Bob Knight is going fishing tomorrow. Al Skinner will still be coaching his Boston College squad.

BC lost five of its last seven games entering the NCAA tournament, sputtering offensively in most of its losses. But the larger Eagles made 52.6 percent of their shots and scored the third-most points allowed all year by Texas Tech in an 86-75 win before a nearly-packed house at the Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

Maybe the sudden offensive prowess had something to do with the Eagles’ head gear.

Clad to a man in white terry headbands, the ACC squad led 41-39 at halftime, its first advantage at intermission in 10 games. BC last scored as many as 86 points in a win against Hartford on Jan. 31.

Boston College relied, as usual, on senior wings Jared Dudley (19 points) and Sean Marshall (21), who successfully scored on inside post moves against smaller defenders. Fleet, phlegmatic playmaker Tyrese Rice led all scorers with 26 points on darting drives and free throws, including 6 in 6 tries in the final 42 seconds.

“I think we showed more patience on the offense end than we have in a long time,” said a satisfied Skinner after BC advanced to the second round in the NCAAs for a fourth straight year. The Eagles face No.2 Georgetown on Saturday, March 17 at 5:50 PM. The Hoyas easily handled No.15 Belmont, 80-55.

Today both BC and TTU spent much of their East Region game either making layups –  a whopping 44 points in the paint for each team – or 3-pointers. And when the game was on the line, it was Boston College that clamped down defensively.

Knight, who has won 890 games, most ever by a major college coach, said, “I think there’s nothing more important to good offensive play than reading the defense well, and they did that.”

The last time Knight team to play in Winston-Salem was Indiana in 1997. The Hoosiers lost to Colorado in their opener and the volatile coach walked home in the rain. This time, the white-haired Knight watched quietly, “head coach designate” Pat Knight, his son, seated quietly at his side, as the Red Raiders faded away.

A few minutes after victorious BC left the court, Maryland survived a spirited upset bid by No. 13 Davidson in the Midwest Region. Last year all four entrants from the ACC got past the first round. So far, the tally stands ACC 2, World 0.