Battle of the BU's Isn't Much Of A Fight: Terriers Return To Form in Win

I'm not ready to crown the Teriers in any way, they still easily could fall as far as the fifth seed in this year's conference tournament, but they looked like a different team in Sunday's win. Darryl Partin put up his normal numbers-although his shooting percentage was better, Patrick Hazel was aggressive, Dom Morris made an appearance and the Terriers managed to take care of the ball. On the other side, Binghamton was a two-man band and not a particularly good one. Robert Mansell played well with 21 points and Ben Dickinson had eight rebounds and 12 points but hit just 6-of-16 shots. A couple of players really stuck out from the Terriers first win since December 3.

D.J. Irving Is Fully Back

Six points, eight assists and three rebounds are far from the best numbers that Irving's posted this season, but it's a big step up from Thursday's performance against Vermont. Irving was aggressive early, taking the ball to the basket two or three times in the first 10 minutes and had his usual speed back. Even though Binghamton limited his points, Irving was able to drive and kick at will, and if not for some poor shooting from beyond the arc by the Terriers in the first half, Irving easily could have had 12-14 assists. After the game, Irving said he felt a lot more confident in his second game back and said a lot of the rest was wearing off. None of this is good news for Maine or Stony Brook, who will have to face off against Irving after another week of practice.

Malik Thomas Will Be Legit

Malik Thomas is one of the strangest players I've ever seen in a Terriers uniform but he sure can score. Thomas hit two 3-pointers, showed his ability to get to the basket on several crafty drives and put down a monster, two-hand, putback slam. For the second time in four games, Thomas reached double-figures (14 points) and he added five rebounds. The problem with Thomas is that he's still so young and is still struggling defensively. Jones referred to him as one of the most talented players on the team but says his minutes will be determined by how he's playing defensively. We've only seen him play nine games at this point but Thomas has proven he can be a pretty strong force when playing against smaller foes. Don't be surprised to see Jones play him at the three next year, alongside Dom Morris and Jake O'Brien. Good luck trying to find three forwards who can stick with those three along the perimeter and inside.