The Boston College men's basketball team enters tonight's game at No. 19 Virginia on a two-game losing streak in the ACC. The Cavaliers will be the third nationally-ranked team the Eagles have played this season, but head coach Steve Donahue says that the opponents the Eagles face do not matter. Rather, it's about execution.
"I don't think who we're playing or what we did recently really affects what our preparation is," Donahue said. "With our youth, we've got to make sure that we're doing the fundamental things right, and we've got to do them better on both sides of the ball."
One of the main problems that has derailed the Eagles recently has been turning the ball over. Against NC State, the Eagles lost the ball 17 times, 16 coming on steals by the Wolfpack. They were marginally better at taking care of the basketball against Wake Forest, but still rank second to last in ACC turnover margin, averaging over 2.5 more turnovers a game than their opponents. It's especially proven to be a problem for starting center Dennis Clifford, who's turned the ball over five times in each of the Eagles' last two games.
"He's got to get better with that, but we also put a lot on his plate," Donahue said. "Your [big men] are going to turn it over if you consistently go to them."
Clifford has also been affected by defenses putting more pressure on him. After averaging 15 points per game in BC's two league wins, he was named ACC Rookie of the Week on Jan. 16. But against Wake Forest and NC State, a number of his post moves were not working, and overall, he didn't look as comfortable in the lane as he has in the past.
"NC State and Wake Forest made it a point to really come down on him hard, not just with the guy defending him, but someone else," Donahue said. "He may have to use his move quicker. Sometimes he gives the defense a chance and our spacing isn't great."
The excessive turnovers by the Eagles have led to a number of transition opportunities for their opponents. BC's transition defense has been subpar, allowing easy fast break points for opposing teams. Additionally, there have been times in recent games when players have failed to get back quickly on defense. Donahue noted that the relative age of the group is a contributing factor.
"Transition defense is always a problem with young teams," Donahue said, "whether it's fatigue or understanding how fast the game is. NC State did a great job of pushing in transition, and we had miscommunication."
In the backcourt, point guard Jordan Daniels, who started the year 5-of-25 from three, has been steadily developing his shooting and passing touch. Over the last four games, he's averaged over nine points and is 10-of-20 from the three-point line.
"Jordan's really grown with more minutes played," Donahue said. "He understands what we're looking for. I thought he did a good job sharing it over the last three or four games, as well."
Meanwhile, junior Matt Humphrey—who's led the Eagles in scoring for the majority of the year—hasn't fared well shooting the ball in the last two games, with only 11 points combined, shooting 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. But other aspects of his game continue to help the Eagles.
"Especially on rebounding, [Humphrey] defends well on the perimeter," Donahue said. "We have some guys that aren't as good getting off screens. Matt does a very good job on those kind of things that probably go unnoticed to a lot of people."
Despite the recent losses, Donahue has seen the building blocks of this program developing, which bodes well for the future.
"I can't tell you how pleased I am in terms of their development," he said. "I love where we're going, I love where the team is headed, I love their attitude. This group understands that we've got to play really well to win games, and we're gong to try our best to do that."
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