There are times where we are wrong about things, and there are times where we are just colossally wrong about things. The latter seems to pertain to this year's Boston College Eagles. This season had some grand expectations for this Eagles squad. The core of this team has been together for its third season now, and the thought was that this team could be sort of a sleeper to get in to the NCAA Tournament if they could sneak out a couple of big wins. But this year has been abysmal to this point. The Eagles are off to a 4-7 start, with their best win being against Washington, who is projected to be near the bottom of the Pac 12. The Eagles struggles were magnified when they struggled to beat Division II school Philadelphia University.
But what is the root of the Eagles struggles? The answer is simple. The issues lie on the defensive end. In five of their seven losses, the opposing team has scored at least 80 points, and they have given up at least 70 in the other two losses.And you can not blame the tempo for this, as the Eagles rank just inside the top 200 in possessions per game.
Just how bad is the Eagles defense? Against Division I teams, the Eagles allow 81 points per game, which ranks 322nd out of 351 teams. The Eagles also allow teams to shoot 48% from the field, which ranks 300th, and allow teams to shoot 40% from three point range, which ranks 318th.
Rebounding is also another issue. It has not normally been a strong suit of this team in the past few years, but this year has been really bad. The Eagles average 29.5 rebounds per game, which ranks 336th overall, Their defensive rebounding is ranked 309th, and their offensive rebounding is ranked 299th. On average, the Eagles are being outrebounded by five rebounds per game.
Another big issue with the Eagles defense is forcing turnovers. The 10.1 turnovers the Eagles force is ranked 326th nationally. The 3.6 steals per game the Eagles average is ranked 342nd, and the 2.7 blocks per game ranks 256th.
As you can see, the Eagles defense is downright pitiful. And things do not appear to be getting any better any time soon. With conference play on the horizon, and things not looking much better in terms of seeing improvement defensively, it could be a very long and disappointing season for the Eagles and their fans.
