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Teams: Syracuse Orange (11-6, 5-5) vs. Boston College Eagles (3-12, 1-8)
Day & Time: Saturday, February 13, 2:00 p.m. ET
Location: Carrier Dome Beloved Stadium, Syracuse, N.Y.
Line: N/A just yet.
TV/Streaming: ACC Network, WatchESPN
Radio: Cuse.com, TK 99/105, WAER 88.3
Boston College Blog: BC Interruption
Rivalry: 52-26, Syracuse
Current Streak: 5, Syracuse
First Meeting: Syracuse lost the first three matchups that it played against Boston College. The first of those meetings came in 1959, where the Eagles won 78-71 in Syracuse. Pete Chudy led the Orange with 13 points while Jon Cincebox grabbed 19 boards.
Last Meeting: Syracuse shot the lights out of Conte Forum on December 12, 2020. The Orange shot 58.7% from the floor and 51.6% from three en route to a 101-63 drubbing of the Eagles.
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Head Coaches: Syracuse - Jim Boeheim (45th year, 1,076-405) | Boston College - Jim Christian (seventh season, 78–131)
Coach Bio: Christian was an all-state guard at Bethpage, New York before heading to Boston University to play collegiate ball. He would transfer to Rhode Island for his final two seasons and helped the Rams reach the Sweet Sixteen of the 1988 NCAA tournament during his senior year. After a season in the Australian Basketball Association, Christian transitioned to coaching by joining Western Kentucky as an assistant. He also held assistant jobs at Saint Francis, Miami (OH), Pittsburgh, and Kent State, eventually becoming the head coach of the Golden Flashes in 2002. Christian led Kent State to two NCAA tournament appearances before moving to TCU in 2008. He then moved to Ohio for two years before getting his first Power Five head coaching job with Boston College in 2014.
After three straight losing seasons with the Eagles, including a winless conference season during the 2015-16 campaign, Christian earned his first winning season with Boston College in 2017-18 with a 19-16 record. The Eagles were eliminated in the first round of the NIT that year, but the winning record earned Christian a contract extension through the 2021-22 season. However, the Eagles followed up with two straight losing seasons.
Last Year: Despite going 13-19, Boston College went 7-13 in ACC play, good enough to finish tied for 10th in the conference, the highest finish under Christian. That season included a win over No. 18 Virginia. The Eagles got the tiebreaker to get the 10 seed in the ACC tournament, but they lost to Notre Dame by 22.
Last Game: After trailing by as much as 14 to Wake Forest, Boston College clawed back into the game to cut the deficit to one with less than three minutes left in the game. However, the Eagles went cold as the Demon Deacons did just enough to win 69-65.
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“Fear Me, I’ve Killed Hundreds of Timelords”: James Karnik scored a season high 20 points against the Orange during the December 12 game between the two programs. While he doesn’t start games for BC, his size will most likely be utilized by Christian against the still-small Orange squad.
If Syracuse Wins: Thank god something that we all expect to happen actually happens.
If Syracuse Loses: Who presses the panic button first? Me or you?
Fun Fact: This’ll be Boston College’s third game back from a 21-day pause due to postponements.