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Following a 0-3 start in Atlantic Coast Conference play, Syracuse captured its first conference win Tuesday against Georgia Tech. The road to a win over the Yellow Jackets was arduous, marked by injuries, lopsided losses and struggles against top-tier competition.

SU entered 2025 at 6-7 overall, dropping all six games against Power Four opponents including a 26-point loss to Tennessee and falling by 27 to Maryland. Six games into the year the Orange lost their leading scorer J.J. Starling.

The junior returned to action on Jan. 4 against Florida State after a seven-game absence but Syracuse still came up well short. Against GT Tuesday, Starling emerged for a game-high 21 points in 37 minutes, helping Syracuse to victory despite freshman Donnie Freeman missing the game due to injury.

Looking to mount their second ACC win, the Orange next head to Chestnut Hill to face Boston College. The Eagles began the season 6-1 but have dropped five of their last eight games, most recently falling to Georgia Tech by 21 points.

Here’s everything to know about Boston College (9-6, 1-3 ACC) ahead of its matchup with Syracuse (7-8, 1-3 ACC) Saturday in Chestnut Hill:

All time series

Syracuse leads 58-27.

Last time they played …

In a clash of middling ACC teams, Syracuse faced off with Boston College on the road on Jan. 30, 2024. The Orange won the first game of the season series just three weeks prior by double digits but fell short in the sequel, losing 80-75.

SU received a combined 36 points from its backcourt duo of Starling and Judah Mintz but couldn’t overcome a 21-0 run across the end of the first half and beginning of the second from the Eagles. BC guard Claudell Harris Jr. produced a game-high 19 points off the bench, helping Boston College snap an 11-game losing streak to the Orange.

KenPom Odds

Syracuse has a 52% chance of winning, with a projected score of 75-74.

The Eagles report

In their fourth season under Earl Grant, the Eagles have jumped out to a 9-6 record overall, never dropping below the .500 mark. A season ago, Grant led BC to a 20-win season, its first since 2010-11.

Boston College has lost most of last year’s group since then. Leading scorer Quinten Post left for the Golden State Warriors organization while Harris Jr. transferred to Mississippi State. Jaeden Zackery transferred to Clemson and Devin McGlockton moved on to Vanderbilt.

The revamped Eagles are led by Donald Hand Jr., who didn’t start a college game until this season. Along with Hand Jr., St. Bonaventure transfer center Chad Venning averages 12.3 points per contest. Boston College has shuffled through multiple starting lineups, but Venning’s started 14-of-15 games while Hand Jr.’s started all 15 alongside forward Elijah Strong.

BC began the year hot through nonconference play, losing just one game through Nov. 26. Then, Boston College fell to Dartmouth by five, South Carolina by 22 and opened ACC play with a six-point loss to Wake Forest. BC took down Miami for its first ACC win on New Year’s Day but lost two more ACC games by 20+ points.

The Eagles have struggled with inside scoring all season, shooting just 47% from 2-point range. BC’s strength, however, is on the glass. It has a 34% offensive rebound mark, ranking 72nd in the nation.

BC’s had its fair share of struggles through the last month and to start conference play, but it serves as a good opportunity for SU to climb back to .500 before a torrid stretch.

How Syracuse beats Boston College

Syracuse defeats Boston College on Saturday simply by riding the momentum of its win over Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were not a top-tier team by any stretch, but a victory took a bit of pressure off the Orange, ending a three-game ACC losing streak and finally earning a Power Four win.

The message in the locker room was clear postgame.

“Take the momentum and lock in,” Eddie Lampkin Jr. said.

The Orange also adds to the win column by slowing down Hand Jr. The redshirt sophomore was limited to just six points in 31 minutes in BC’s previous game against Georgia Tech. The Orange then proved the next game GT is nothing special.

Slowing Hand Jr. allowed GT to pull away for a 21-point win over Boston College. If Syracuse uses the same formula, they likely won’t pull away by that much but will be in the driver’s seat throughout the afternoon.

Stat to know: 28.9%

Despite defeating the Yellow Jackets, the Orange shot 4-for-20 from 3, dropping its season average to 28.9%. The mark is 333th out of 364 Division I teams and makes SU the third-worst Power Four school from deep.

Luckily for Syracuse Tuesday, GT was even worse. Georgia Tech shot 4-for-21 from beyond the arc as the Orange allowed their least points in a game all year. Boston College has slightly better shooting, ranking 10th in the ACC and 155th in the country with a 33.8% clip.

Player to watch: Donald Hand Jr., guard, No. 13

In his first year as a starter in Chestnut Hill, Hand Jr. has emerged as the Eagles’ greatest threat. He leads BC in points (14.3) and rebounds (7.3) per game while playing 30.3 minutes per game.

The Virginia Beach native suffered a season-ending knee injury just 11 seconds into his second college game in 2022. After injury recovery, Hand Jr. returned for the 2023-24 season in a prominent bench role, averaging 5.0 points in 34 games. Now in a starring role coming off a recent ACC Player of the Week nod, the redshirt sophomore will be a handful for the Orange.

Published on January 10, 2025 at 1:04 pm

Contact Aiden at: amstepan@syr.edu | @AidenStepansky