Syracuse happy to have J.J. Starling back as it visits Boston College

Syracuse and Boston College will both be in search of their second ACC victory Saturday when they meet in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Guard J.J. Starling returned last week for Syracuse (7-8, 1-3) after missing seven games with a broken hand. Starling is averaging a team-high 19.0 points per game. He scored 12 points against Florida State in his first game back and then tossed in 21 during Tuesday's 62-55 victory over Georgia Tech. "J.J. is big-time," Syracuse coach Adrian Autry said. "He's one of the best guards in this league and one of the best guards in college basketball. If you followed us through the stretch without him and having him back now, you can see the difference and how important he is for us." The Orange may be without freshman forward Donnie Freeman on Saturday. Freeman missed Tuesday's win with a lower leg injury, and Autry called him day-to-day. Freeman leads the team in rebounding (7.9) and is second in scoring (13.4). "Donnie does a lot for us," Autry said. "He's one of our best 3-point shooters, so that's one of the things that we miss." Boston College (9-6, 1-3) has a 6-3 record at home. Donald Hand Jr. leads the team in scoring (14.3) and rebounding (7.3). He has also made a team-high 24 3-pointers. Chad Venning (12.3) and Elijah Strong (10.8) are the other BC players scoring in double figures, but the Eagles rank last among ACC teams in field-goal percentage (42.9 percent). Venning had 19 points and eight rebounds during last Saturday's 85-64 loss to Georgia Tech. The team has been off from game action since. "You have to go back and work at it," BC coach Earl Grant said following the Georgia Tech loss. "Get the repetitions in on the things you need to drill, and continue to get the guys to understand how we have to play to win. What tempo do we have to play at. ... Don't get discouraged and fix the things we have to fix." --Field Level Media