Boston College Eagles, defeated North Carolina, 85-78, and most likely ended their run as the No.1 college basketball team and wiping away the hopes of North Carolina going unbeaten. North Carolina enjoyed a lead of around 26 points in its first 13 matches. The Eagles completely outplayed them.
It was Thye Tyrese Rice, playing in his second straight big game, who did the damage and top scored with 25 points. It was a very dedicated and a focused effort from the Eagles which proved their mettle as big time players. The Eagles are currently on a 10 game winning streak and are 13-2 overall. The eagles also are yet to be beaten in their home; they have a perfect 10-0 score at their own court.
With a memorable win behind them, the Eagles will be a formidable force on the court against the Harvard Crimson. The two sides will be facing each other in a non-conference clash. The Crimson have improved on their points to 7-6 as a result of winning three of its last four games.
Harvard which will be starting its Ivy League campaign against Dartmouth, defeated Santa Clara, 73-68 and the Eagles will be its last opponent for the non-conference this season.
With just two losses this season, against Purdue and Saint Louis, and that too with a narrow margin, the Eagles will enter the court as favorites. Boston College owns a commanding 32-9 series lead over Harvard. The last clash between the two took place in 2005.
The Crimson is not expected to give sleepless nights to the Eagles or its coach but its recent form against Santa Clara will surely spread worries in the Eagles camp. Out of the five starting players, four scored in double figures with Jeremy Lin, with an average of over 17 points per game this season and highest number of steals and assists in the team, again outshone others with his top score of 17 points, nine assists against only one turnover and five rebounds. He also recorded three steals. Drew Housman scored 16 points for the Crimson, and Doug Miller posted 15. Peter Boehm also chipped in with his 13 points. Harvard committed just six turnovers and earned a 17-10 edge in points from the foul line.
The Crimson will have a serious challenge in the form of Tyrese Rice, the best player of Boston College roster. Rice is scoring over 17 points per game along with 91 assists, this season. He is also the reigning ACC Player of the Week. Joe Trapani is another player to look out for, with over 13.7 points per game and over 6 rebounds per game. Corey Raji with over 12 points per game and Rakim Sanders with around 12 points per game will stretch the Crimson.
With the Eagles scoring around 78 points per game we can expect a high scoring and an exciting match, but the Harvard team will have to deliver a performance like they did against Santa Clara to limit the Eagles and improve on their record against them.
