Preview: Boston College Men’s Basketball @ Duke

Dec 2, 2022 - 4:40 PM

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On Saturday afternoon, the Boston College Eagles roll into Cameron Indoor to face-off with the #17 Duke Blue Devils. BC comes into the game sporting a 5-3 record and still reeling from a blowout loss at the hands of Nebraska in the B1G/ACC challenge. Duke, meanwhile, is 7-2 with their only losses coming from games against #5 Purdue and #9 Kansas.

When: Saturday December 3rd at 4pm ET

Where: Durham, NC

How to Watch: The game will be broadcasted on ACC Network

What to Watch For

Boston College’s offense, to put it very lightly, is struggling. They go on long runs, typically in the second half of the game, when the team just cannot get players open or hit their shots. They went on a 7+ minute stretch against URI without putting in a shot from the floor and then Nebraska took the Eagles on a 31-4 run on Wednesday night. Earl Grant seems to have no answer schematically for when his offense goes cold, which is going to create some real problems for this team this season.

Boston College’s defense has been fairly good, though. Nebraska’s 88 points was the first time this season any opponent had scored 80+ on BC, and they’ve kept opponents at 70 points or below in 6 of their 8 games. But the competition is not going to get easier, as Duke’s offense ranks 18th in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, much higher than any other team they’ve faced so far in 2022-23.

Duke’s freshman center Kyle Filipowski is the leading scorer for the Blue Devils this season and is a force to be reckoned with. As a 7-footer who has now won the ACC’s Rookie of the Week award for 3-straight weeks to open the season, BC’s forwards TJ Bickerstaff and Devin McGlockton are going to have their hands full. The Eagles don’t really have the size to compete with Filipowski, so expect a big game in the frontcourt from him.

Prediction: Duke 81 Boston College 55

Unfortunately for BC fans, I’m predicting a slaughter in this one. Duke is still one of the most formidable opponents in college basketball after the departure of Coach K and will likely be competing for an ACC championship come March. Earl Grant has BC going in the right direction as a program, but unless something crazy happens, they’re not at a level to upset Duke yet.