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ACC Basketball: Boston College improves to .500 in league play with win over NC State

By Carmine Carcieri

Jan 3, 2017; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Jim Christian yells out in the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Wake defeated Boston College 79-66. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 3, 2017; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Boston College Eagles head coach Jim Christian yells out in the second half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Wake defeated Boston College 79-66. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Boston College earned their second ACC basketball win of the season against the Wolfpack of North Carolina State.

In 2015-16, the Boston College Eagles won a grand total of zero ACC games. Zero!

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There were question marks regarding Jim Christian and whether he was taking the program in the proper direction, even if the Eagles were competing in a loaded ACC with an underwhelming roster.

Boy have things changed.

A year later, the outlook on the Eagles and Christian is completely different.

Why? Because Boston College has already won two ACC games and currently has a better record in conference play (2-2) than Miami, Clemson, Pittsburgh and North Carolina State, among others.

On Wednesday night, they notched their second win in the ACC and arguably their biggest victory of the season against Mark Gottfried and North Carolina State at Conte Forum. The Eagles received 45 total points from sophomore guard Jerome Robinson and freshman star Ky Bowman, as they defeated a desperate Wolfpack team, 74-66.

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Robinson and Bowman were absolutely sensational all night long, but this isn’t a surprise because the duo has been playing with a chip on their shoulder all season long. They are the two leading scorers on the team, carrying the Eagles to an impressive 9-8 record thus far. Robinson and Bowman both shoot the ball with a high efficiency, but they also attack the rim like they are men on a mission.

Bowman, in particular, does not look like a freshman point guard. He plays with high confidence, as he’s not afraid to take and make big shots and is always looking to make plays in transition.

While the dynamic backcourt tandem was the main reason Boston College pulled out the victory against the Wolfpack, they also received plenty of help and balance. Connar Tava scored 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting and even though A.J. Turner missed five shots (2-of-7 shooting), he scored 10 points.

Boston College shot 46 percent from the field overall, 43 percent from three and 95 percent from the free throw line (18-of-19 overall). They had 14 turnovers to 11 assists, but played good enough defense to limit the Wolfpack’s offensive attack.

In the big picture, Boston College is unlikely to make the NCAA Tournament. However, the progress the program has made this season has been remarkable. Over the last couple of weeks, they have transformed into a competent team, one that is capable of winning their home games and taking good teams down to the wire.

And credit goes to not only to Robinson, Bowman and the players, but Christian. Remember, the Eagles lost to Nicholls State, Hartford and Fairfield in the non-conference schedule. Instead of folding, BC has won three of their last five games, beating Providence, Syracuse and NC State and losing to Wake Forest and Duke on the road.

This is no longer a team that you can cake walk against.

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Meanwhile, on the flip side, North Carolina State is in a load of trouble. This loss puts them at 12-5 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. Sure, all three of their losses have come on the road (Miami, UNC and now BC) and they have a big victory over Virginia Tech, but they cannot afford to have bad losses on their resume.

That’s especially the case given their shaky non-conference schedule. The Wolfpack’s two best wins during the first two months of the season are Tennessee State and Saint Joseph’s. Their best win on the season is the Hokies.

Gottfried’s squad has plenty of chances to earn quality wins in ACC play of course, but this loss to the Eagles may not be a positive look come March.

The more concerning aspect might be the way the team is actually playing on the court. You would think that North Carolina State would come out with fire and energy after the beat down they suffered against North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Instead, they were sleeping walking to start yet another game. They fell behind 8-2 and looked listless for most of the night.

Their offensive sets are non-existent, guys don’t move without the ball offensively, they had careless turnovers and Dennis Smith Jr. looked like he was moving at half-speed all night long. Smith scored 15 points on 4-of-9 shooting and the Wolfpack showed promise with a two guard lineup that pushed him off the ball, however, 17 total turnovers for a team as talented as NC State is unacceptable.

Next: Three takeaways from Creighton's win over Butler

Is NC State molding itself into the LSU of this season — a team with loads of talent that won’t capitalize on it? We won’t go that far just yet, but this wasn’t a step in the right direction.