Boston College no longer plays in the Big East conference.

Tomorrow, the Hoyas will try to prove that the Eagles truly are out of their league.

“We played them my freshman year and they beat us pretty badly,” junior guard Tyler Crawford said of the Eagles, who defeated Georgetown 64-49 in 2005, Boston College’s last year in the Big East conference. “It’ll be a tough game, but we’ll have to go and scout them and understand we have to find a way to beat them.”

This time around, the Hoyas will be the favorites. Second-seeded Georgetown (27-6, 13-3 Big East) enters tomorrow’s game as arguably the hottest team in the country, having won 16 of its last 17. Seventh-seeded Boston College (21-11, 10-6 Atlantic Coast), on the other hand, has lost five of its last eight, including a 79-62 defeat at Virginia Tech on Feb. 21 and a 74-60 loss at Georgia Tech on March 4.

The Eagles squeaked by Miami, which finished in last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 74-71 in the first round of the ACC Tournament before falling to then-No. 8 North Carolina, 71-56.

The Eagles also lost to Kansas, the top seed in the West region, 84-66, on Dec. 23, fell to Duquesne, 98-93, on Dec. 28, and went down against Clemson, 74-54, on Jan. 20.

But BC was able to qualify for the NCAA tournament despite losing junior forward Sean Williams, one of the nation’s best shot-blockers, after 15 games. Williams was kicked off the team for repeated violations of team rules.

Boston College’s most impressive wins this season came against Maryland, a four-seed in the Midwest region, on Dec. 10 and over Virginia, a four-seed in the South region, on Jan. 13.

Despite their recent struggles, the Eagles looked sharp in their opening-round 84-75 win over tenth-seeded Texas Tech yesterday. Sophomore guard Tyrese Rice, who averages 17.2 points and 5.5 assists on the season, scored a game-high 26 points to help Boston College take down the Red Raiders. Senior guard Sean Marshall, the Eagles’ third-leading scorer, at 14.8 points per game, added 21 points and seven rebounds, and senior forward Jared Dudley, who averages a team-leading 19 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest, chipped in 19 points and seven boards.

The Eagles shot 52.6 percent from the floor and compiled their highest point total since trouncing Hartford 94-60 on Jan. 31. They shot 8-of-20 from three-point land outrebounded the Red Raiders 34-21, and committed just seven turnovers.

“I have not started to break down Boston College,” Georgetown Head Coach John Thompson III said yesterday at a press conference immediately following the Hoyas’ 80-55 first-round win over 15th-seeded Belmont. “Obviously in about an hour or so I will start that. Obviously with Coach [Al] Skinner they are very well coached.”

Dudley, the ACC Player of the Year, is the Eagles’ most accurate three-point shooter, hitting 45.8 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. But the 6-foot-7 standout does most of his damage inside, shooting 56.2 percent from the field overall.

“Dudley is clearly one of the best players not just in terms of talent and basketball ability, but just his ability to will his way on the game,” Thompson said. “He did that in high school. I saw him play a lot in high school, and he’s done that since he got to Boston College. He imposes his will on the game.”

Georgetown junior forward Jeff Green, who will likely guard Dudley, has a difficult assignment ahead of him. He will try to find a way to limit Dudley’s offensive production while remaining out of foul trouble. Green picked up two early fouls against Belmont and played only 10 minutes in the first half.

Both the Hoyas and the Eagles are deliberate on the offensive end. Boston College plays a two-three flex offense, which involves numerous screens and drives toward the basket along the baseline. The Eagles rank 245th out of 336 teams in adjusted pace according to https://kenpom.com, while the Hoyas are 327th. The Web site also lists Georgetown’s offense as the most efficient in the nation and ranks Boston College’s offense at No. 9. The Hoyas are shooting 50.6 percent from the field this season, while the Eagles’ team field goal percentage is 47.9.

In the first game between the two teams since 2005, the Hoyas will try to prove just how far they have come over the last two years. They have not defeated the Boston College since 2002.

Saturday’s opening tip will take place at approximately 5:45 p.m. The game will be televised on CBS.