Boston College vs Clemson Preview

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Boston College vs Clemson is usually an interesting matchup and Clemson is definitely a clear favorite as they try to improve their already impressive record against Boston College.

In this guide, we’ve put together a preview of one of the biggest upcoming college basketball features. Reading college basketball predictions can give you a better idea of what to expect when the fixture finally rolls around.

Both head coach Earl Grant and his assistant Anthony Goins worked with Brad Brownell, the Clemson head coach, over a decade ago. At this time they performed well, making it to the NCAA tournament as well as the NIT. Goins was on the coaching staff as recently as 2021.

Favorites for victory – Clemson

Boston College doesn’t have a good record against Clemson, dating all the way back to when they first played in 1975-76. BC has won only a handful of times in the regular season against the Clemson team. In recent years, it is fair to say that Clemson has also dominated in this fixture.

When it comes to the matchup on February 1, it is likely that Clemson will have too much for Boston College, and this comes down to their impressive start to the season, which has been covered in detail here.

The Tigers started with a record of (15-4, 7-1), which was their best start in an incredible 70 seasons. They ranked for the first time two years ago at the start of January 2021, sitting at number 19 in the AP top 250.

They began their season with an impressive 7-0 and the only other team to do that was the Virginia Cavaliers, a couple of years ago.

Recently, experienced coach Brad Brownell achieved his 400th career win, with center PJ Hall scoring 26 points and proving to be crucial to the team, and not for the first time. The Tigers are virtually unbeatable at home and even when they play away, they provide an incredible challenge for any team they may come up against.

Clemson is one of only three teams that is currently ranked – Virginia at #10 and Miami at #17 complete the list. The NCAA Monday’s Net report showed that the conference boasted eight teams that are among the top 60. The up-to-date rankings can be found here.

PJ Hall – crucial to Clemson

PJ Hall has really come into his own in recent years. The 6-10 center is always going to be a handful and he scores plenty of points toward the cause. Hall was named in the 2021-22 All-ACC Honorable Mention as well as being the 2021-22 ACC Most Improved Player Runner-Up. Those who watch him regularly will tell you what huge improvements he seems to be making, week by week, and there is a chance he will have a huge role to play against Boston College. In truth, it is unlikely that they will be able to contain him.

What Boston College needs to do

We don’t want to totally write them off. If Boston College is going to have a chance, though, there are some areas where they really need to brush up and improve their quality levels.

For one, they need to clean up the defense. They were too slow to close out in recent games and they leave open shots from the field, this is where some of the Clemson ballers are going to take advantage. The Tigers are great at this and if BC is going to have a chance, they need to organize on defense.

They also need to minimize careless mistakes. In recent games, even the guards have been giving away turnovers and this means that it is really difficult to complete a win. Boston College is going to have its work cut out if this is going to be a famous win for them, and it would be a serious achievement with Clemson doing so well at the moment.

Summary

If you are going to be placing a bet on the match, you will get long odds on the Boston College team, and that seems to make a lot of sense when looking at recent form. However, there could be some value markets out there for the savvy gambler. How do you think this fixture is going to end up? Will it go with form and see Clemson assert their dominance or are we going to see a big upset?