Losering

Losing streaks wear on you. The mental toll bleeds into the physical. Energy and concentration lag. Flagging attention leads to more mistakes and more injuries. All of which lead to more defeats.

Certainly that’s been the case for Boston College under coach Jim Christian, now entering his fourth year directing the Eagles. Christian has had some talent. This year BC features Jerome Robinson, the ACC’s top returning scorer at 18.7 points and its leader in steal average (1.72). Two seasons ago he had a top-10 ACC scorer in Eli Carter. But that squad trailed the entire conference in scoring average. The ’17 Eagles were better -- 12th in points per game and 13th in scoring defense.

Whatever flaws BC may have, it needs to learn how to keep a few losses from snowballing into an avalanche. That’s been a particular problem for Christian’s clubs, particularly during ACC competition. His Eagles produced three of the longest losing streaks during this decade, all over the past four seasons.

Last year Boston College lost 15 in a row and 16 of 18 in league play. Pitt had the next-worst streak at eight straight defeats, all against ACC rivals, followed by NC State with seven and Clemson with six.

The Eagles dropped a record 18 of 18 ACC games in 2016, plus their ACC Tournament opener.

On the other side of the ledger Florida State enjoyed the ACC’s best winning skein in 2017 with 12 consecutive victories. The only other league team with a double-figure winning streak last year was Duke with 10.

Notre Dame had the most wins in a row to open the ’17 season with nine, followed by North Carolina and Virginia with seven each. The Tar Heels, along with Louisville’s Cardinals, were the only teams that avoided consecutive losses last year.