A Lost Cause

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Seconds rapidly ticked away on the scoreboard in Greensboro Coliseum as the Boston College men's basketball team huddled around head coach Al Skinner. Devising a strategy to contain sharpshooter Sammy Zeglinski (16 first-half points) and jumpstart a sluggish offense (four points in the final 10:19), Skinner was drowned out by a rousing rendition of "We're Not Gonna Take It" by the BC pep band, just as the second half was set to begin. The Eagles had no reason to accept Virginia's seven-point lead. They could easily swing the game back in their favor, Skinner might have said.

Instead, the Eagles took it. Persistently missed assignments and eight combined points from Joe Trapani and Corey Raji both contributed to a 68-62 loss to the Cavaliers and the first-ever opening-round exit from the ACC tournament. A disappointing end to a frustrating season prompted Skinner to use the dreaded P-word following the loss.

"Potential is a terrible word for coaches," he said, "and I think this team has potential."

What's remarkable is that the underclassman-heavy Eagles were just as likely to lose to Virginia, which had dropped nine straight games, as they were to make a run and win the entire ACC tournament.

At times, BC played as a unit and delivered performances reminiscent of last year's NCAA tournament team. A 75-69 win over Clemson. An 80-60 thrashing of Virginia Tech. Even the winnable, 66-63 loss to Duke. But, lurking nearby, was BC's alternative persona, which failed to score 60 points seven different times and lacked the motivation to dig itself out of early holes.

"At times, we played great basketball, but we didn't always sustain it," Skinner said. "If we learn nothing else, we need to develop more mental toughness to sustain it throughout the season. It has to happen game to game, and we were not able to maintain that.

"We had it at times, but, for whatever reason, we were not able to maintain it. I thought we understood that, we knew that. But, it didn't happen."

This season's two games against the Cavaliers showed both the best and worst of the Eagles. On March 3 in Conte Forum, BC's three leading juniors – Rakim Sanders, Raji, and Trapani – combined for 43 of the Eagles' 68 points in their convincing 68-55 win. The team held Virginia to two 3-pointers, forced 12 turnovers, and held two starting Cavaliers scoreless.

Jump to the ACC tournament nearly a week later, and it was practically the opposite. Outside of Sanders' dominant performance (22 points), Raji and Trapani were practically invisible, both playing only 22 minutes. Raji saw the court for only eight minutes in the second half, presumably because of a nagging shoulder injury, while Trapani was a startling zero for seven from the field, making it the first time he was held without a field goal all year.

The Cavaliers also shot a lights-out six of 11 from beyond the arc in the first half to keep BC at an arm's length, and they committed a mere five turnovers, their lowest total since Dec. 31, 2003.

"We came in, we prepared for them, but they just outworked us today," said lone senior Tyler Roche. "They built an early lead in the second half, and we couldn't catch them."

BC nearly did, drawing within three points with just under nine minutes remaining, thanks to an 8-0 run. The Eagles, however, would get no closer, unable to reach that next level and deliver a knockout blow, a trend in most of their 16 losses.

Last year's team, though, likely would have caught them. Returning every player except Tyrese Rice to a squad that earned a seven-seed in the NCAA tournament, the Eagles were supposed to draw on two years worth of chemistry and, at the very least, return to March Madness. Yet, after 31 games, they never found their way en route to a bewildering 15-16 record.

"I'm a little disappointed in this year's club, and there's a number of different reasons for it," Skinner said. "Some injuries, some lineup changes, and a lot of inconsistencies throughout the year. We couldn't bring out any consistency in our club."

Roche, who competed in two NCAA tournaments and two losing seasons, couldn't put a finger on what prevented an experienced team from being successful.

"We just didn't click as a team," Roche said. "We had the same personnel, except Tyrese, as last year, but we didn't click. We never worked together. But, hopefully these guys remember this feeling we have now and come back this summer and work their tails off."

If they don't, the Eagles will once again be nothing but a great deal of under-utilized potential.