Boston College at Harvard, 4:00 PM Eastern (no TV)
Happy New Year from everyone here at HoopsHD! Today’s SCGD kicks off 2014 with an almost amazing winning streak on the line. The Harvard Crimson host cross-town rival Boston College today with thier five game winning streak against the Eagles on the line. For a team from the Ivy League to have a winning streak of that length against an ACC team is practically unbelievable. Given how well Harvard has played so far this season, and how poorly BC has played, all indications are that the streak will reach 6.
Boston College enters today’s game as one of the most disappointing teams in the nation, thus earning it an entry in the column generally reserved for small conference teams. A preseason pick to contend for an NCAA tournament bid, BC is 4-9 on the season with the worst RPI, BPI and KenPom numbers in the ACC. The best win on the season for Boston College was against Washington, arguably one of the worst teams in the Pac 12. Beyond that they have a three point win over Florida Atlantic and an overtime win over Sacred Heart, together with a victory over a non-D1 team. If BC has any chance to turn things around as they head to conference play, they really need to start coming together immediately.
Harvard, on the other hand, continues to flirt with the Top 25. The Crimson have only lost once, at Colorado. However, they have yet to score a true quality win, and probably only have one chance to do so next week against Connecticut. Even if they lose that game, dominating the Ivy League and winning today’s game should be enough to secure a chance to wear the home jerseys in the first NCAA tournament game this year. If they can manage to win at Connecticut too, this team could be flirting with a protected seed.