The good news for Al Skinner? At least it was the last time that Harvard’s Jeremy Lin could torch Boston College.
Lin went for 25 points and sophomore forward Keith Wright added 21, as the Crimson knocked off the Eagles for the second-consecutive year, 74-67.
Unlike last year, when questions lingered about BC’s readiness for the contest in the wake of an upset win over then-No. 1 North Carolina, the Eagles were ready for this one, but Harvard still forced BC to play its game, one that’s not the normal low-major over BCS formula.
The Crimson came in the team that played at a faster tempo with a deeper bench. Sure enough, Harvard played nine guys at least nine minutes and pushed the pace up to 71 possessions, six possessions faster than the Eagles’ 65 per game average and very close to Harvard’s own 72.7 pace. The Crimson picked up full-court man defense for a significant portion of the second half, almost to convey a sense of freshness and confidence that a low-major can rarely even feign during the latter portions of a game against a BCS opponent.
Trailing 43-36 in the early portion of the second half, Harvard allowed Boston College just one rebound over the next six minutes, as Lin and Wright attacked the paint, combining for 12 points during a 17-2 run that put the Crimson up 53-45 with 8:24 left. Harvard maintained at least two-possession lead until the final minute, when the Eagles cut the lead to two, but the Crimson scored the last five points of the game from the line for the 74-67 win.
Boston College entered the game a dominant rebounding team – fourth nationally on the offensive boards (45.2 percent) and 44th on the defensive end (28.4 percent). Harvard held the Eagles to a season-low 33 percent rebounding on their offensive glass, and managed to grab 28 percent of the boards on its own offensive glass. Boston College ended the game with a 16-8 advantage in second-chance points, but that margin was not as distinct as it needed to be given the Eagles prowess on the boards.
The key to the Crimson’s strong second-half run was its lack of turnovers. After giving the ball away 16 times in the game’s first 29 minutes, Harvard didn’t commit another turnover for the duration of the contest and scored 30 points during those final 11 minutes.
Harvard shot 53 percent EFG for the game compared to the Eagles’ 42 percent. The Crimson made 21-of-37 attempts from inside the arc and won the points in the paint battle 40-26.
Harvard has two weeks off before its brutal stretch continues in Washington, DC against No. 15 Georgetown on December 23 with a home date against George Washington to follow a week later.
