Boston College lived to fight another round in the ACC Tournament after Olivier Hanlan’s late-game heroics gave the Eagles a razor-thin win in their first round matchup over Georgia Tech. BC better brace itself, though, because its next opponent will be none other than North Carolina, which soundly grounded the Eagles in the regular season with some grinding inside play.
Can the Hanlan-led Eagles pull off another Houdini-like magic trick to get past the hometown Tar Heels? Read on as we preview this ACC tournament second round shootout.
Championship Week is well underway. Find more previews of the different conference tournaments, namely Vandy vs. Tennessee in the SEC and Illinois vs. Michigan in the Big Ten.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Boston College Eagles vs. North Carolina Tar Heels Preview
Where: Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro
When: Wednesday, March 11, 2:00 PM ET
Line: Boston College Eagles at North Carolina Tar Heels – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Boston College Eagles
Where would Boston College be without Olivier Hanlan? Not in the second round of the ACC Tournament, that’s for sure. The Eagles’ prolific scoring guard rose high and knocked down the game-winning jumper to give BC the 66-65 win over Georgia Tech in the first round on Tuesday. Including the end of the regular season, BC is now on a four-game winning streak.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Hanlan, the team’s top scorer this season at 19.4 points per game, dropped 25 points in total against Tech, his seventh game of 25 or more points this season. One of those big scoring explosions came against North Carolina in their first meeting on Feb. 7. Hanlan had 30 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Tar Heels ran away comfortable 79-68 winners.
Even with Hanlan’s offensive ability leading the way, Boston College hasn’t fared well against the ACC’s elite this season. The Eagles lost all six games against the top five teams in the conference (Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame, Louisville and UNC) by an average of almost 14 points. They also allowed their opponents to shoot 47 percent or better in five of those six games.
With BC’s defense as shaky as it is, Aaron Brown and Patrick Heckmann will need to be at their very best to help Hanlan out on the offensive end. Brown (15 points per game) has been a pretty consistent scorer all season long. He dropped 18 on UNC in their first meeting. Meanwhile, Heckmann has come on strong lately, with 14-plus points in three of his last four games.
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Betting on the North Carolina Tar Heels
North Carolina had a less than ideal end to the regular season by losing, 84-77, to arch nemesis Duke, who completed the sweep on the Tar Heels this season. But one bright spot from that game was how point guard Marcus Paige looked.
Paige has had a disappointing junior season, for the most part because of injuries. But the Tar Heels’ lead guard is finally back to full strength, as his season-high 23-point effort against Duke showed. Having Paige back healthy will be a big boost for the Tar Heels heading into the tournament.
While Paige goes toe-to-toe with Hanlan on the perimeter, the Tar Heels will have the decided size advantage inside against a very undersized Boston College team. UNC’s much taller and deeper frontline had a field day in their regular season win against the Eagles.
Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks both topped 20 points and combined to go 16-for-24 from the field. UNC shot 57 percent as a team, and won the rebounding battle, 37-23. Justin Jackson has also come on strong late in his freshman season. He’s topped double-digit scoring in each of his last five games.
UNC’s terrific depth should also come into play as the game wears, and could wear out BC’s shallow lineup. The Tar Heel bench has scored a total of 65 points over the last two games against Georgia Tech and Duke.
The Tar Heels are 4-2 ATS in their last six games.
Writer’s Prediction
North Carolina has too much depth and talent all over its roster for Hanlan to handle. The Tar Heels roll to the quarterfinal as they win and cover against the Eagles.
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