virginia Tech 54-36 and Georgia Tech 69-54. Two pretty comfortable margins and 2 real low scoring games. The 2 Techs combined to shoot 33-107 (30.8%). The Eagles are tied with NC State at #16 in the ACC. They are 1 game behind Cal & Syracuse in the battle for the last spots in the ACC tournament. So they will be a desperate team in their final 4 games.
As a team, nothing really stands out for BC in the ACC stats other than that they are #3 in blocks with 4.0 per game. Donald Hand Jr. stands out individually. He ranks 8th in scoring (16.6ppg), 16th in rebounds (6.3rpg), 4th in FT% (86.5%) & 5th in 3pt FGs (64). He was also the ACC Player of the Week last week - for the 3rd time this season. Only 2 other players have been ACC PoY 3 times this season - no surprise, those players are Cooper Flagg & Maxime Raynaud. Chad Venning & Jayden Hastings are 4th & 8th in blocks per game with 1.66 & 1.26, respectively. And Venning is 2nd in FG% (54.4%).
Starters in their games last week were:
#13 Hand (6'5/210 So G) Who will guard him? Donavin Young?
#32 Venning (6'9/270 Gr F/C) their big man, scores 12.9ppg (with that high percentage-so likely mostly at the rim), 4.2 rpg, grad transfer from Saint Bonaventure where he was All-Atlantic 10 as a senior;
#1 Dion Brown (6'3/180 Jr G) 7.1ppg, transfer from U of Md Baltimore Co. where he was All-Rookie All-America East as a freshman & All-League as a sophomore;
#3 Roger McFarlane (6'4/215 Gr G) 5.0ppg & 5.0rpg, grad transfer from Southeastern Louisiana where he was All-Southland Conference as a senior;
#00 Chas Kelley III (6'3/185 Jr G) 4.2ppg
Rounding out their rotation are 2 more big men and 2 more guards:
#22 Hastings (6'9/240 RFr F) 3.6ppg, 3.1rpg;
#31 Elijah Strong (6'8/235 So F) 9.3ppg, 4.2rpg;
#5 Fred Payne (6'1/185 So G) 7.3ppg;
#7 Joshua Beadle (6'3/180 Gr G) 6.4ppg, 51.5% on 3s (but low volume - 17 of 33), grad transfer from Clemson where he played 11 minutes per game on last year's Elite 8 team
BC seemed to be a team on the rise last season. They finished 20-16, including a first round NIT win. Only 1 of their top players was running out of eligibility - Quinten Post, who is now playing for the Warriors. But they ended up losing: Claudell Harris to Mississippi State, Jaeden Zackery to Clemson, Devin McGlockton to Vanderbilt, Mason Madsen to Utah, & Prince Aligbe to Seton Hall. Hand is the only one of the top 7 that stayed.
So hopefully Stanford can take advantage of this situation. This may be their last regular season game as a favorite - even if not, they certainly won't be a double-digit favorite again. It was interesting to me that in the press conference following the Cal game, Maxime talked about the importance of finishing strong, noting that the team was 3-12 during the final 5 games of the past 3 seasons. So obviously this is something the coaches & players have emphasized. Winning this game would seem to be required for any chance of a strong finish. It would also get them one step closer to a 20 win season and put them into a great position to get a first round ACC tourney bye.
Press conference: https://youtube.com/watch?v=6qlgctEJ25g