Pitino, No. 6 Louisville visit Boston College (Feb 04, 2017)
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Rick Pitino makes his latest return to the Boston area when he brings his No. 6 Louisville Cardinals in for an ACC game at Boston College on Saturday.
Pitino, who hails from New York and played his college ball at the University of Massachusetts, coached at Boston University and Providence before a period -- not a successful one -- of coaching and running the Boston Celtics.
There have been all kinds of off-court distractions hindering this program but the bottom line is the Cardinals, the 2013 NCAA champions, win. This season's team has gotten hot after dropping its first two games in the conference.
The teams come in clearly headed in opposite directions. Louisville (18-4, 6-3 ACC) won six of its last seven while Boston College (9-14, 2-8) has lost its last six.
With two point guards hurt for Louisville, Donovan Mitchell has moved into the spot and he has more than responded.
"Donovan is getting a chance to play his normal position, which is point guard, and you always look for a silver lining in any injury, and he's got a chance to work at that, which I think will pay a huge dividend down the road," Pitino said after Mitchell slid into the role after Tony Hicks suffered a broken hand in a 55-point victory at Pittsburgh.
With Hicks joining starter Quentin Snider (hip flexor) on the sidelines, Mitchell has made the move. In the last two games, he has averaged 28.5 points, hitting 60 percent of his shot and going 12-for-18 from the floor. He was named ACC player of the week.
Louisville comes in having not played since Sunday. The Cardinals' last three wins have come by an average of 37.3 points.
"For some reason, the last 10 days or so, our offense has really looked great because of the passing they're doing and the guys looked inside, made plays, looked outside, made threes and it's fun to watch when you see good passing like that," said Pitino, whose team moves on to visit No. 9 Virginia Monday night.
The Eagles' losing streak started with two bad losses, but the last four games have all been decided by single digits, including a one-point loss at Miami.
Sophomore Jerome Robinson is averaging 19.7 points per game, fourth in the ACC, while point guard Ky Bowman is one of three freshmen in the country with three 30-point games this season.
Boston College, using the 3-pointer, led Wake Forest by seven points in the second half before John Collins took over, scoring 13 straight points over 3:49 to put the Demon Deacons in charge.
"We had to stretch the game (but) three times we had turnovers, on unforced plays," Eagles coach Jim Christian said. "We've got to grow up and learn from that. I'm not going to use the excuse that you're young. They're not young, this is basketball and I'm responsible for it. They have to learn how to win the game, by taking care of basketball.
"You can't give up 85 points at home -- too many easy baskets. In this league, they make you pay. That's what happened. We did enough offensively to win the game. We've got to learn a lesson, all of us."
Sophomore Jordan Chatman has joined the Robinson/Bowman 1-2 punch for Boston College. He had 22 against Wake two days after going 9-for-11 from 3-point range and scoring 30 at Virginia Tech. He has made 15 of his last 19 shots from behind the arc.
