Duke handles BC
Eagles finish tough season 4-16
The Boston College men’s basketball team is ready for a new beginning.
The Eagles closed out one of the most tumultuous seasons in program history with an 86-51 loss to Duke in the opening round of the ACC tournament on Tuesday at sparsely populated Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C.
BC was the No. 15 seed, while Duke checked in at No. 10, its lowest ACC tournament seeding in Blue Devils’ history. BC finished 4-16, while missing seven conference games due to the ACC’s COVID-19 protocols. Duke improved to 12-11 and will face No. 7 Louisville on Wednesday.
The game officially closed the book on the Jim Christian era (78-132) at BC. Christian was in his seventh season when he was relieved of his duties by first-year athletic director Patrick Kraft on Feb. 15.
Christian was replaced by interim coach Scott Spinelli, who beat Notre Dame 94-90 in his first game.
Kraft has hired a search firm and is currently in the process of finding a new coach.
“This has obviously been a difficult time for them and it wasn’t lack of effort and for the most part these guys gave everything they had,” said Spinelli.
“All the younger guys that are coming back need to commit themselves. This was a very tough offseason and we didn’t get a lot of individual workouts and practice time and skill development.
“We have this motto we always try to follow that great teams are made in-season and great players are made in the offseason. This is a big offseason for all these guys.”
Duke shot 52% from the floor with a season-high 15 treys. Guard DJ Steward led the Devils with 17 points. BC shot a paltry 39% and was 1-15 from behind the arc. The disparity in the 3-point shooting was the bottom line in the blowout.
“They shot the ball well and you’ve got to give them credit,” said Spinelli. “Duke was very hungry today and you have to tip your hat to them, they made some tough ones.”
BC opened the second half with a flurry and cut the lead to 43-32 on consecutive layups by senior forward James Karnik. Duke quickly reversed course and took a 49-34 edge into the first media timeout.
The Blue Devils made the crossover from a contest to a rout when senior guard Jordan Goldwire sank consecutive treys to stake Duke to a 60-38 lead with 12:31 to play. Duke went up 70-40 on a 3-ball by junior forward Joey Baker as Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski began cycling in his bench players.
“It was a tough game today but it’s all good, we’ll be right back ready to go,” said BC junior guard Makai Ashton-Langford. “We are going to work very hard over the summer and whatever happens coach-wise we will be 100% committed.”