The Boston University men’s basketball team will look to win its fifth game in its last six tries when it travels to Patriot League-leading Bucknell University on Sunday.
BU (12-14, 8-7 Patriot League) has now climbed into sole possession of fourth place of the Patriot League, trailing Bucknell (16-12, 11-4 Patriot League) by three games.
The Terriers’ defensive effort has proved to be the difference maker lately, as they have allowed only 58 points per game in their last four wins, 10.7 points better than their conference average.
Bucknell has been red hot over the last five weeks, winning nine of 11 Patriot League contests. The Bison have rolled over the competition this season by excelling with the deep ball offensively and defensively, as they rank second in conference 3-point percentage and field goal percentage defense.
When the two teams met on Jan. 24 at Agganis Arena, the Bison, led by guard Chris Hass, were on fire from the field. The Terriers switched from zone to man-to-man all afternoon, but had no answer for Bucknell, as it shot 56.1 percent from the field, while going 13-for-20 from beyond the arc. The spotlight stayed on Hass all afternoon as he efficiently scored 28 points on just 16 shot attempts, which included making six of seven 3-point attempts.
The Terriers did have more success in man defense instead of their loose zone defense, but the Bison were able to hit tough shots all afternoon.
“Hass got into a rhythm, and you kind of have to tip your hat when they make shots like that,” said BU coach Joe Jones.
Nearly a month later, Jones said he is now encouraged from what he has seen lately from his inexperienced Terrier squad.
“We have been playing more man lately,” he said. “I just feel like we are guarding the ball better now.”
When the Terriers travel to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania on Sunday to take on the Bison, a high-scoring affair is to be expected, as both teams are in the top half of the league in points per game, but rank in the bottom half of the league in defensive scoring.
In the first matchup at Agganis, the Terriers went only 4-of-11 from 3-point range. Jones said BU forced the deep ball against a great perimeter defense in Bucknell.
“If you are going to be good, you have to have good balance with attacking teams in the paint,” Jones said.
Sophomore guards Eric Fanning and Cedric Hankerson will take on that responsibility for the Terriers as both players provide a tough matchup for defenses. Hankerson and Fanning rank first and second in the conference in free throw attempts per game. Their ability to get to the basket will need to be utilized when facing a solid perimeter defensive team in Bucknell.
Despite a bad Terrier shooting display in the first meeting, junior guard John Papale was the bright spot for BU, scoring a career-high 22 points and relying heavily on his mid-range jumper in one-on-one situations.
Offensively, Jones has made several changes to the starting lineup throughout the season, especially after freshman guard Cheddi Mosely was sidelined in Wednesday night’s road win at American due to a head injury. With sharp-shooting Mosely out of the lineup, BU went with a bigger, more versatile lineup, inserting Fanning with junior forward Nathan Dieudonne.
Jones said he hopes Mosely will be available Sunday, but also said his team is versatile enough to fill the gap.
“We have six guys that could be in the starting lineup,” Jones said. “I like the balance that we have.”
With three games remaining before the conference tournament, BU would need to maintain its fourth place standing to guarantee a home game in the second round of the Patriot League tournament.
“Not too many of our guys know the playoff breakdown,” Jones said. “Those are things you can’t focus on too much. We need to focus on Bucknell first. We can’t get too caught up in that stuff.”
Facing the offensively talented Bison, Jones said it will be important for his team to stay mentally prepared.
“We need to have a defensive rebounding mentality,” he said. “We need to be mentally tough on the road and get past bad calls or bad plays.”
