Davidson has the ability to put up big scoring numbers, a point proven since the season began two weeks ago. Boston College cannot make the same claim.
The teams meet Friday afternoon in the opening round of the Charleston Classic in Charleston, S.C.
Davidson (4-0) has won three home games and prevailed in a visit to nearby Charlotte.
“We love growing through winning,” Davidson coach Matt McKillop said. “We love getting better through winning.”
Boston College (3-2) has won two in a row, but the Eagles failed to reach the 65-point mark in two of their last three games.
“I think offensively we’re expecting an eruption at some point,” Boston College coach Earl Grant said. “We share the ball pretty well.”
Donald Hand Jr., despite shooting 30.8% from the floor, leads Boston College in scoring with 14.8 points per game.
“We just continuing to keep pushing,” Boston College guard Fred Payne said.
Adam Hunter is Davidson’s leading scorer with 14 points per game, while Nick Coval and Wake Forest transfer Parker Friedrichsen are each averaging 11.8 points. At his last stop, Friedrichsen had production of nine and three points in two games vs. Boston College in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Davidson, which is averaging 83.6 points per game, has shot above 50% from the field in three of its last four games. That includes 44.4% on 3-pointers, while the Wildcats’ opponents are shooting 30.5% from beyond the arc. Boston College is shooting 24.3% on 3-pointers.
Davidson did not tolerate Bowling Green’s pressing defense consistently. McKillop said difficulties begin when opponents speed up the Wildcats. Davidson lost the turnover battle with Bowling Green, 18-9.
“We’re making these wild games a little bit more wild than they need to be,” McKillop said. “Everything is ready (for us to be really strong) except the way we handle pressure the last two games.”
Davidson 7-footer Ian Platteeuw made his season debut Saturday. He’s on a restrictive minutes plan coming off an injury, but logged 19-plus minutes and provided eight points and eight rebounds.
“He’s pretty special and we knew that,” McKillop said. “He has a very high ceiling.”
For Davidson, this will be the team’s only scheduled power-conference opponent of the regular season aside from a December visit to Kansas.
Depending on Friday’s results, a guaranteed second game awaits both teams on Sunday against either Tulane or Utah State.
