Boston, MA
Boston College Men’s Basketball is Collapsing at the End of the Season
This has been an up-and-down season for the Boston College men’s basketball team overall, but it’s been all downhill for the past few weeks. The Eagles have lost four straight games since mid-February, tumbling to a 6-12 record in the ACC and showing that their “gritty not pretty” style of defense is losing its luster. Even Quinten Post’s 30-point game against Pitt couldn’t prevent the Eagles from getting blown out by 25 points.
Giving up 80+ points to FSU, NC State, and Pitt all within two weeks has been their downfall, consistently getting out-rebounded, or failing to generate turnovers, or giving up too many threes. BC gets bullied a lot in the paint and Quinten Post isn’t as good of a defender as he is a scorer, while Devin McGlockton is still inconsistent as the other primary big man. BC’s transition defense is also a disaster at times, leading to open threes or easy drives into the paint at inopportune times. There is a limit to what this team can do based on the talent level on the roster, but they are definitely a step behind in their defensive execution, too, which falls on the coaching.
The offense this year has been better than it usually has been in Earl Grant’s short tenure, but it still has a long way to go. The Eagles can’t execute a designed play out of a timeout to save their lives, while the offense can oftentimes go stagnant if Quinten Post or Claudell Harris are having a bad game. Plain and simple, the talent on the offensive side of the ball is not distributed evenly, and the coaching has not helped to develop the supporting cast. With Quinten Post on his way out after this season, things could get worse again before they get better.
So where does that leave us? The only two teams remaining on BC’s schedule are Miami and Louisville, two of the worst teams in the ACC this season. Beyond that, we’re probably looking at another first or second round exit in the ACC tournament. Even if BC wins its last two regular season games and a couple of games in the postseason, this is a step backwards from 2023, or at least a lateral step. They were supposed to take a step forward this year. These developments are concerning, to say the least.
With Jayson Tatum unavailable, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla threw his starting lineup into a blender for Game 7 against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston opened Saturday’s win-or-go-home game at TD Garden with a five-man unit of Derrick White, Ron Harper Jr., Baylor Scheierman, Jaylen Brown and Luka Garza.
White and Brown are longtime starting-lineup staples, and Scheierman, Harper and Garza all started games at different points this season. But this was that quintet’s first time sharing the floor. They’d played zero minutes together during the regular season or postseason.
Harper, Scheierman and Garza were part of Boston’s top-performing lineup in Game 6. Those three, along with Payton Pritchard and Jordan Walsh, staged a late-game rally, cutting a 23-point deficit to 12 before losing steam in the final minutes of Philadelphia’s series-extending 106-93 win.
The trio of new additions also played key roles in one of the Celtics’ most memorable wins of the season: the Game 82 matchup with the Orlando Magic that Boston won despite sitting their top seven rotation players. Harper, Scheierman and Garza combined for 84 points in that win, with Garza hitting the decisive 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter.
Scheierman and Garza have seen sporadic playing time in Boston’s first-round playoff series, but Harper — who only had his two-way contract converted to a standard deal last month — had only played in blowouts before his surprise start on Saturday.
The radical lineup change pushed usual starters Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser to the bench. Queta had started 81 of the 82 games he’d played this season, including each of the first six playoff games, but he’s struggled to stay out of foul trouble against the Sixers. The Celtics were outscored with Hauser on the floor in four of the first six postseason contests.
Mazzulla opted for Garza over veteran center Nikola Vucevic, who has been Queta’s primary backup when healthy.
Tatum was ruled out for Game 7 with left knee tightness.
A fair that attracts thousands of visitors every year will officially open later in Boston.
The May Fair is “one of the country’s most iconic and historic street fairs”, Boston Borough Council said.
The event, featuring attractions, rides and games, will be held in the town centre until 9 May.
Dale Broughton, leader of the council, said: “The Boston May Fair is one of our town’s most treasured traditions, and welcoming it back once again is something we look forward to all year.”
FSU softball focuses on rival Florida. Here’s its approach on Wednesday
Here’s how Lonni Alameda and Florida State softball are preparing for its rivalry matchup against Florida. First pitch is at 6 p.m.
Jazzy Francik returned to the site of one of the toughest outings of her career and delivered a dominant performance.
The Florida State sophomore tossed her third career no-hitter and powered the Seminoles to a 10-0 win over Boston College in six innings Saturday at Harrington Athletics Village, moving FSU within one win of clinching the ACC regular-season title.
Francik (19-2) was in control from the first pitch, striking out six and allowing only one baserunner on an infield error in the fifth inning. She needed just 67 pitches to complete the no-hitter, the third of her career and one of the most efficient outings of her season.
Florida State’s offense gave its ace plenty of support, collecting 12 hits and scoring 10 runs. After a scoreless first inning, the Seminoles broke through in the second with three runs on RBI doubles by freshmen Haley Griggs and Makenna Sturgis.
FSU added four more runs in the fourth inning behind a two-run double from Jaysoni Beachum and an RBI single by Ashtyn Danley. The Seminoles put the run-rule into play in the sixth, scoring three times on an RBI single from Sturgis, an RBI double by Isa Torres and a sacrifice fly from Danley.
Beachum, Torres, Sturgis and Danley each drove in two runs as Florida State continued to pressure Boston College despite several highlight-reel defensive plays from the Eagles.
Francik and the Seminole defense sealed the no-hitter in the bottom of the sixth to end the game early.
Florida State is one win away from securing at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship. A sweep of Boston College on Sunday would clinch the title outright.
How to watch FSU vs. Boston College Game 2
- Date: Saturday, May 2
- Time: 4 p.m.
- Where: Harrington Athletics Village, Brighton, Massachusetts
- TV/Stream: ACC extra
Peter Holland Jr. covers Florida State athletics and Big Bend Preps for the Tallahassee Democrat. If you like to pitch a story on a high school athlete, don’t hesitate to get in touch with him via email at PHolland@Gannett.com or on X @_Da_pistol.
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