BC – Maine Season Opener Preview
By Ben Neuwirth
| Maine | Stats from 2016-17 | Boston College |
| 7-25 | Record | 9-19 |
| 3-13 | Conference Record | 2-13 |
| N/A | Last Ten Games | N/A |
| 91.1 | Offensive Rating | 103.9 |
| 110.7 | Defensive Rating | 104.2 |
| 68.0 | Pace | 71.1 |
| Projected Starting Five | ||
| Isaiah White | PG | Ky Bowman |
| Ilker Er | SG | Jerome Robinson |
| Trae Bryant | SF | Jordan Chapman |
| Aaron Calixte | PF | Teddy Hawkins |
| Andrew Flemming | C | Nik Popovic |
The Boston College Eagles will host the Maine Black Bears, Friday November 10th at &:30 in Conte Forum.
3 Keys:
Crash the Boards
Like many mid-major programs, Maine lacks size, the average height of its starting lineup is under 6’4. Bowman showed his tenacity as a rebounding guard last year but new graduate transfer Teddy Hawkins and sophomore Nik Popovic will need to box out well downlow, BC was killed on the offensive glass last season, will also working hard to generate extra opportunities on the other end. These extra shots will be crucial in what could be a sloppy opening game.
Figure Out the Bench
The transfer of AJ Turner at the end of last season and Mike Sagay last week has left the Eagles dangerously thin on bench depth. As of right now, the 3 bench players who have gotten time in the first couple of preseason games have been Steffon Mitchell, Luca Kraljevic and Johncarlos Reyes. Last season a weak bench fatigued BC’s stars and contributed to a lackluster stretch run. They need to find out who can come in and contribute off the pine. Mitchell, a tough rebounder and defender, and Kraljevic, a sweet shooting big man, are my picks to seize these minutes.
Give Ky and Jerome the Reigns
We can talk all day about bench depth, new freshmen, rebounding and a myriad of other issues but simply put, this team is going to go as far as Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman take them. Robinson is preseason 2nd team All-ACC pick and Ky is fresh off a ACC All-Freshman team appearance last season. These guys play really well off each other, look out for their give and goes from the elbows extended to the wings as well as backdoor cuts and alley-oops. Ky needs to keep his shooting as red-hot as his hair, while ‘Rome needs to dial in on the defensive side of the ball this season, becoming the two-way terror the Eagles need.
Prediction: BC 86 Maine 70
This team has serious depth issues but there is still a lot of top end talent and the spacing and defense on this squad should be improved from last year. Maine doesn’t have the ability to take advantage of the Eagles’ weaknesses so the biggest thing to pull away from this game will be the play of the young bucks. That said, we’ve seen BC blow games to lesser teams before and it’s critical they start off the season with positive momentum.