By Derek DeBurger
No. 18 Louisville will play the Boston College Eagles for the second time during the downturn of the regular season.
Since the Jan. 25 matchup, the Eagles have continued a seven-game skid and it has not been competitive. Louisville’s victory over the Eagles proved to be the most lopsided, at 28 points. During this stretch, Boston College has also moved into 13th place in the ACC with a 3-10 conference record.
The Eagles now score three fewer points a game while giving up two more points, placing them 92nd and 275th in scoring offense and defense, respectively. The aggression of Boston College has been slightly less effective, too; they now average 0.5 fewer steals per game, but their national rank for steals per game increased from 12th to 8th. Even though the Cards have vastly improved their ability to take care of the ball, this will be yet another test.
Fortunately for Louisville, the formula for beating Boston College has remained the same. The Eagles are a terrible three-point shooting team, so if you can pack the paint and make scoring inside difficult then they will have difficulty scoring, period.
Conversely, because the Eagles play such a short bench, if you can effectively attack the paint on offense then you can rack up fouls and get the Eagles out of rhythm.
Andrea Daley is still the top scoring threat for the Eagles with 14.4 points per game, and three other Eagles players score in double-figures along with her. Kaylah Ivey is a guard who doesn’t offer much in the way of scoring but is a great facilitator of her offense. Ivey averages the 30th most assists in the country with 5.3 a game.
Boston College may not be the best team this season, but they have talent and are well-coached. I’m expecting the Cards to cruise to a victory, but it’s not a guarantee.
