WASHINGTON — Quinten Post will look to continue his strong play on Wednesday night when 11th-seeded Boston College challenges sixth-seeded Clemson in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Post punished Miami for the third time this season when he recorded 30 points and 13 rebounds in the Eagles’ 81-65 victory over the 14th-seeded Hurricanes in the first round on Tuesday.
“He’s been playing with good energy, good passion — he’s been doing it all year,” Boston College coach Earl Grant said. “I think that’s the biggest thing, just the brotherhood and wanting to continue to play with his brothers.”
While the 7-footer had tallied 42 points and 15 rebounds in the Eagles’ two regular-season wins over Miami, he now will face the Tigers (21-10) for the first time this season.
A stomach flu sidelined Post for the Eagles’ only meeting against Clemson this season, which Boston College (18-14) lost 89-78 on Jan. 13.
Post, who leads the Eagles with averages of 17.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, said Tuesday that January’s result doesn’t represent how well Boston College matches up with the Tigers. The fifth-year senior also said he is eager for his first tussle this season with Clemson’s bigs, particularly 6-foot-10 center PJ Hall.
“He’s a great inside player,” Post said. “It’ll be a fun challenge.”
Hall’s 18.8 scoring average is tied for the second-highest in the ACC, while Tigers forward Ian Schieffelin’s 9.6 rebounds per game are the third-most in the conference.
That duo will be key to the diversified offense that Clemson coach Brad Brownell is seeking after the Tigers lost 81-76 at Wake Forest in Saturday’s regular-season finale.
“We need a mix to our game,” Brownell said. “Part of that is PJ and Ian and (RJ Godfrey) scoring in the paint.”
While Hall and Schieffelin power Clemson near the rim, guard Joseph Girard III provides a scoring touch from the perimeter. Girard averages three made 3-pointers per game and totes the Tigers’ second-highest scoring average (15.7 points per game).
Girard canned five 3-pointers and matched Hall with 26 points in Clemson’s win over the Eagles in January.
Jaeden Zackery’s 18 points against the Tigers led Boston College. The guard distributes a team-best 4.2 assists per game and logged 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting in the Eagles’ first-round victory on Tuesday.
Zackery averages 11.5 points per game for the Eagles, which trails only Claudell Harris Jr. (13.3) and Post. Devin McGlockton contributes 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Boston College has won three straight games, but its climb to the NCAA Tournament remains steep. The Eagles likely will need to win the ACC tournament title to secure a bid to the national bracket.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi slotted Clemson as a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament field in his bracket projection on Tuesday.
“For us to have a quote-unquote ‘great’ year,” Brownell said, “we need to win some more games.”
–Tanner Malinowski, Field Level Media