What a difference 18 days can make.
After a 70-57 loss to the University of Vermont on Jan. 25, three days after dropping a 22-point decision to the University of Maryland-Balitmore County, the Terriers found themselves at 2-5 in the America East Conference. Two-weeks-and-change later, they have won three straight and climbed back over the edge of the .500 plateau, in sixth place, but are of three teams with five losses.
The reasons for the turnaround are many, and simple. Better offense — removing the dribble-handoff responsibilities from the guards and getting players open on the blocks, better defense — leading the conference in points allowed (65.4 per game), better rebounding — three individual double-digit rebounding games in the last two outings, and a complete, mostly-healthy roster.
“It’s like anything else, you win you feel better about yourself than if you lose,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff.
But they’re not there yet.
The three wins, collectively, were against teams with a combined 8-24 record — the worst trio in the league. In fact all five of BU’s conference wins have been against bottom-three squads. There isn’t much frosting left on the schedule.
After tonight’s 7:00 p.m. game at Case Gymnasium against fifth-place Binghamton University (10-13, 6-5 America East), the Boston University men’s basketball team (8-14, 5-5 AE) has to face the top-two teams in the league, Vermont (12-11, 7-4) and UMBC (17-7, 9-2), within three days of each other.
“Now we’re starting to face some guys from the top of the conference,” Wolff said. “It’s important to take the good parts that we played out of the last three games and play better than we did the first time around.”
So far, BU hasn’t fared well against the better league competition, dropping a 69-49 decision to middle-of-the-pack Binghamton on Jan 6. Only sophomore Scott Brittain scored double figures for BU (11) while the Bearcats had four accomplish the feat, including senior Mike Gordon (17) and sophomore Lazar Trifunovic (14 points, 10 rebounds).
But more important than the physical Binghamton squad on their way into town is which Terrier team shows up.
“It’s as much about how we approach it as them,” Wolff said.
Most of the aforementioned “good parts” came in wins against the University of Maine and the University of New Hampshire, whether it was offensive efficiency or defensive intensity. But for BU, the best part — in terms of giving themselves a chance to win — has to be rebounding. The Terriers are 1-4 in conference play when outrebounded by their opponents, and allowing teams to gain second chances on the offensive glass has been an Achilles heel all season. But with Brittain playing his best basketball of the season and freshman John Holland earning praise from Wolff as having been “[BU’s] best rebounder” after his 15 points, 14-board performance against Stony Brook, the holes in the ship might be patched up.
In a few weeks, however, it will all be about who does what in the America East Tournament, hosted this year by Binghamton. And with the Terriers on an apparent upswing, Wolff said the upcoming three-game slate is a good chance to see just how high they can go.
“We want to be playing our best at the end,” Wolff said. “We can go into Binghamton and win two games, I don’t care who we’re playing. That’s not just our mindset, that’s everybody’s mindset. It’s more about playing good basketball for the remainder of the season.”
