Boston College riding surprise run of success with Notre Dame next
Boston College will be seeking its third straight Atlantic Coast Conference victory when it visits Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
Boston College (9-10, 2-4 ACC) beat Syracuse (81-73 in overtime) and Pittsburgh (65-62) in its last two outings. Junior forward Boden Kapke tossed in a career-high 19 points during Wednesday's victory over Pittsburgh. That included a 3-pointer that broke a 62-62 tie with 22 seconds remaining.
Fred Payne, who is averaging a team-high 14.9 points per game, added 18 points in the win.
"Just happy we've been able to get over the hump," Boston College coach Earl Grant said. "Guys are practicing hard, really trying to believe in what we're doing, and hopefully, we can build on it.
"What we're seeing, I hope, is now that we've been together and been through some adversity and some success, we're starting to learn the things that get us closer as a team. We're starting to understand what we are trying to do offensively and we're executing a little bit better by playing tough on defense."
The Eagles enter Saturday's matchup ranked last among ACC teams in scoring (68.4) and field goal percentage (40.2).
Notre Dame (10-9, 1-5) has also had trouble putting the ball in the basket this season. The Irish are averaging 73.2 points per game, which is 16th out of 18 teams in the ACC. Notre Dame shot 36% from the field (27 of 75) during Wednesday's 91-69 loss at No. 22 North Carolina that extended the Irish's losing streak to five games.
"Our dudes have got talent, but they've never been through the wars before," Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. "They've never been through the grit and grime. I've got to get us gritty and grimey to be able to come in here and sustain and do what we need to do. We've got to build calluses in practice, and that's the only way that you're gonna be ready to do it."
Notre Dame sophomore guard Sir Mohammed is averaging 5.8 points per game but has scored in double figures in each of his last three contests. He has 41 points during that stretch.