With five games left in regular season, BC in NCAA hunt

CHESTNUT HILL — The Boston College basketball team made ten trips to the NCAA Tournament from 1994 through 2009, but since Al Skinner left the program in 2010, the Eagles have yet to return.

In the fourth year of Jim Christian's stint as head coach, it's almost a certainty BC will play some form of postseason basketball, but whether it's in the Field of 68 will depend largely on how they perform in the next two weeks. 

"I think they've understood what they've needed to win," said Christian as his 16-10 squad prepared for Saturday's home game against Notre Dame. "Now it's February and in college basketball February's the biggest month. We're 3-1 in the month of February and trying to get to 4-1 playing against a great team." 

The Eagles lost at Notre Dame on February 6, but gained some confidence when Jerome Robinson scored 46 points in the loss. Since then, he's scored 29 against Miami and 27 against Pittsburgh in back-to-back wins. 

"Just staying in the rhythm," said Robinson about his recent hot streak. "You don't want to get out of it. It's an awesome feeling, definitely. The basket feels like it's an ocean so you just throw it up there and hope it goes in." 

After Saturday's game against Notre Dame, the Eagles will play three of their final four on the road. They'll travel to North Carolina State and Miami before hosting Syracuse and finishing on the road against Florida State. BC has beaten Miami and Florida State this year, but each of those games were played in Chestnut Hill. 

"We've just picked up the defense," said sophomore point guard Ky Bowman. "Knowing that last year we were in a lot of games in the first half but we let them slip away from us in the second half because of defense, so we just know these last couple of games are going to be all about defense." 

The Eagles tip off against Notre Dame at 4pm Saturday.

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