Steve Donahue and the Boston College Eagles nearly have their non-conference schedule for the upcoming season set in stone. It was recently reported by BC Interruption that Toledo, Sacred Heart, and Philadelphia University were added to the home slate.
Not exactly three teams to get overly excited about, especially with Philadelphia U being a sub-Division 1 team, however, the primary reason they’re on the schedule is due to BC’s participation in the 2K Classic. There’s a history of Division II teams competing in this tournament, such as Ohio Valley playing Connecticut in 2007, and West Alabama against Alabama and District of Columbia vs. Villanova in 2012. Not to mention, Steve Donahue got his college coaching career jump-started at Philadelphia in 1988, so perhaps he lobbied to get them into the Classic.
The Eagles road / neutral site non-conference games are hardly a cakewalk, though. Games against Purdue (ACC / Big Ten Challenge), Virginia Commonwealth (@ Barclays Center), Harvard, Providence, and against either Connecticut, Indiana, or Washington at Madison Square Garden in the 2k Classic highlight the slate. Dates with UMass (TD Garden), USC, and Auburn are also on the schedule.
Boston College is a team to pay close and serious attention to next season. Donahue finally has a strong core of his own players as next season is his fourth in Chestnut Hill, and had his team playing very well down the stretch of 2012-13. Of course, much of the ACC was watered down last year, but BC went 7-4 in their final 11 games and return a potential first team all-leaguer in Ryan Anderson.
You can find Kevin on twitter @KLDoyle11