Boston University Terriers
BU vs. Hartford: Beware the 3 vs. 6 Matchup
by GregHuntoon on Mar 3, 2012 9:03 AM EST
in Boston University Terriers
It is finally here. With the last game of the night tonight, BU will begin it's quest for the repeat against host Hartford. But some recent history is against the Terriers. In the past four AE tournaments, the six seed has upset the three seed in the quarter finals, including Hartford last year. The Hawks win a year ago also brings up the home-court advantage. The lower ranked host teams have pulled the upset twice in the last three years, including last year's Hartford win and Albany's win as the seven seed over second seeded Vermont in 2009. So what will it take for BU to move a game closer to defending it's title? Let's take a look:
Keys to the Game:
Control the Pace- In the Terriers two wins over the Hawks this season (by 9 and 19 points), BU has held Hartford to 10 fewer field goal attempts than they average. The Hawks want to push the tempo and turn this game into a shoot out. If the pace of the game is slow, this will not allow the shooters for Hartford to get open looks. It's no big surprise to say that the Hawks live by the three ball, and the slowed down pace is the way to limit open shots. This was evident by the 22 percent the Hawks shot from downtown in the two Terrier wins.
1 commentAE Championship Rematch-BU vs. SBU (Preview / Game Thread): Let's see how this goes without John Holland
by GregHuntoon on Jan 13, 2012 5:29 PM EST
in Boston University Terriers
Tomorrow at high noon, Stony Brook and BU will tip off for the first time since the two played in the conference title game last season. While the title game was on ESPN2, this game will be on ESPN3, which is still nice for an AE game. SBU gets another game with limited student support for BU. Similar to the AE Championship game, this game falls on a BU break, so whatever support there was going to be will be even less, which in a big game could prove vital. Also, James Kennedy will be wearing 23 in white, not John Holland, which is bad news for Terrier Nation and a reason to rejoice for Seawolf fans.
What's At Stake: Stony Brook is looking to stay perfect in AE play, and get a quality road win. BU is looking to prove that they have found their groove and are the title contender they were thought to be pre-season.
Grab your Chicken McBites and Watch Some AE: BU-Villanova Open Thread
by TheMidRangeGame on Dec 13, 2011 7:17 PM EST
in Boston University Terriers
I just picked up some McD's Chicken McBites -- and they're not bad! I can always go for some popcorn chicken and it's far better than I've had in many arenas and it's miles better than the awful "chicken" nuggets back in the glory days.
So eat up, and let's see if DJ Irving and the Boston Terriers can notch their second BCS win over Villanova! (if we're still counting BC as a BCS team...)
Open thread!
BC Interrupted: Fraternizing with the Enemy as Boston University prepares for match-up with BC
by TheMidRangeGame on Dec 3, 2011 9:00 AM EST
in Boston University Terriers
The America East will have one shot to notch both a rival game victory AND a win over a BCS opponent: BU vs. BC. To gauge the possibilities, we've probed the minds of the world's leading BC blog, the BC Interruption. We're still not sure who or what was interrupted, but here's a Mike's Pastrys cannoli for you on us. May it bring you comfort as you seek to handle another tough in-state loss.
1. You have suffered losses to UMass and Holy Cross, and you have games with BU and Harvard coming up. How do you think you will fair against the rest of the Massachusetts teams? Is Boston College the worst team in the state?
BC is most likely going to lose to Harvard. The Crimson is 7-0 and ranked 29th in the latest kenpom rankings. As far as the BU game, I think we are getting way ahead of ourselves here. Wins over URI, Hofstra and Delaware have the Terriers dreaming big, eh? BC doesn't get a shot at Northeastern this year but I think BC, BU and Northeastern are the three worst programs in the state right now.
2. You guys lost 10 players from last years team, a 1-seed in the NIT. Based on what you've seen this year, who looks like they can step up, most notably for Reggie Jackson and Joe Trapani, even if it's sometime down the road?
Coach Donahue is still mixing and matching players in the starting lineup and on the court to see what he has and who can do what. This is a complete rebuilding year for the Eagles so Donahue has been cycling through most of the Eagles true freshmen and also mixing in guys like Gabe Moton, Danny Rubin and junior transfer Matt Humphrey. It's still very early, but it looks like the most complete player is Patrick Heckmann. Sophomore Gabe Moton also came on strong in the loss to Penn State and this could be a sign of better things to come from him.
3. This looks to be a rebuilding year with 11 new players on the team. How long until Steve Donahue gets this team back to thinking about making an NCAA Tournament run?
As I mentioned, this is a complete rebuilding year. With a roster of 11 freshmen and sophomores, expectations are extremely low for this squad. BC isn't going to win many games this year so it's important to build on games and continue to improve throughout the year.
Next year will likely be more of the same. If things go according to plan, I'd expect this team to start to crack the top half of the ACC in 2013-14 and make the postseason when these guys are upperclassmen and have two full years under Donahue under their belt.
4. Are the students doing anything to replace Reggie's Veggies? We know BC fans call themselves "Superfans" but what do you expect from the crowd at Conte?
This year, Reggie's Veggies have been replaced by the Book of Donahue. http://www.bcinterruption.com/
2011/10/17/2495450/the-book- of-donahue-a-new-era-in-bc- hoops The Book of Donahue is an entirely student-run organization determined to change the landscape of BC hoops. As freshmen last year, the founding members showed up to games and were naturally discouraged by the pathetic student section.
"This is an ACC school, there's no reason that these seats should be empty."
Eager to make the section more exciting, they showed up dressed as disciples bearing a sign that preached the primary beliefs of their group.
"And then God said, 'Let there be 3s,' and the 3s were good." Steve 1:3
They reached out to Coach Donahue towards the end of last season in order to get the ball rolling. As the season wound down, it was hard for the group to gain momentum. Upon returning to school for this fall semester, they met with Donahue again who was immediately receptive to the idea.
"He knows how important the crowd is in college basketball; he wants to have a home court advantage."
The founders recruited the rest of its members to solidify Donahue's Disciples, twelve guys prepared to spread the good word and get Conte Forum rockin'
Despite the Disciples best efforts, I wouldn't expect more than a half-filled Conte Forum tomorrow afternoon. After all, BC-BU hoops is just the undercard for the night cap at Agganis.
5. What will Donahue do in trying to slow down speedster D.J. Irving? Does BC actually have a point guard on the roster?
Deep in the Heart of Texas: A Conversation with Texas Longhorns Burnt Orange
by TheMidRangeGame on Nov 13, 2011 1:02 PM EST
in Boston University Terriers
Boston University should be hungry coming off a heart breaking loss to Northeastern to open the season -- and they'll have to hope their shooting percentage is congruous to the rise in temperature. Darryl Partin cannot afford and off-shooting night and Dom Morris cannot afford to pop low percentage threes up like someone actually wants him to. Put on your Wranglers and read our Q&A with the Texas Longhorn blog of note, Burnt Orange.
1. J'Covan Brown is the only returning player of note for the Longhorns this season, and he was your sixth man last year. Myck Kabango is a top 5 recruit, so one would imagine he will be contributing a lot to this year's squad. Aside from those two, who are the most important players for Texas this year?
We're talking about a team that's going to rely heavily on five freshmen, so in some sense we'll have to wait and see, but even now there are a couple players beyond Brown and Kabongo whose importance is clear. At the top of that list is Sheldon McClellan, a versatile and uber-talented wing with the ability to score from anywhere on the floor, elite finishing ability, and length that this undersized team will need both on the defensive end and in clearing the glass. McClellan is a guy who can drop a 25-footer on one play, block a shot on the other end, and then tun the floor and finish it with a SportsCenter Top Play. Texas will also be looking for its two freshmen forwards (Jaylen Bond and Jonathan Holmes) to prove capable of being college-ready contributors from the get-go, but perhaps more crucial will be whether senior PF Alexis Wangmene takes a big step forward this year. Wangmene has the size and strength, but he's struggled to put it all together and stay on the floor, and Texas desperately needs him to be a guy who can play for 20-25 minutes, play solid defense, and bring down 8+ boards. Wangmene isn't Texas' only option, but we're in much, much better shape if he can be a consistent role playing forward for us.
Boston University Preview: Primed for a Repeat?
by TheMidRangeGame on Nov 3, 2011 8:00 AM EDT
in Boston University Terriers
Last Season: 21-12, 12-4 (AE Tourney Champs), lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Kansas
Head Coach: Joe Jones
Key Losses: John Holland, Jake O’Brien, Coach Patrick Chambers
Newcomers: Zach Chionuma, James Kennedy, Mat Piotrowski, Malik Thomas
Projected Lineup:
- G: D.J. Irving, So.
- G: Darryl Partin, Sr.
- C: Jeff Pelage, Sr.
- F: Dom Morris, So.
- F: Patrick Hazel, Sr.
- Bench: Matt Griffin Sr. G, Chris Kurz Sr. F, Travis Robinson So. F, Mike Terry So.
A Look Back:
2010-11 was a tale of two seasons. It took the Terriers a couple of months to get on tracked; a strong late season run propelled them past a nose diving Maine to finish 2nd behind a Vermont team they beat twice. The scoring load was carried by departed POY John Holland (leading the league at 19.2). Coach Chambers provided a spark to the league with some exceptionally recruiting, two trips the AE championships game, and then quickly jumped to Penn State. If he succeeds, hopefully you'll see more coaches thinking of the AE as a stepping stone that shakes up the current petrified coaching mediocre you see now.
How Big of a Part(in)?
In his final year of eligibility (but only second year as a Terrier after beginning his career at LaSalle), Daryl Partin (14.5 PPG) will be relied on heavily. The loss of O'Brien punctuated made the pressure even more acute -- Partin will have to prove he can be relied on every night instead of dramatic shifts in production that we saw last year. At 6'6, athletic, and a streaky shooter, Partin is a player of very similar mold to Holland. His size makes him a very tough match-up for defender, he's a very high volume shooter (28.4 %Poss in conference play, 4th in the league) and his 104.5 offensive rating in the conference was well better than his non-conference performance (and a big difference in the tale of two halves for the Terriers). There's not question he can be a POY in the AE (on a very grainy and probably illegal feed, I was able to catch the game against Cornell last year where he was just unconscious), the question is whether he can handle the pressure of being the alpha dog.
More on the reigning champs after the jump
