rice

Few college basketball teams have ever experienced a week quite like the one Boston College endured.

Last Sunday, Al Skinner’s Eagles flew into the Dean Dome in Chapel Hill, N.C., and shocked the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels, 85-78. BC played with a tough-guy chip on its shoulder and controlled the Heels for virtually the entire game.

On Monday, BC flew home to Boston and Skinner took his team right to practice. With a game against Harvard looming on Wednesday, the coach didn’t want his team to get fat off its shocking upset. Well that’s exactly what happened. Harvard grabbed its own shocking upset as it stunned the Eagles, 82-70. BC was looking to bounce back last night against Miami.

The Eagles are obviously a trick-or-treat team, and no player symbolizes that more than senior guard Tyrese Rice. After dominating All-ACC point guard Tywon Lawson in Chapel Hill and making a case for being the best lead guard in the country, Rice was awful against Harvard. He made just 4 of 10 shots, scored 14 points and turned the ball over five times.

Interestingly, BC’s loss was the fourth straight time that, after an unranked team’s upset of the No. 1 team, the unranked team lost its next game.

North Carolina bounced back from the loss by drubbing Charleston, but the real test will come today in a trip to Wake Forest. Are the Tar Heels the Super Team that some fans and the fawning press believed? Or are they a bit flawed, somewhat soft inside other than All-American Tyler Hansbrough? We’ll see.

Atlantic 10 is wide open

While yesterday’s painful triple-overtime loss to Saint Joseph’s is a killer, it goes to show just how wide open the Atlantic 10 race is bound to be.

The Rams have as good a chance as anyone to make a move in the conference, but several games stand out as critical. The first is this week’s visit from Xavier. The Muskies are the league’s dominant team and the only program with true national panache. It’s important for the Rams to take advantage of getting Sean Miller’s team at the Ryan Center and serving notice to the rest of the A-10 that Rhody can be a player in the race.

What will separate teams in this conference is the ability to win on the road. The Rams learned that lesson a bit yesterday, but Saint Joe’s is always good in Philadelphia, so don’t be fooled. The Rams’ next two road games are ones they have to win, even if they will not be easy. They come at Richmond and George Washington, two teams that appear to be lower-division finishers in the conference.

Extras for PC fans

PC has two events planned around next weekend’s Marquette game that should interest Friar fans. On Saturday afternoon, the athletic department is celebrating the grand opening of the Joe Calabria Hallway of Legends. The hallway serves as the entrance to PC’s men’s basketball offices and includes new photographs, interactive flat-screen televisions, Ryan Gomes’ locker and memorabilia that helps tell the history of PC basketball.

Friar fans are welcome to attend the ceremony at 3 p.m. and tour the new facility. At 5:30, the school is hosting the second annual Men’s Basketball Alumni Game at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. Players from the 1960s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s are expected to compete. For free admission to the alumni game, you must have a ticket to that night’s Big East contest against Marquette. Fans can watch the alumni game, leave The Dunk and return for the 9 p.m. tip-off.

kmcnamar@projo.com