Tobacco Road Report

by David

Actually there were two, but we know what you were watching last night so let's not even pretend. And if it was not UNC-Duke it was probably the US-Mexico soccer match. On the ACC undercard for the night BC came up big with a seven point win at Miami. While it was not a dominating performance, BC made it clear they are still a factor in the ACC stretch run.

I cannot wait to see the tempo free statistics on this game. No, really. Miami had 20 more field goal attempts than BC. That's right, twenty. Considering BC had 44 attempts, this is the equivalent of BC saying for every two shots we take, you get three. And Miami still lost by seven. How does this happen you ask? Well, with those extra twenty attempts the 'Canes only made 3 more field goals than BC (29 for Miami, 26 for BC). Basically, Miami wasted all the extra opportunities they generated.

I am tired of writing about great individual efforts so this piece will focus on some of the team statistics. I am not slighting individual performances; there were some great performers in the game. But basketball is a team game and this one was a model of offensive efficiency for the Eagles.

You already heard about the field goal situation so let me throw some other numbers at you:

BC was 7 for 14 from behind the 3 point arc, Miami was 7 for 20.
BC was 16 for 21 from the free throw line, Miami was 3 for 6.

This is how you win on the road in the ACC. You shoot a high percentage, you hit your free throws and you play some solid defense. BC almost shot 60% from the field, and shot 50% from 3-point land. I told you back in that Clemson game they had to open up the interior with outside shooting. BC was also pretty clutch down the stretch hitting free throws when Miami was in foul mode (and a foul mood).

In the end, BC stays atop the ACC standings with Virginia and UNC. The Eagles road ahead is not easy but home games against Clemson, UNC and Duke give BC the opportunity to put some top-flight wins on the resume. They need to get one of these three, and two would be excellent. First up is another Florida road game at FSU. Another road ACC win would help the resume too.