Boston College traveled to Europe to play three exhibition games in August, and coach Earl Grant said he expects the trip to pay dividends when the Eagles open their season against Fairfield on Monday night in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
“The first thing I would say on a trip like that is 95 percent of what you do, you always do it together,” Grant said at Atlantic Coast Conference media day. “I think the togetherness piece was critical. I think having a chance to play games and practice and put in a system, implement an offensive system and work on our defense earlier, kind of gave us a jump on the season. So I feel like we’re a little bit ahead in some areas.”
The Eagles were selected to finish 12th out of 15 teams in the ACC preseason poll.
Boston College returns four starters from a team that finished 16-17 overall and 9-11 in the ACC last season. Those returning include 7-foot center Quinten Post, who was selected to the Preseason All-ACC Second Team after he averaged 15.1 points in 19 games last season.
Fairfield, which was selected sixth in the MAAC preseason coaches’ poll, is dealing with a coaching change. Jay Young resigned after four seasons with the Stags, who elevated Chris Casey from assistant to interim head coach.
Casey previously served as the head coach at Niagara, LIU Post and Rutgers-Newark.
“This team is a hard-working group, and we believe in ourselves and each other,” Casey said. “We are all focused on improving as individuals and as a team.”
Fairfield, which finished with a 13-18, 9-11 record last season, will build around guard Caleb Fields and 6-foot-8 forward Alexis Yetna, a transfer from Seton Hall.
Fields was selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Second Team after he averaged 11.7 points per game in 2022-23, and Yetna was named to the All-MAAC Third Team. He averaged 8.1 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game for the Pirates in 2021-22.
–Field Level Media