Terps Commence Final ACC Campaign

Mark Turgeon and the Terps begin their final season in the ACC Thursday.

Maryland begins league play in the Atlantic Coast Conference one last time Thursday, traveling to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face Boston College.

Tip-off at the Conte Forum is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

It seems somewhat fitting that on a day that features no ranked teams in action, the highlight of the college basketball schedule features the beginning of the end of an era for the ACC.

Maryland’s controversial decision to join the Big Ten in 2014 has perhaps received more criticism than any other conference realignment-induced switch. The Terrapins are turning their back on what is quite possibly the strongest conference in basketball, practically dismissing 60 years of sporting history and leaving some historic rivalries – most notably the one shared with Duke – in the gutter as they do so. Even students at the school find it impossible to get behind the move.

Yet as the say, time moves on. So does Maryland.

The ACC schedule got off to an early start Sunday as Virginia Tech defeated Miami, squeezing a 61-60 overtime victory down in Coral Gables, Fla.

After Thursday night’s matchup between the Terps and the Eagles the ACC calendar will again lay dormant until January 4. That means Thursday’s winner will at least get to sit pretty at the top of the conference standings for three weeks, even if it just by virtue of an alphabetical advantage.

Maryland (5-4, 0-0 ACC) enters the game on the back of two straight defeats. Last Wednesday the Terps came up short on the road against then-No. 5 Ohio State before falling to George Washington at the BB&T Classic in D.C. on Sunday.

Head coach Mark Turgeon saw his team shoot poorly (39.1%) and struggle defensively against the Colonials, two problems that have plagued Maryland early this season. He has called for his team to improve its defense and reduce turnovers going forward.

Boston College (3-6, 0-0 ACC) also enters the game on a two-game losing streak, having dropped Sunday’s road game against Southern California and a trip to Purdue before that.

The Eagles were predicted to finish eighth in the ACC this season, but early indications are that this is a team that will struggle to put wins together. Granted, the school hasn’t exactly booked cupcake games to start the season, but there are certainly some ripples in the water. A win over Maryland could calm at least some of these ripples.

Maryland Terrapins vs. Boston College Eagles odds for 12/12/2013

Maryland opens as a narrow favorite over Boston College.

The game marks only the second true road game of the season for Maryland (0-1 road), although the Terps picked up a pair of wins in the Virgin Islands and lost a close game with Connecticut at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., to go alongside Sunday’s loss in Washington.

Boston College is 2-2 at home.

The Eagles own a 9-8 advantage over the Terps in the all-time head-to-head series but have lost two of the last three. The teams split a pair of games a season ago, each winning on its home court.

Boston is 3-1 when playing Maryland in its ACC opener.  Maryland has dropped 16 of 26 ACC openers on the road.

The spread opened at 1 and has subsequently climbed to 3. Maryland (4-3-0 ATS) is just in the black when it comes to covering the spread while Boston College (2-6-0 ATS) has struggled immensely. Those trends might be reversed Thursday as the Eagles are 4-2-0 ATS in their last six home games against the Terps.

At the time of publication, Vegas has yet to release an over/under on the game. When the line is released, with both Maryland (4-3-0) and Boston College (6-2-0) favoring the over this season, you might want to give consideration to the over. But then again, four of the last five games played between the schools at the Conte Forum have seen the total go under.

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