GAME NOTES: The Syracuse Orange look to complete the season series sweep of Boston College as they face the Eagles in an ACC tilt at Conte Forum on Wednesday.

Coach Jim Boeheim's squad defeated Boston College, 69-61, at the Carrier Dome when these teams first met on Jan. 20. Syracuse has since lost three of four games, including the 83-77 setback it endured at Pittsburgh on Saturday in its last outing. The Orange led the Panthers by 10 points in the opening half, but they were outscored by eight points over the final 20 minutes of the contest. The loss came just a few days after the university announced a self-imposed postseason ban for this season. Syracuse will return home to upstate New York for bouts with Duke, Louisville and Pittsburgh following its trip to Massachusetts.

Boston College will be looking to end a four-game slide which has dropped it to a 1-9 league record. The Eagles were downed, 79-68, by North Carolina at home on Saturday, marking their third loss in a row at Conte Forum. Coach Jim Christian's team managed to build a six-point lead in the first period, but its 5-of-23 performance from 3-point range allowed the Tar Heels to cruise to the double-digit decision. The Eagles will conclude their three-game homestand against Miami-Florida on Sunday.

Syracuse owns a 42-24 lead in its all-time series with BC although the Eagles have captured five of the last nine matchups.

Syracuse has hurt itself during conference play with poor execution at the charity stripe. The Orange rank second to last in ACC games with a 63.4 percent clip at the free-throw line after hitting on only 20-of-30 shots at the charity stripe versus the Panthers. Rakeem Christmas had a tremendous outing as he tallied 23 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. Michael Gbinije finished with 23 points and four steals, while Trevor Cooney contributed 12 points and five assists. Christmas is leading the ACC in scoring average (18.5 ppg) and ranks first in blocked-shot average during league play. Boeheim's team has struggled on the interior since freshman forward Chris McCullough (9.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) tore his ACL at Florida State. During ACC action, Syracuse is averaging 68.6 ppg and allowing 69.0 ppg.

The Eagles' biggest flaw has been their lack of adept rebounders. BC is averaging 5.4 less boards per game than its ACC foes to rank second to last in the league in rebounding margin. UNC destroyed BC on the glass en route to a 37-23 advantage in total rebounds. Junior guard Olivier Hanlan had a tremendous outing for the Eagles, netting 30 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Aaron Brown chimed in with 18 points and a team-high six boards.

Hanlan is ranked third in ACC games in scoring with 19.9 ppg and nets 17.5 ppg overall (fourth in the conference). Brown is netting 14.8 points this season (ninth in the league). Hanlan's 58 points in two games last week were the most by any ACC player in consecutive games this season. He accounted for 44 percent of the team's scoring during that span. BC is ranked last in the conference in steals per game (3.9), blocks per game (1.8) and scoring margin (-9.2).

Syracuse used a balanced attack with all five starters scoring in double- figures when these teams met at the Carrier Dome earlier this season. The Eagles were flustered by the Orange's 2-3 zone defense and attempted 29 shots from beyond the arc and just 22 from inside the 3-point line. BC will need to work the ball down low more often to free up its perimeter shooters for open looks.