Worst Case Scenario

Worst Case Scenario 3: BC loses the game...CHECK.

Worst Case Scenario 2: BC loses the game badly, at home, silencing the fickle BC crowd, and humiliating themselves in front of a national audience especially the committee...CHECK.

Worst Case Scenario 1: BC loses the game by more than 20, shows a total lack of heart, fails to make any kind of comeback after getting behind, and ultimately puts their tails between their legs and bows to the physical Pitt defense...CHECK.

What happened? This is what happened, Pittsburgh showed everyone watching how to beat BC, and don't think for a second that everyone headed to the Big East and NCAA tournaments won't take note.

Rebound, rebound, rebound. It's a mantra basketball players hear from the minute they lace them up when they're 7 years old. The winner of the battle of the boards generally wins the game. Tonight Pitt: 49 boards, BC: 27 boards. While the difference in offensive rebounds was only 3 (16-19 Pitt) at crucial junctures they were the difference. On three occasions Pittsburgh outside shots actually failed to graze iron but were scooped up by unmolested Pitt interior players and laid in uncontested. That is unacceptable and Doornekamp, Smith, and Williams are clearly to blame.

Speaking of Doornekamp...well I'll get back to him later.

Defense wins championships, blah, blah, blah, but it's the team with the most points when the buzzer sounds that wins the game. Shooting percentage is not always a good indicator of the game's outcome but when the margin as dramatic as it was tonight it tells a story. BC shot a paltry 31.1% (19-61) while Pitt shot 48.3% (28-58). While the difference here is already indicative, take Craig Smith out of the BC shooting percentage and it falls even further to 26.8% (11-41). BC played good D, holding a top 25 opponent under 50% from the field is relatively impressive, but to shoot under 40% is awful and to tip-toe around 30% is a recipe for disaster. They couldn't throw it in the ocean from the beach.

While BC couldn't shoot a lick the swarming physical Pitt defense certainly came to play. They pounded the BC interior players and packed the lane all night long, making for difficult entry passes to Smith, forcing him to catch the ball further from the hoop than he would like. With the clogged lane Hailey, Hinnent, and Watson couldn't get closer to the hoop than the free-throw line and Dudley was smothered from the opening tip. They took away what BC does best and exposed their greatest weaknesses. Make it tough for Smith, take away Dudley with physical play, pack it in and force them to shoot the ball from outside, contest everything, and get up big. Once they did that it was over. BC has so little firepower and is so weak from 3 point range overcoming large deficits is nearly impossible and if Dudley doesn't show up there is just too much attention paid to Smith for him to be effective.

Speaking of Dudley, he simply forgot to get out of bed this morning. He was completely shut down all night long scoring only 4 points (16.5 season average) and pulling down only 3 rebounds. If this kid is allegedly the second option on the #5 team in the country he needs to show up in big games against tough defensive players. He showed an inability to do that tonight. It was a weak concerning performance for an allegedly big-time player. If they see Pittsburgh again the Big East tournament he has a lot to prove.

As long as we're blasting people, let's get on Doornekamp. Let's start with this, he is over 7 feet tall, by far the tallest Eagle and normally the tallest player on the court. He grabbed one rebound in this game...one. He was exposed tonight, for exactly what he is. He's tall. That's about the nicest thing I can say about his game tonight. He totally failed to show up defensively and while they don't rely on him for much on the offensive end he was almost more pathetic with the ball. First, defensively he was completely unable to keep Taft and the rest of the Pitt interior players off the boards. He was badly beaten on half a dozen occasions and was caught chasing his man through the lane only to not get there in time and ended up meekly waving as Pitt players made lay-ups. On the offensive end he actually provided some levity, probably the only thing I smiled at the whole game. Late in the first half he caught the ball on the block, tried half a drop step, knocked his man over, stood there for 3 seconds unable to move his cement block feet towards the unchallenged basket, eventually got moving towards the hoop, found the path blocked, and tried the most hilariously awful reverse lay-up in the history of the NCAA. He looked like a drunk Shawn Bradley on ice-skates. I say again, much more S. Williams, much less N. Doornekamp.

Finally, lost opportunities early buried BC. Pitt couldn't hit the broad side of a barn for the first 10 minutes. Unfortunately, neither could BC, had they been able to score a few quick points they could have easily pulled away at the beginning. At the 10 minute mark of the first half the score was 9-9 and BC looked so bad I would have gladly settled for a 36-36 score at the end of regulation and a fresh start in overtime. They survived a seven minute scoring drought in the first half, and went nine minutes without a field goal but entered the locker room only down 3. Twice in the second half they got within 2, but for all intents and purposes the game was over at 15:59 when Pitt went up 41-32. After that point BC never got closer than 9, never mounted a serious charge, and never looked like a top 5 team. Hell, they didn't look like a top 50 team.

I detract my previous statements about the Villanova game, it didn't resemble the Syracuse football game at all...at least not compared to tonight's game.

"All BC has to do is beat middle of the pack Big East team Syracuse for a trip to the Fiesta Bowl."
"All BC has to do is beat middle of the pack Big East team Pittsburgh for at least a share of the Big East Championship and a shot at a #1 seed."

"Oh crap, BC is getting blown out by Syracuse here in the beginning, gee whiz I sure hope they come back. They will right? They are the 'better' team...aren't they?"

"Oh crap, BC is getting blown out by Pittsburgh here in the beginning, gee whiz I sure hope they come back. They will right? They are the 'better' team...aren't they? Wait didn't this already happen in football...am I losing it?"

"Wow BC looks like they totally rolled over here in this huge, huge, huge game, guess we'll get 'em next year."

"Wow BC TOTALLY rolled over AGAIN on national TV on this HUGE stage with the tournament seed world watching. How are we this bad? Doornekamp would get wasted in a 40 yard dash by Dan Marino, no one can hit an outside shot, Dudley might be better off on the "And One" mix-tape, and how the hell am I supposed to keep these players straight if they keep changing from 'fros to rows every freakin' week!?" (just imagine what this will look like if the hockey team loses in the Frozen Four)

How can one school choke twice in 4 months in potentially season making games? How can they get blown out in both games...at home? They aren't even the same damn team! How? Because they're big time BC sports and they are destined to shut it down just when they need to show up the most.

Way to peak at the right time boys.