Boston College will look to avenge its loss to Pittsburgh earlier in the season when the teams meet again in an Atlantic Coast Conference bout on Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
The Eagles (8-11, 3-6 ACC) fell just short in a 69-67 defeat at Pittsburgh on Jan. 8. The loss came after a back-and-forth game where neither team was able to create much separation.
John Hugley led the charge for the Panthers (8-12, 3-6) with a career-high 32 points and also grabbed 13 rebounds to deliver the hosts their first conference win of the season.
Makai Ashton-Langford was a bright spot for the Eagles in defeat, finishing 4 of 6 from 3-point distance on the way to a career-high 23-point performance.
Since that meeting, Pitt has dropped three of its last five games entering Saturday’s contest. However, the Panthers are coming off a 64-53 home win over Syracuse on Tuesday that snapped a two-game skid.
Jamarius Burton paced Pittsburgh with 21 points and Mouhamadou Gueye added 19 points and 10 rebounds against the Orange. Hugley had 11 points and a career-best 18 boards.
It was a bounce-back effort after the Panthers fell 77-61 at Syracuse just four games prior on Jan. 11.
“We responded in a big-time fashion from last game,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said. “I thought our guys were incredibly tough. Thought we were together, had 15 assists on 20 field goals. I thought we shared the basketball well. Big-time strong performances from everyone.”
Boston College has dropped four of six games following its early-January loss in Pennsylvania. Overall, the Eagles have dropped eight of their past 10 games.
Boston College is coming off a 58-47 setback at North Carolina on Wednesday, handing them back-to-back losses and three in its last four games.
Quinten Post totaled 10 points and seven boards and T.J. Bickerstaff contributed seven points and a matched his career high of 17 rebounds for the Eagles against the Tar Heels. Dooming Boston College against North Carolina was its season-worst mark from 3-point range at 6.3 percent.
“The iron was unkind. The ball didn’t go in.” Eagles coach Earl Grant said of his team’s long-distance shooting. “I give my guys credit. We played hard enough and we defended well enough.”
In the all-time series, which dates back to when both were in the Big East, Pitt holds a 37-19 advantage over Boston College. The Panthers are 8-2 against the Eagles in ACC play.
–Field Level Media
