Yale @ BC: Eagles look for 2-0

Tonight at 7pm, the Boston College Eagles men's basketball team will host the Yale Bulldogs in the second game of the 2010-2011 season.

The Eagles, 1-0, look to double their win total against Yale, against whom they are 9-2 all-time.  BC's most recent loss to the Bulldogs was in February 1961; the Eagles have won the last eight meetings, the last of which was in 2007, a 72-56 win at Conte Forum.

Boston College's first game of the season was a 30-point victory over St. Francis College (of New York).  Joe Trapani led BC with 20 points, while Reggie Jackson and Corey Raji had 17 a piece.  Yale has played two games, losing both: an 84-75 loss to Quinnipiac and a 58-55 loss at Providence.  Yale led for a portion of the 2nd half at the Dunk, coming close to the upset despite having shot 33% from the floor.  In the QU loss, Yale shot 42%.

Yale have had two close calls early on in the season, but won neither.  Early on, they do not seem like a team that shoots very well, and if that is the case, then we could have a SFC redux tonight at Conte.  As far as the Eagles go, I would have to assume that most BC fans are itching to see this new motion offense yet again, hoping that they can duplicate the results of the last game and the exhibition.  Of course, I think we're itching more to see BC stack up against real competition (which will come on Thanksgiving in the form of Texas A&M), but this will be sufficient for the time being.  Not to be overlooked is the fact that BC played a fine defensive game against SFC; given Yale's cold shooting in the first two games and the Eagles' seemingly improved D, another low-scoring game for the opposition seems quite possible.

This looks like another 20+ point win for Boston College.  The bookies have BC as 19-point favorites, while KenPom currently has the spread at a 21-point Eagles victory.

A video feed will be available on BCEagles.com (but I hope you have $$). I'm sure there will be other means available to us, however. (wink wink)

In other related news, BC yesterday announced the signing of five new players for the 2011-2012 season: Ryan Anderson, Kyle Caudill, Dennis Clifford, Eddie Odio, and Lonnie Jackson.