The final week of Syracuse’s regular season includes two games, the first of which comes Wednesday night at Boston College (16-13, 6-10 Atlantic Coast). The unranked Eagles have lost three consecutive games, and they lost at Syracuse (18-11, 7-9 ACC) a month ago, 81-63 — SU’s largest margin of victory in conference play this season. The Orange has lost three of its last four, though, and needs more wins to secure a spot in the Big Dance.

Here’s what you need to know about Boston College ahead of the 9 p.m. tip-off.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 47-25

Last time they played: Syracuse bolted out for 47 points in the first half, one of its best offensive performances of the season. To get its third conference victory, SU shot 60.4 percent from the field and had five players reach double figures. When Matthew Moyer went down with an injury, Marek Dolezaj stepped up for 12 points and eight rebounds. Tyus Battle led all scorers with 24 points, Frank Howard had 18, and Paschal Chukwu and Oshae Brissett added 14 and 13 points, respectively.

For the Eagles, an 11-for-23 3-point shooting performance wasn’t enough. BC found hardly any room inside, scoring just 14 paint points to SU’s 30. Guards Jerome Robinson and Ky Bowman scored 41 of BC’s 63 points. Otherwise, it was one of Syracuse’s most complete games all season.

The Boston College report: It’s been a season of twists for the Eagles, who went 10-62 in ACC play over the previous four seasons entering 2017-18. Yet BC won three ACC games before it played SU last month, including wins against then-No. 1 Duke, Florida State and Wake Forest, all teams to which Syracuse lost.

The difference for the Eagles this season is that they rely on a dynamic backcourt that can spread the floor, space out the zone a bit and force the Orange to contest shots. The backcourt nearly powered BC to another No. 1 upset against Virginia. In the win against Duke, Bowman had 30, Robinson 24 and Jordan Chatman, another guard, added 22.

Robinson is shooting 57 percent overall and leads the ACC in conference-play scoring (25 points per game) and in 3-point shooting percentage (45.8 percent). He makes 85 percent of his free throws over 37.9 minutes per game. He is one of the best players SU has played this year, coming off a 30-point outing in BC’s loss to Miami on Saturday.

How Syracuse beats Boston College: In a nutshell, it comes down to this: Recover from Saturday’s dismal shooting display and knock down shots. BC doesn’t have Duke’s defense, not even close, so Syracuse may be able to get back in some sort of stride with a better shooting performance from the get-go. Given SU’s defensive success throughout the year, games down the stretch will be decided, almost always, on how the offense performs.

“Defensively, I thought we were horrendous guarding the ball,” Boston College head coach Jim Christian said of the teams’ matchup last month. “They’re really good offensively one-on-one when they get space. Battle’s one of the best one-on-one players in the league, their point guard’s one of the better one-on-one players, Brissett’s a great one-on-one player. So for us (it’s) to understand the urgency with which we need to guard the ball, individually and collectively. And then they hurt us inside rebounding the basketball (28-20, Syracuse).”

Brissett said after the game Saturday that Syracuse was stagnant on offense against the Blue Devils — SU scored just 44 points. Correcting that is the biggest adjustment SU can make headed into Wednesday. On the other side of the floor, the zone’s weak spot all season has been giving up space for 3-point shooters, especially in the corner. But if BC’s Robinson and Bowman drill 3s, that could be fine, as long as the Eagles aren’t also scoring inside.

Stat to know: 80

The Eagles are 11-2 this season when they score 80 points or more.

Kenpom odds: Kenpom gives Syracuse a 49 percent chance to win the game, predicting a Boston College victory by a score of 68-67.

Player to watch: Jerome Robinson, guard, No. 1

Robinson, a 6-foot-6 junior, leads the conference with 25 points per game. He averaged 18.7 points per game last season, then spent seven weeks in California at Integrity Hoops, an offseason personal development program, where he took his game up a notch. He can facilitate and score from both guard spots and was especially effective against SU in catch-and-shoot opportunities from the top of the key. Look for him to try to create space off-ball and via high ball screens.

Published on February 27, 2018 at 5:37 pm

Contact Matthew: mguti100@syr.edu | @MatthewGut21