WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Texas Tech beat some of the nation's
top teams and made Bob Knight the winningest men's basketball coach
in Division I history. Along the way, the Red Raiders also threw in
a few puzzling losses.
Meanwhile, Boston College undermined its solid regular season by
stumbling into the NCAA tournament.
That kind of inconsistency has reduced both teams to talking
optimistically about starting fresh when they play Thursday in the
first round of the East Regional. And it's made it hard to know
exactly what to expect from them.
"I think it's (true of) most teams in college basketball
today," Boston College coach Al Skinner said Wednesday. "That's
what the sport is. There's enough talent throughout college
basketball that those things are going to happen. It's proven night
in and night out in our league. Some nights you get it going more
than other nights.
"I don't think it concerns anyone in the tournament right now
about what's happened previously. Everyone's starting off on the
same slate."
Seventh-seeded Boston College (20-11) has lost five of seven,
which included double-digit losses to NCAA teams North Carolina,
Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. That skid cost the Eagles any
lingering chance to catch the Tar Heels for the Atlantic Coast
Conference regular-season title.
At least some of those struggles can be attributed to the losses
of center Sean Williams and forward Akida McLain, who were
dismissed from the team in January for an unspecified violation of
team rules. Still, it was a frustrating way to finish for a team
led by veterans Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall that has reached the
NCAA tournament four straight seasons.
Tenth-seeded Texas Tech (21-12) has had its ups and downs since
January, starting with a 73-70 loss to lowly Baylor.
Texas Tech followed that loss by beating Kansas, an eventual No.
1 seed, and Texas A&M -- then followed with five straight losses
that put its tournament hopes in jeopardy. But in another
befuddling result, Texas Tech ended that streak by beating Texas
A&M again, this time on the road.
"There are up-and-down seasons," Texas Tech junior Martin Zeno
said. "But if you finish strong and have a good end to your
season, then that's all in the past."
So where does that leave the Red Raiders? Even Coach Knight
didn't sound so sure when asked what he likes about his team.
"Let me tell you what I don't like about them," Knight said.
"Our team hasn't had great consistency and yet we have played
really well at times. And I would like to see us be better."
Both teams certainly have the talent to make the matchup
entertaining. Texas Tech senior Jarrius Jackson averaged a Big
12-best 20.2 points to earn all-conference honors, while the
6-foot-5 Zeno averages 16.5 points to lead an undersized front line
against the physical Eagles.
For Boston College, the 6-7 Dudley was named ACC player of the
year after averaging 19 points per game. The Eagles also have
perimeter balance with sophomore Tyrese Rice (17.2 points) and
Marshall (14.8 points).
The biggest factor could be which versions of the Eagles and Red
Raiders show up Thursday.
"All the stuff in the past, the losing, the ups and downs,
that's all over now," Marshall said. "We've just got to come in
with a good mind-set and try to win games now. That's the most
important thing."