Sim Series Games 16-20: What if Teddy Hawkins Never Tore His ACL?
We're using WhatIfSports.com to simulate the 2017-18 BC season to see if a healthy Eagles team could have made a run to the NCAA Tournament.
Series Note: Using the What If Sports engine, we are simulating BC’s 2017-18 season from the point where Deontae “Teddy” Hawkins tore his ACL. The Illinois State grad transfer will remain in the Eagles’ rotation the entire season, and we have set the target minutes for each player based on BC’s actual games with Hawkins in the lineup. We are releasing outcomes and recaps of BC’s simulate games (five at a time).
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Part IV Recap (Click here to read in full):
After stomaching losses to No. 25 Clemson and No. 20 North Carolina, the Eagles got back on track with a 32-point victory over Dartmouth. BC then won two of its next three, orchestrating an eight-point second-half comeback against Florida State and overcoming 38.7 percent shooting performance in the Carrier Dome to beat the Orange on the road for the first time since February 2014. Sandwiched in between was a five-point loss to Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center. Jim Christian’s team ended the five-game slate with a back-and-forth affair at home versus Virginia Tech. But BC couldn’t keep pace with Ahmed Hill and Justin Bibbs in the second half.
Midway through conference play, the Eagles (15-7, 5-4 ACC) are on pace for their first 20-win season since 2010-11. That said, there’s still a long way to go. Read on to see how BC’s next five ACC contests unfold, including two bouts of the Holy War.
Feb. 4 vs. Georgia Tech: BC 86, GT 83.
Once again, the Eagles found themselves in a high-scoring first half. Future Minnesota Timberwolves small forward Josh Okogie registered three of the Yellow Jackets’ first four buckets and, thanks to his 17 first-half points, guided GT to a 46-41 halftime lead. The ACC foes traded blows in the opening frame, as no team led by more than seven points in the period.
The Yellow Jackets stretched their lead to 15 in the first five minutes of the second frame, but just when it looked as if BC was down for the count, Ky Bowman spearheaded a 11-0 run. Bowman, and Jerome Robinson, as well as Teddy Hawkins—who tallied 21 points and 16 rebounds—kept the Eagles’ momentum going, yet it was two critical Steffon Mitchell 3-pointers that made the difference. The second gave BC a six-point advantage with 3:24 remaining. Jose Alvarado and Okogie both had a chance to tie the game in the waning seconds—in fact, Alvarado just needed to make the backend of a 1-and-1—but neither got the job done.
BC’s Sim Record: 16-7, 6-4 ACC
Feb. 6 @ Notre Dame: Notre Dame 85, BC 81.
BC entered South Bend searching for its first win at the Joyce Center since Jan. 11, 1997, but left empty handed in what was its fifth ACC game of the season decided by five or fewer points. The Eagles kicked off the game with a 9-2 scoring spurt. That commanding lead was short-lived, as Bonzie Colson and Rex Pfleuger—who combined for 33 points—quickly pushed the Irish ahead of their longtime rivals. BC and Notre Dame swapped baskets until TJ Gibbs and Nikola Djogo stitched together three consecutive 3-pointers. Nevertheless, the trio of Bowman, Robinson, and Jordan Chatman were able to cut the Eagles’ deficit to two before intermission.
Midway through the second period, the Irish created separation again, courtesy of nine straight points from Gibbs, who finished with a team-high 24 on the day. BC didn’t back down, though. The Eagles chipped away at Notre Dame’s double-digit advantage and drew within three points of Irish three times before Hawkins (20 points and 11 rebounds) tied the game at 78 with 2:10 left. Chatman took the lead with a 3-pointer on the very next possession—unfortunately for BC, that was the last shot it made. Notre Dame reclaimed its lead and escaped with a win.
BC’s Sim Record: 16-8, 6-5 ACC
Feb. 10 vs. Miami: BC 83, No. 25 Miami 74.
BC’s stretch of first-half deficits continued against Miami, only this time the Eagles failed to clear the 30-point mark in the opening frame. After taking a 17-8 lead in the early going, BC saw the Hurricanes end the period on a 26-11 run. Lonnie Walker IV, Chris Lykes, and Bruce Brown were the architects of the momentum-shifting sequence—the three teamed up for 18 points in the process. The Eagles rediscovered their offensive rhythm in the back half of regulation.
The Robinson-Bowman-Chatman trio—which totaled nine 3-pointers and 59 points in the win—ran the show in the second period. Halfway through the frame, BC had all but knotted the game up, and with 2:05 to go, Chatman drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer. The Eagles held Miami scoreless for the final two minutes and 14 seconds, and Robinson iced the game at the charity stripe for the team’s third ranked win of the year.
BC’s Sim Record: 17-8, 7-5 ACC
Feb. 13 @ Pittsburgh: BC 76, Pitt 71.
During the actual 2017-18 campaign, BC didn’t earn its first ACC road win until it beat the Panthers—winless in the conference that season—in the Petersen Events Center. But in this simulation, the Eagles snapped their 18-game ACC road losing streak all the way back in December with a top-10 win over Virginia. BC kept the ball rolling in Pittsburgh, defeating the Panthers for the first time since March 2001.
Despite having the fourth-youngest roster in all of college basketball, Pittsburgh held its own against the Eagles. Neither team shot above 38.1 percent on the day, and BC stumbled out to a 8-1 lead, more than four minutes into the first half. Eventually, Marcus Carr and Shamiel Stevenson—both of whom notched 12 points apiece—willed the Panthers back into the game, and Pittsburgh went into the locker room only down, 32-30. Led by Jared Wilson-Frame, the Panthers’ offense did everything it could to keep pace with BC’s backcourt, but Bowman (24 points) and Robinson (18 points) proved too much to handle for Kevin Stallings’ group. Hawkins nearly reset his own single-game program record with 20 rebounds in the victory.
BC’s Sim Record: 18-8, 8-5 ACC
Feb. 17 vs. Notre Dame: BC 82, Notre Dame 72.
BC avenged its loss to Notre Dame a week and a half earlier with its first win over the Irish since Feb. 8, 2005, snapping a 13-game skid against the program. The Eagles used a 13-5 run, ignited by the pick-and-roll duo of Nik Popovic and Bowman, to take a 10-point lead seven minutes into the first period. Robinson (28 points) and Bowman (23 points) helped BC increase its lead to as many as 17 points in the opening frame, and the Eagles headed into the break up, 47-36. The closest the Irish got to staging a comeback was when Matt Farrell dialed up one of his four 3-pointers to make it a six-point game with 8:16 left. Christian’s team quickly restored its double-digit advantage, however, and maintained its cushioned lead the rest of the way.
BC’s Sim Record: 19-8, 9-5 ACC
What’s Next?
BC has already reached 19 victories—its final win total from the actual 2017-18 season—and there’s still three weeks until the ACC Tournament. The Eagles have won three games in a row, ended their drought versus Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, and now will finish the regular season against North Carolina State, Miami, Syracuse, and FSU.
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Featured Image and Graphics by Bradley Smart