This is the Part 2 of a two part review of the Men’s Basketball team’s season.
The six-game win streak that carried the Boston University men’s basketball team into the America East playoffs exhibited the bedrock of the Terriers’ formula, stifling defense, and the uncanny ability for any one player to carry the team in different games.
In four of its last six contests, the Terriers held their opponents under 60 points, a feat repeated 12 times in BU’s 28 regular season games. And in five of its last seven games, BU saw a different player lead the team in scoring — a versatility that made shutting down the Terriers an exasperating task.
BU earned the No. 2 seed in the conference playoffs despite sharing the regular season title with Vermont, which earned the top seed for beating BU twice.
BU drew the most schizophrenic team in the America East in the first round, No. 7 Northeastern University, and arguably had the toughest opening matchup. Northeastern once again was unable to make use of its abundant talent and fell to 7-20 overall, 5-11 in the conference during the regular season, yet the Huskies were comfortable playing the role of spoiler. The Terriers barely escaped the Huskies just six weeks prior to their March 2 playoff game; BU pulled out a 95-88 win in overtime on the road after struggling to overcome a late-game Northeastern lead.
The Terriers had little trouble in their third meeting with the Huskies, however, and won 86-76 at Northeastern behind sophomore forward Jason Grochowalski’s 21-point, 11-rebound double-double. Rookie guard Chaz Carr, an All-Rookie and Second-Team All-Conference selection, added 17 points while Billy Collins chipped in a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds).
“Different guys have responded for us at different times all year, and they continued today,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff after the game.
BU advanced to a second-round game against the University of Hartford, the third seed. The Terriers split its two games against Hartford in the regular season and battled to stay ahead of the Hawks in the conference standings throughout January and February.
BU and Hartford were neck-and-neck from the tip-off, and the Terriers entered halftime trailing by one point, 32-31. But slow starts were nothing new for BU, and the Terriers began the second half calm and composed. After Hartford shot 44 percent from the floor in the first half, BU clamped down on defense and forced the Hawks to shoot less than 35 percent in the second half.
The story of this game, though, came down to a blink of an eye. It was college basketball in March, and nothing was certain. BU relinquished a four-point lead with seconds left to play, and Hartford’s guard Mantas Storpirstis tied the game at 60 with an off-balance jumper from the right side of the court with only eight-tenths of a second left.
Conventional wisdom would say less than a second to attempt a winning shot is an invitation to overtime, but March is no time for convention. Senior forward Stijn Dhondt took a full-court pass from sophomore guard Kevin Fitzgerald and threw up a prayer from three-point land with .1 seconds left on the clock – and the prayer went in. Dhondt’s miracle three-pointer, his only shot of the game, sent the Terriers into hysteria on the court and sent BU to the America East championship game.
The University of Maine aided BU’s quest for the NCAA Tournament with a huge upset over Vermont in the second semifinal game. The Terriers hosted the championship game at The Roof and trampled the Black Bears, leading by 33 points at one time, to waltz their way into the Big Dance for the first time since 1997.
Seymour had 15 points in the championship, a performance Wolff said was Seymour’s best in a year, and Carr added 15 as well. Collins, who had 14 points and eight rebounds, raised the conference trophy following the game as the championship’s Most Valuable Player and joined Carr on the All-Tournament team. Freshman forward Rashad Bell was named to the All-Rookie team as well.
The NCAA Tournament, on the horizon the whole season, was now a reality. The Terriers had accomplished three of their initial goals — an America East championship and an NCAA berth as well as a regular season title — and would now attempt a fourth: a tournament win.
The Terriers drew a No. 16 seed in the Big Dance and, consequently, were slated to play one of the most dangerous teams in the nation, the No. 1-seeded University of Cincinnati, in Pittsburgh.
BU faced a mountainous obstacle in Cincinnati but also faced the glaring eyes of history; no 16-seed has ever knocked off a top seed in the half-century of the NCAA Tournament.
In the limelight, in a nationally televised game at Mellon Arena March 15, BU succumbed to a relentless attack by the Bearcats in the first half and scored just 16 points before halftime. Cincinnati walked away with a 90-52 opening round victory and gave BU a quick exit from the NCAAs, but not before the Terriers made each of their preseason wishes come true.
Collins testified to the work ethic among the players at BU and said following the loss that the Terriers would start practicing for next season “next week.” It was difficult to say if he was exaggerating.
But with all five starters returning in addition to Turner, it may be difficult for BU not to look at what’s ahead. The Terriers will welcome Richard Bagby, a 6’8″ forward from Richmond, Va., and Shaun Wynn, a 6’2″ guard from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Bagby, who led The Collegiate School in scoring and rebounding, will add depth to the Terrier frontcourt. Wynn led Xavarian to the CHSAA Booklyn-Queens Diocese Championship last season and will make BU even deeper at the point and shooting guard spots. He chose BU over Hostra University, Rutgers University and Wagner College.