How to Watch: Boston College Men’s Basketball vs. South Carolina

The last week or so has been up and down for the Boston College men’s basketball team. After winning three straight games and winning the Cayman Islands Classic championship over Boise State, the Eagles flew home and lost to Dartmouth , considered one of the worst D1 teams in the country. With expectations now over, BC will face South Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Tuesday night.

WHO: Boston College Eagles (6-2) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (4-3)

Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA

When: Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Tip time: 7pm ET

How to watch: This game will be broadcast live on the ACC Network and streamed live here

The Gamecocks are also off to a difficult start after a narrow loss to the North Florida Ospreys in their home opener dampened their prospects to start the season. But since then, South Carolina has won every game it was supposed to win, suffering only additional losses to ranked opponents No. 16 Indiana and No. 22 Xavier. Kenpom has SCAR at No. 77 overall, well above Boston College at No. 127.

In their last game, a win over Virginia Tech, it was the Wings that brought the Gamecocks victory. 6-foot-1 Zachary Davis, 6-foot Morris Ugusuk and 6-foot Collin Murray-Boyles each scored in double figures en route to a tough 10-point win. Ugusuk made a splash from beyond the arc while the others dug deep and delivered a crushing blow to the Hokies down low, leading to fouls and tiring out their opponents. And that was a common theme in their defense: They rarely let their opponents score more than 70 points in the games they won and kept the shooting percentage low. If Boston College wants to win this game, it will be crucial for Boston College to get its offense going early because South Carolina knows how to stick together and win tight, physical ball games. Look for Donald Hand and Joshua Beadle to try and increase the pace of the game.

Other SCAR players to watch include senior guards Jamarii Thomas and Jacobi Wright. Wright has been a Gamecock for four seasons now, while Thomas transferred from Norfolk State and is still getting used to it. Both players are averaging double-digit points so far this season, but haven’t shot as many three-pointers as they would have liked, particularly in their losses to Xavier and Indiana. BC needs to be much more disciplined in its perimeter defense than it was against Dartmouth, or else these veteran ball-handlers could get back into the swing of things and pay dividends.

Prediction: South Carolina 74, Boston College 68