By Harry Barsan

After losing their 10-game win streak, Louisville will look to avoid a late-season skid when they travel to play the Boston College Eagles.

BC ranks 217th in the NET rankings, making the game against the Eagles a must-win. The loss would be devastating for Louisville’s tournament resume, but the Eagles have hit another gear in their last two games.

Deja vu?

For a team with a losing record, BC has a very average offense.

The brightest spot of this squad is perhaps Donald Hand Jr. He leads his squad in average points (15.5), rebounds (6.7), qualified three-point percentage (40.5%) and an ACC leading 90.8% on free throws.

However, perhaps more impressive are Hand’s recent marks. In his last five games, he’s shot 57.1% from three on 18.2 points per game, while adding 17-of-19 on free throws. He just recently scored 31 against FSU in their first win in a couple of months.

Hand and Fred Payne, with his 40.4% from three, propel Boston College to a solid team rate of 36.2% from deep, ranked 66th in the nation.

Their big man Chad Venning is putting up a productive 55.7% from the field and an even better 57.1% inside the arc. But beyond him, most players on the roster are below average shooters. This largely contributes to BC’s well below average two-point shooting of 47.2%, good for 304th in the nation.

Things get even worse when you look at the Eagles’ assist numbers. Joshua Beedle leads the team in that category, averaging only 2.2 of the team’s 11.4 per game, a mark only beating Stanford’s 10.3 in the ACC.

On top of a lack of assists, the Eagles aren’t doing themselves any favors on turnovers, either. Losing the turnover battle by an average of 1.5 turnovers per game, they have lost the turnover battle in seven of their last ten games including three 15-plus turnover games.

That’s more like it

Where the Eagles tread water on offense, they drown defensively.

Opponents are eating the Eagles up on offense, shooting a great 52.6% effective field goal percentage highlighted by a 36.5% three-point rate.

A huge part of their defensive woes is that the Eagles get almost no pressure on opponents. They rank in the 300s in both total turnover percentage and steals.

Boston can be uncontrolled and careless, too, with 18.8 fouls per game giving opponents an average of 16.2 free points per match. Louisville has feasted on the ACC when it comes to the free throw disparity, marking a huge reason how they were able to win 10 straight. If the Eagles don’t get disciplined, they could be in for a long night against the Cards.

Don’t be surprised if Chucky Hepburn and Reyne Smith light up the Eagles, drawing lazy fouls and catching BC sleeping from deep. If those two stars can get going, Louisville might have a little tea party in Boston Wednesday night.

Louisville needs a big bounce back win. A win over BC wouldn’t make waves nationally, but it could d a lot for the psyche of the Cards. And the Cards will need to stay composed, as Chestnut Hill notoriously has one of the worst, most unsettling home-court environments in the conference.

A win would put Louisville at 17-6 on the season and 10-2 in the ACC, back to second place in the conference.

The two squads will fight for their right to party on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Photo Courtesy // Caleb Jones, Louisville Athletics