The contest will be the second half of a double-header with the BU men’s basketball team at the Greek on Wednesday night, in which both teams will be looking for wins against the Bearcats in their first meetings this season. Tip-offs for the games are scheduled for 7 and 9 p.m., respectively, and while the women’s squad will be looking to extend a seven-game undefeated streak in its game, the men will be playing to keep their all-important AE record above .500.
The Bearcats (6-14, 3-4 AE) come to Agganis Arena carrying a four-game losing streak on their shoulders. After starting conference play with three straight wins against University of New Hampshire, Stony Brook University and University of Maryland-Baltimore County, Binghamton has spun out of control, defeated in convincing fashion to University of Maine, University of Hartford, University at Albany and University of Vermont. At their lowest point, the Bearcats were doubled up by the Great Danes, 76-37, on Jan. 20.
It should be no surprise that Binghamton’s victories have come over the teams that reside below them in the AE rankings, and that their four losses have come against four of the five teams with better AE rankings than them. The Terriers (9-12, 4-3 AE) are that fifth team, ranked fourth in the conference behind Maine, Vermont and Hartford.
So if history holds true for the Bearcats, the Terriers should be able to win handily. However, the Terriers’ recent America East performances have made predictions for the game less clear.
Most recently, BU lost to Hartford after dominating the majority of the game. The Terriers watched a 16-point lead disappear over the game’s final 12 minutes en route to the 59-55 final. The Terriers did not score a field goal over the game’s final 11:11.
Not long before, BU had a similar meltdown at UMBC on Jan. 17 in which its nine-point lead dissipated in the last 4:45 to give the Retrievers their second win of the entire season.
On the other hand, BU can boast just as many high points as low. It held off an upstart Stony Brook squad for a 67-62 win on Jan. 20, and earned one of its most impressive wins of the year against Vermont by a final of 74-65 on Jan. 9.
Predicting which version of the Terriers will show up to face the Bearcats is not an easy task.
Senior forward John Holland will look to continue his scoring dominance, as he is averaging 19.2 points per game to lead America East. He needs 39 points to become the second Terrier to score 2,000 career points.
Freshman guard D.J. Irving, who was named America East Rookie of the Week for the second time in three weeks on Monday, should be able to distribute the ball well against the league’s second-worst defense – 71.1 points allowed per game. He is tied for second in the conference with 5.1 assists per game in AE play.
On the other side of the ball, the Terriers will try to contain the league’s worst scoring offense, as the Bearcats average 58.5 points per game.
Binghamton’s top scorer, senior forward Greer Wright (12.8 ppg), was named to the America East Preseason All-Conference Team in October, but has seen a drop in production from his junior season. He recently returned from an ankle injury that kept him out of three games near the beginning of AE play, but has been a non-factor since his recovery, shooting 0-of-9 for zero points in three games.
Senior forward Moussa Camara has emerged as a force on the offensive end of the floor in Wright’s absence, averaging 11.9 points per game in America East play. The Bearcats have also received strong contributions from senior forward Mahamoud Jabbi, (11.4 ppg in conference play).
Jabbi is also fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (.494) and sixth in rebounds per game (6.9).
Terrier junior forward Jake O’Brien is still recovering from an ankle injury that he suffered on Dec. 31 at University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Despite missing BU’s seven America East contests so far this season, O’Brien still boasts the team’s third best point total and average with 163 and 11.6 per game. His team-leading 5.8 rebounds per game have been sorely missed as well.
The Terriers are 1-1 at Agganis this season, but they have not yet played a conference game in the venue. The Terriers are 6-2 with home-court advantage on the season and a perfect 3-0 in conference play at home.
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