McGowens, Pitt host BC

Boston College (9-9, 3-4) vs. Pittsburgh (12-6, 3-4)

Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh; Wednesday, 9 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Two guards will be on display as Derryck Thornton and Boston College will battle Trey McGowens and Pittsburgh. The senior Thornton is averaging five points over the last five games. McGowens, a sophomore, has scored 20 percent of the team's points this season and is averaging 16.6 over his last five games.

FAB FRESHMEN: Boston College's Thornton, Jay Heath and CJ Felder have collectively scored 46 percent of all Eagles points this season, although the trio's output has fallen to 37 percent over the last five games.

KEY FACILITATOR: McGowens has directly created 45 percent of all Pittsburgh field goals over the last five games. The sophomore guard has 27 field goals and 23 assists in those games.

STREAK STATS: Boston College has scored 53.7 points per game and allowed 81.3 over its three-game road losing streak.

ACCOUNTING FOR ASSISTS: The Eagles have recently used assists to create buckets more often than the Panthers. Pittsburgh has 34 assists on 64 field goals (53.1 percent) across its previous three matchups while Boston College has assists on 33 of 61 field goals (54.1 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The Pittsburgh defense has allowed only 61.2 points per game to opponents this season, ranking the Panthers 24th among Division I teams. The Boston College offense has averaged 64 points through 18 games (ranked 289th, nationally).