Notre Dame at Boston College in men's basketball: What you need to know
Tom Noie
MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL
∎ WHO: Notre Dame (8-6 overall; 0-3 ACC) vs. Boston College (7-7; 1-2)
∎ WHERE: Conte Forum (8,606), Chestnut Hill, Mass.
∎ WHEN: Tuesday at 7 p.m.
∎ TV: ACC Network
∎ RADIO: WSBT (960 AM).
∎ ONLINE: Follow every Notre Dame game with live updates from Tribune beat writer Tom Noie at twitter.com/tnoieNDI
In Gator Bowl classic, Notre Dame's Tyler Buchner shakes off rust and talks like a winner
A second straight trip to the NCAA tournament fading fast from Irish view
∎ NOTING: Swingman Makai Ashton-Langford scored 14 points with four steals and forwards Prince Aligbe and T.J. Bickerstaff each added 12 points in Saturday’s 79-65 loss at Syracuse. The Eagles shot 40.4 percent from the floor, 33.3 percent from 3 and 71.4 percent from the foul line. Boston College led by as many as seven in the first half and trailed by as many as 16 in the second. It led by two with 11 minutes remaining. Seven-footer Quinten Post played his first game of the season against Syracuse after recovering from a foot injury. He had eight points and three rebounds in 16 minutes. … Boston College has non-league losses to Maine, New Hampshire and Tarleton (Texas) State. ... This is the first of three of the next four at home for the Eagles, 5-2 at Conte Forum. … The Eagles have lost five of their last seven. Their league win came at Clemson … The roster features four seniors, two graduate students and six transfers. … Boston College returned four starters off last year’s team that finished 13-20 overall, 6-14 and tied for 11th in the 15-team Atlantic Coast Conference. The Eagles lost eight of their final 10 and finished last in the league in field goal percentage (.428) and 3-point field goal percentage (.309). … Boston College was picked this preseason to finish 13th in the ACC; Notre Dame was picked sixth. … The Eagles opened the week in a three-way tie for ninth in the league; the Irish were in a three-way tie for last place. … Boston College is one of two permanent ACC repeat opponents (Georgia Tech) for Notre Dame since the Irish joined the league in 2013-14. … The Irish lead the all-time series 25-13 overall, 9-8 at Conte Forum and 15-3 as ACC colleagues. Notre Dame won last season’s second meeting, 99-95 in overtime in South Bend. Prior to that, Boston College won two straight, which it hadn’t done since late in the 1996-97 season. The Eagles have won the last two meetings at Conte Forum, where Notre Dame has not won since Feb. 26, 2020. … Boston College opened the week tied for fifth in the ACC in scoring defense (67.7 ppg.), 12th in field goal percentage defense (.437), 13th in scoring margin (-3.43), 14th in scoring offense (64.3), field goal percentage (.413), assists (9.8) and assist/turnover ratio (0.78) and 15th (last) in free throw percentage (.675), 3-point percentage (.270) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.367). … Notre Dame is one of three league teams (Georgia Tech, Louisville) at 0-3 in conference play. … The Irish look to avoid opening 0-4 in league play for the first time since 2020-21. They’ve lost four of five and five of seven. … Notre Dame is 0-3 away from home this season, 0-1 in true road games (Florida State).
∎ QUOTING: “I’m certainly disappointed and responsible. I don’t know if I’m helping them enough. We have real serious kids who hate to fail. They get uptight and I’m trying to balance between loosening them up and holding them accountable. I’ve not walked that line very good to date.” — Notre Dame coach Mike Brey on his team’s 0-3 start in ACC play
—Tom Noie