When Boston College knocked off Clemson 70-68 on the road on Jan. 15, the Eagles snapped a 13-game road losing streak.
Clemson will attempt to return the favor Saturday afternoon when the Tigers take on the Eagles again in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Clemson enters having lost six consecutive road games, dating to Jan. 12.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the two teams are trying to build momentum heading into the ACC tournament and are still in contention to gain a first-round bye that is awarded to the top nine teams in the 15-team league.
“We’ve had a little bit of tough luck and the other teams seem to make a shot when they need to at the end,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “It has just been one of those years, battling injuries, and you just keep fighting and keep growing and trying to build your spirit back.
“You’re trying to build momentum going down the stretch now and now we’ve got to go on the road and play a Boston College team that’s playing well.”
The Eagles (11-16, 6-11 ACC) have won two in a row and a win against Clemson (13-15, 5-12) would give Boston College its first three-game winning streak in ACC play since the 2014-15 season. That year, the Eagles emerged from a 1-14 league mark to win their last three ACC games and their first game in the conference tournament.
Either of these teams would welcome a similar run.
“We’ve been close in a lot of games,” Boston College coach Earl Grant said “We’re getting closer to playing 40 minutes. We’re starting to put it all together — defending and rebounding, setting the tone at the start of the game, and then just trying to execute.”
Grant served as an assistant under Brownell for four seasons at Clemson from 2010-14.
Saturday’s game will be Senior Day for the Eagles, who are 9-5 this season at home, including a 4-4 record in home ACC games. The Eagles are coming off consecutive victories against Florida State and N.C. State and are averaging 12.3 steals over their last three contests.
Clemson is coming off an 80-69 victory against Wake Forest despite missing starters P.J. Hall and Hunter Tyson. Hall aggravated a foot injury in the first minute at Louisville last Saturday and Tyson could be out for the rest of the season after breaking his collarbone Feb. 2.
Brownell said Hall is “day to day,” with a chance the 6-10 forward could play at Boston College. His 15.5 points a game for the season leads the Tigers.
Clemson’s guards stepped up against Wake Forest with Chase Hunter scoring 21 points and Al-Amir Dawes 19. Over the past three games, Dawes is averaging 18.3 points, connecting on 45 percent of his 3-point attempts.
–Field Level Media
