Young Terriers aim to prove themselves in postseason

When the Boston University men’s basketball team took the Agganis Arena floor on Nov. 8 to preview the 2010-‘11 season with a scrimmage in front of its home fans, there were more questions and uncertainties surrounding it than there had been in a number of years.

Would junior center Jeff Pelage be able to return from an ankle injury and make an impact on the season? How would the Terriers perform in the post-Corey Lowe/Carlos Strong/Tyler Morris era? Would three transfer students and seven freshmen be able to rise to the challenge and contribute to the team in senior forward John Holland’s last year at BU?

And, perhaps the largest question looming in the minds of the Terrier faithful: how on earth could a patchwork, young and inexperienced team bring the Terriers to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002 if last year’s squad, complete with nine seniors, couldn’t do it?

Flash forward nearly four months later on the cusp of the America East tournament, and it is safe to say that the Terriers (18-13, 12-4 AE) have answered most of those questions loudly and clearly.

BU sprinted to the finish line to the tune of an eight-game win streak, its longest since the 2008-‘09 season, and topped it off with a thrilling 66-64 overtime victory over the University of Vermont with Holland, its only senior and leading scorer, on the sidelines nursing a left ankle injury.

The Terriers have proven that they can play with the best of the America East Conference, with or without Holland or junior forward Jake O’Brien, and they find themselves entering the tournament with arguably the most momentum of any team involved.

But the questions have only just begun for the Terriers, as they will take their first tangible steps toward a possible NCAA tournament berth on Saturday with a 6 p.m. quarterfinal matchup against seventh-seeded University of New Hampshire (12-17, 6-10 AE) at University of Hartford’s Chase Family Arena.

Should BU advance to the semifinals, it would take on either third seed University of Maine or sixth seed Hartford after their game on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. A semifinal win would advance the Terriers to the tournament’s championship game on March 12 on the highest remaining seed’s home court.

While the Terriers boast at least one win against every team in the tournament, they find themselves on a difficult half of the bracket, as any of the teams that they could face in the first two rounds of the tournament have defeated them once this season as well. Conversely, the four teams against whom the Terriers swept the season series in UVM, University at Albany, Stony Brook University and Binghamton University, all lie on the other half of the tournament bracket, and would only face the Terriers in the championship game at the earliest.

BU’s first step in the tournament comes against a Wildcats team that looks like a pushover on paper. UNH ranks dead last in the conference in point production per conference game with 57.6. Their defense is their strong point, as they held conference opponents to 59.9 points per game, tied for fourth in AE with the Terriers. Early season-ending injuries to senior guard Alvin Abreu and sophomore forward Ferg Myrick put the Wildcats in a tough position offensively.

BU knows from experience, however, just how dangerous it can be to underestimate a team like UNH.

The Terriers’ most recent meeting with UNH in Durham, N.H., saw the Wildcats hold the Terriers to a season-low 48 points en route to an embarrassing 60-48 loss. That game remains the Terriers most recent losing effort, as the Terriers have been perfect since.

For that reason alone, the Terriers’ first-round matchup may be less than ideal, but since then, they have regained their ability to win on the road. They have gone 3-0 on the road since the UNH game (or 4-0 including their game against University at Albany at Madison Square Garden) compared to their 1-9 mark prior to it.

BU could be looking to avenge the embarrassing loss the same way that it set the record straight against University of Maryland-Baltimore County, which beat BU in its first matchup to earn just its second win of the year before the Terriers dominated the Retrievers at home, 85-53.

The Wildcats’ offense is led by senior guard Tyrone Conley, who is second in AE behind Holland in points per conference game. Conley averages 17.6 to Holland’s 19.2. One of the major questions concerning Saturday’s game is just how the two conference scoring leaders will match up, especially with Holland playing in his first game since the ankle injury.

If Holland is unable to play in the quarterfinals, the Terriers will have to get creative in finding ways to guard Conley, who has the potential to fuel the Wildcats’ offense on his own. The Terriers found out just how potent Conley can be when the teams met on Jan. 29 when he poured in 26 points on 8-of-19 shooting compared to Holland’s 10 points on 2-of-13 from the field.