Boston College is Rainbow Classic favorite
| • | A look at the Rainbow Classic teams |
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
The Boston College men's basketball team didn't get to be 9-0 this season with bells and whistles.
Well, maybe just not the whistles.
What: Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.
When: Today-Saturday.
Where: Stan Sheriff Center.
Schedule: Today—Iona vs. Holy Cross, 5 p.m.; Hawai'i vs. Portland, 7:30 p.m. Tomorrow—Boston College vs. Miami (Ohio), 5 p.m.; Georgia vs. Arkansas State, 7:30 p.m. Friday—Consolation games at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m.; semifinals at 5 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Saturday—Seventh place, 11 a.m.; fifth, 1:30 p.m.; third, 5; championship, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Individual tickets available on day of game; $16 lower level (single seats only); $12 upper level (adult). Ticket packages, $68 lower level; $52 upper level.
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Parking: $3.
One Bell — junior guard Troy Bell — has certainly played a significant role in the Eagles' early-season success.
Boston College is No. 10, its highest ranking this season, in the latest Associated Press poll. The Eagles are the only ranked team in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic, and that automatically makes them the favorite in the eight-team field.
"We have a good core from last year, so that gives us a lot of experience," head coach Al Skinner said. "And Troy being a starter for the third year is an example of that."
Boston College is scheduled to play Miami (Ohio) in a first-round game at 5 p.m. tomorrow. The tournament opens tonight with Iona playing Holy Cross at 5 p.m., followed by Hawai'i and Portland around 7:30 p.m.
"One thing we have to recognize is that we are perceived as a big game for everybody, and every team is going to give us its best shot," Skinner said. "We have to realize that and not take anyone lightly."
As long as Bell is on the court, the Eagles probably won't have to worry.
The 6-foot-1 point guard is currently ranked fourth among all NCAA Division I players with an average of 24.8 points per game. He has scored 100 points in Boston College's last three games, including a career-high 42 against Iowa State on Dec. 11. He was named the ESPN National Player of the Week for his performance last week.
"I put pressure on myself to put up these kinds of numbers," Bell said. "I'm not really surprised at my own performance."
He set a precedent last season, when he averaged 20.4 points per game, and was named to several All-America teams. As a freshman two seasons ago, he averaged 18.4 points per game.
"I just got a little older, a little better and more mature," Bell said. "I know what I want to do out there. I can recognize different mismatches that I didn't see last year."
It helped that Bell played with the gold-medal winning Team USA at the World Championship for Young Men over the summer in Japan. On a team filled with other college All-America players, Bell emerged as one of the top players, averaging 11.9 points and 3.1 assists per game. In the gold-medal victory over Croatia, he scored a game-high 24 points.
"I try to create all my own shots since I'm the point guard," he said.
However, Skinner said the emergence of guard Ryan Sidney and forward Kenny Walls has contributed to Bell's success. Sidney is averaging 17.8 points per game, and Walls 14.1.
"Troy has always been a great scorer, that hasn't changed," Skinner said. "But what we've done is put some good players around him, and that means the defense has to play everybody honest."
• Must win: Neither team will be lacking motivation in the game between Portland and Hawai'i.
For the good of the program — the whole athletic department, actually — the Rainbow Warriors need to win tonight to avoid playing in the lonely afternoon games.
"It would really screw things up," UH head coach Riley Wallace said of a first-round loss.
In addition to bringing in fans for the final two nights, a victory tonight would also assure UH two national television appearances on CNN/SI.
For its part, Portland is using its match-up with Hawai'i as motivation.
"I think it says a lot about what the home team thinks of you when they choose to play you on the first day," Portland head coach Michael Holton said. "There were seven other teams and they chose us."
