CLEVELAND -- For a team that has lost four of its last eight games, Boston College is incredibly confident.
The team's practice yesterday at the Wolstein Center had dunk lines instead of layup lines, the Eagles coaches threw alley-oops to the players and not one player or coach appeared anxious.
Boston College fully expects to beat Penn today, and they are not afraid to say so.
"We definitely have a size and athletic advantage and I think it will show," Eagles sophomore forward Jared Dudley said.
Even though the Boston College players and their coach, Al Skinner, feel that they are a better team and should win today's game, they still maintained a healthy level of respect for Penn.
"They had a great regular season and are a really great team," senior center Nate Doornekamp said.
Dudley is well-schooled in Penn's offensive gameplan and identified several strengths and weaknesses.
The San Diego native is also somewhat familiar with the Quakers' program from a friendship with Eric Osmundson, who is from nearby Carlsbad, Calif. In addition, they matched up against each other at the same basketball camp.
Junior forward Craig Smith has a Penn connection as well, as he is friends with fellow Los-Angeles area native and former Quakers standout Koko Archibong. Smith joked that he would call Archibong tonight for some insider tips on beating Penn.
It may be that the high confidence exuded by the Eagles is a way to take the players' minds off their recent struggles and the potential distraction involving sixth man Jermaine Watson.
The senior guard has been at the center of an incident that involved him jumping from a second-floor window and injuring his hand, allegedly escaping armed gunman. The Boston Police Department is investigating the incident and rumors have been circulated that Watson may be suspended for today's game for some sort of improper activities relating to the incident.
Yesterday, Skinner said that doctors cleared Watson to play, and that he thinks that Watson was a "victim," and thus would not be suspended for anything.
Today, Skinner called the whole incident "unfortunate," and was hesitant to commit to playing him.
"Now it's a coach's decision on whether or not he plays," Skinner said.
Watson did practice fully yesterday with only tape and a small clear bandage on his injured left hand. He had no problem shooting with his dominant right hand, but was somewhat hesitant to use his left hand.
Either way, Boston College is playing with a chip on its shoulder even though the players will not admit it outright.
"I don't think we feel pressure or anything like that," Smith said.
And while that could be dangerous if the Eagles are not as confident as they sounded yesterday, the Eagles still have significant advantages.
Dudley and Smith are a dominating presence inside, averaging just less than half of BC's points and 41.5 percent of their rebounds. This year, Dudley was fourth in the Big East in scoring and third in rebounding, while Smith was eighth in scoring and second in rebounding.
The duo also gets to the line with tremendous frequency, taking a combined 312 free throws on the year (or 11.1 per game). Penn's entire complement of forwards have taken only 334, or 11.9 a game.
Penn senior guard Tim Begley has said all week, and repeated once again yesterday, that the Quakers need to "play a perfect game," in order to spring the upset.
Other than containing the Eagles' inside game, a key for Penn may be to get out to an early lead.
Doornekamp, whose college career ends with BC's next loss, may have unwittingly revealed that as the weak point in the Eagles' confident armor.
"We just want to come out with aggressiveness so we hopefully avoid the upset," he said.
The Eagles may shrug off the 4-4 stretch and their first-round loss in the Big East Tournament to West Virginia last week, but if Penn opens the game hot, then the nation can see whether this was real confidence or just a facade.
