Syracuse (16-7, 7-3 Atlantic Coast) entered its last meeting with Boston College (11-10, 2-7) coming off a loss, and that’ll be true Saturday as well, with SU having lost to No. 22 Florida State on Tuesday night. BC will be coming off a loss to Duke on Tuesday night. In the first meeting, on Jan. 30, Syracuse emerged with a 77-71 win.

Here’s what to know about the Eagles before Saturday.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 48-26

Last time they played: Boston College jumped out to an early lead less than two weeks ago in Conte Forum. But the Orange battled back to make it a close game at the half. In the second, Tyus Battle took over. He scored 21 in the second half and finished with 31 for the game, and SU won 77-71. He said he felt the Eagles couldn’t guard him 1-on-1, except BC also chose not to send much help defense Battle’s way, and he exploited it. Buddy Boeheim also had a big game shooting from the perimeter, drawing chants of his name from a heavily Orange-favoring crowd on the road.

The Boston College report: The only thing that could be a major difference between now and Saturday for the Eagles would be the return of freshman guard Wynston Tabbs, who was reportedly still on crutches Tuesday night. His status has been taken game-by-game, but he’s missed four in-a-row, which include three BC losses. He’d started all but one game before getting hurt, and would add another dynamic guard to a backcourt with Ky Bowman and Jordan Chatman.

Otherwise, there’ll be no surprises from the first meeting. Chatman will attempt to stretch the zone as he did early in Conte Forum. Bowman will lead the show, shooting from deep, driving, dishing and even grabbing rebounds. The key for BC will be players like Nik Popovic and Jared Hamilton, who both scored double-digits in the first meeting with SU. Chatman and Bowman should get theirs, and were mentioned by multiple Orange players on Tuesday night. With eyes on them, the secondary pieces could be key for the Eagles.

How Syracuse beats Boston College: Shut down Bowman and Chatman. They each scored 21 points in the first meeting. Chatman broke open the early lead for BC with his shooting from the outside, and Bowman led a comeback charge that came up a bit short. The Orange will need to be aware of BC’s two stars at all times, and prevent easy perimeter shots on kickouts, especially after Florida State’s 3s burned SU on Tuesday night.

Beyond that, SU needs to avoid a slow start. It’s been commonplace of late, with the Orange falling down big at Virginia Tech, Boston College and against FSU. Getting out to a fast start will force an Eagles team without enough firepower to play catch up.

Stat to know: 96.3 percent

The percentage of possible minutes that Ky Bowman plays for Boston College, per KenPom. That’s first in the country.

KenPom odds: Syracuse is given an 83 percent chance to win, by a projected 75-64 score.

Player to watch: Steffon Mitchell, forward, No. 41

In Syracuse’s first meeting with BC, Mitchell battled foul trouble and contributed a single point. He’s not a major scorer for the Eagles, but he played a key role when in against SU, moving around the middle of the Orange zone looking for space. Mitchell hesitated to shoot on the initial catch near the paint, though, making him a player Syracuse could mostly ignore. For the Eagles to threaten SU on Saturday, Mitchell will have to be assertive early to create for others late.

Published on February 6, 2019 at 11:34 pm

Contact Billy: wmheyen@syr.edu | @Wheyen3