Both Boston College and Notre Dame have struggled against Atlantic Coast Conference competition this season and will look to get on track when the teams meet Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame (9-10, 1-7) will play its first game since coach Mike Brey announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the season.
Brey, 63, has a 580-321 career record as the head coach at Delaware and Notre Dame, with 481 of those wins coming with the Fighting Irish.
“It has been a great run for me and our program over the past two decades, but it is time for a new voice to lead this group into the future,” Brey said in a statement released by the school.
Brey’s announcement came two days after Notre Dame turned in a lackluster effort in an 84-71 home loss to Florida State. The Seminoles scored the first 13 points and built a 32-8 first-half lead.
“Really disappointed that we couldn’t put our chest on some people more early so they wouldn’t be as confident,” Brey said. “The start just killed us.”
Boston College (8-11, 2-6) is coming off Tuesday’s 72-64 setback at North Carolina that extended the team’s losing streak to four games. The Eagles are 0-5 on the road this season.
“It’s a long season,” coach Earl Grant said. “It’s a journey. You know, a lot of these guys are young — first-year players in the program, so we’re trying to build.”
Saturday’s game will be the second meeting between the teams this season. Boston College overcame a 10-point deficit when it defeated Notre Dame 70-63 on Jan. 3. Jaeden Zackery scored 14 of his team-high 18 points in the second half for the Eagles.
Prince Aligbe finished with 15 points and Makai Ashton-Langford had 12 for Boston College, which held Notre Dame to 31 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.
Marcus Hammond, a transfer from Niagara, has led Notre Dame in scoring in each of its past two games. He scored a season-high 19 points in the loss to Florida State.
–Field Level Media
