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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels take on Boston College in penultimate game

By Blake Cockrum

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels bench reacts after a three-point basket against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on February 23, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - FEBRUARY 23: The North Carolina Tar Heels bench reacts after a three-point basket against the Florida State Seminoles during the first half of their game at the Dean Smith Center on February 23, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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UNC basketball prepares for game at Boston College before date with Duke to end regular season

The North Carolina Tar Heels have won 12 of their last 13 games, and continue to inch closer to a potential 1-seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Trailing both Duke and Virginia for a top seed in the tourney, North Carolina will likely need to win its final two games of the regular season — bouts with Boston College and Duke — as well as making a deep run in the ACC Tournament next week to have a shot at surpassing the Blue Devils and Cavaliers.

The penultimate game on the Tar Heels’ schedule is an unassuming matchup with Boston College that many fans will overlook as they anticipate the latest installment of the Duke-UNC rivalry that’s slated for next Saturday evening.

The Tar Heels, though, are unlikely to look past Boston College and ahead to Duke as they’ve seemed much more focused and prepared in recent weeks. Other than a loss to Virginia, and a couple of close calls here and there, the Tar Heels have seemed like a much more motivated and tenacious team than we saw throughout the first half of the season.

A win in each of their last two games would give the Tar Heels no less than a 2-seed in the ACC Tournament (and likely no worse than a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament), as well as a shot at capitalizing on any mistakes that Virginia might make over the regular season’s final week.

Keys to the game for Boston College

Boston College is ninth in the ACC in scoring, field goal percentage and three-point shooting, and 13th in free throw percentage. North Carolina is first, fourth, third and fifth in those same metrics. To say that there is an offensive discrepancy between these two teams would be an understatement.

The Eagles have scored 90 points just once this season — a non-conference loss to Providence in early December. The Tar Heels, on the other hand, have scored 90 or more points on 12 occasions this season, and as recently as last week against Syracuse.

Boston College will have to put together its best game of the season — particularly on offense — in order to have any hope of beating North Carolina on Tuesday night. The Eagles will also have to keep the Tar Heels from getting an overabundance of offensive rebounds and second chance points, too. The Tar Heels will look to speed up the game and increase their number of possessions, and the Eagles can ill afford to help them in that endeavor.

Keys to the game for North Carolina

Cameron Johnson is seventh in the conference in scoring, and first in three-point percentage. Coby White is 10th in the ACC in scoring, and 14th from beyond the arc. When those two Tar Heels are playing their best, North Carolina is difficult to beat. And when Luke Maye is playing his best basketball, the Tar Heels become nearly impossible to beat.

Couple that with the team’s improved defensive play — their effort and intensity since the blowout home loss to Louisville has been markedly better — and North Carolina rejoins the conversation about national title contenders.

The difference in both talent and experience between the Tar Heels and the Eagles is sizable. Simply put, North Carolina’s margin for error on Tuesday night will be much greater than it will be against Duke on Saturday — with, or without Zion Williamson in the lineup. If the Tar Heels can do just a few of the aforementioned things, they should leave Chestnut Hill with a victory.

Last meeting

North Carolina beat Boston College 96-66 at the Dean Smith Center in the teams’ only meeting last season.

Luke Maye put together one of the best performances of his career against the Eagles, racking up a game-high 32 points and 18 rebounds in route to the Tar Heels’ 30-point blowout victory. Cameron Johnson had a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Joel Berry II scored 13 points and Kenny Williams added 10.

Boston College was led by sophomore guard Ky Bowman, who scored 21 points on 8-of-18 shooting and 4-of-12 from three-point range. Three other Eagles scored in double-figures including senior shooting guard Jerome Robinson, who had 15 points.

The Tar Heels outrebounded the Eagles by 35, and shot 50 percent from the floor as they improved to 13-4 on the season. The loss dropped Boston College to 11-6 overall, and 2-3 in conference play.

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What you need to know

What? UNC 24-5 (14-2) vs. Boston College 14-14 (5-11)
When? Tuesday, March 5 – 8:00 p.m. EST
Where? Silvio Conte Forum – Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
TV? ACC Network, WatchESPN
Radio? Tar Heel Sports Network
All-Time series? North Carolina leads series 17-5
Prediction? UNC 91, Boston College 76

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