Buried within the ranks of the ACC, Boston College hasn't made much noise inside the conference dominated by the Tobacco Road teams, notably, Duke and North Carolina, but they may have a spark-plug this season in Ryan Anderson, a 6'8" sophomore forward from Lakewood, California, who pumped in 29 points in BC's, 84-70, season-opening win over Florida Atlantic.Anderson was 9-for-16 from the field and hit 11 of 14 free throws. He also snatched 17 rebounds - eight offensive - both his scoring and rebounding career highs.
The Eagles took care of business in the opening half, posting a 49-33 edge at the break. Three other BC players scored in double figures, each scoring exactly a dozen points. Besides winning the point total, BC also enjoyed a sizable rebounding advantage, pulling down 46 boards to 28 for the Panthers.
Not completely off the radar as a true freshman, Anderson notched double-double efforts seven times last season, even as the Eagles went 9-22. With a little help from teammates, BC may actually be competitive in the rough-and-ready ACC, though nobody is expecting them to challenge for the top spot.
A trip to the NCAA tournament would be a suitable goal, though realists understand that the best the Eagles may do this season is .500 in the conference and an invite to the NIT.
Other Notable Efforts:
Aaron Craft, Ohio State: 20 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova: 25 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds
C.J. Fair, Syracuse: 17 points, 10 rebounds
