Don’t let the 64-47 score deceive you. The Boston University men’s basketball team was able to hang tough with preseason No. 1 Duke University and prove to everyone watching the national telecast that BU is not strictly a hockey school.
When I told friends and family about how the Terriers were going to be taking on the Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium in their home opener, most got a chuckle out of it. Everyone said, “you guys are going to get killed,” and “Duke will beat you by 40.” Even my dad had his doubts. When I told him about the game, he said, “maybe I shouldn’t watch that one, it might be ugly.”
Oddsmakers agreed, making the Terriers a 34-point underdog. And to be honest, I didn’t disagree with anyone. They didn’t matchup particularly well. The Terriers were starting two freshmen and the Blue Devils were starting two preseason All-Americans. I thought the team didn’t stand much of a chance, and I was just hoping that we wouldn’t get embarrassed on national television.
Well, the men proved everyone wrong. They went into perhaps the most difficult basketball arena in the nation and hung with Duke the entire way. In fact, they led until 8:11 remained in the first half, and if not for Duke’s 14-2 run to close out the first half they might have made the game even closer.
Turnovers killed the Terriers, as one might expect when a team brings seven guys playing in their first Division I game to Cameron Indoor. BU committed 26 turnovers, which was the biggest reason for its loss. These giveaways also helped Duke get some easy buckets that the stingy Terrier defense wasn’t giving the Blue Devils in their half-court set.
The other big reason for the defeat? Fouls. BU committed 23, to Duke’s 11. And Duke capitalized, scoring 17 points from the charity stripe. However, it’s not as though the Terriers were just hacking the Blue Devils. Duke benefited from some foul calls that were pretty minor and sometimes invisible, while the Blue Devils themselves were almost never called for any infractions.
But that’s what happens when a team picked to finish second in the America East goes into Cameron to play the best team in the nation. Duke is going to get a few calls.
Despite the unfavorable conditions, the Terriers impressed. When you throw out Duke’s 14-2 run, the Terriers were only outscored by the Blue Devils by five points. Not bad for a team that lost its top three scorers from last year.
Part of the reason the Terriers played so well and impressed so many was because of their great defense, which held Duke to 40 percent shooting and didn’t let J.J. Redick hit a 3-pointer all game.
Legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told The Daily Free Press after Monday night’s game, “I thought Boston University played outstanding defense. Historically they have played well defensively, and they did again tonight.”
Krzyzewksi was also impressed with the intensity and effort the Terriers put into the game.
“I’m not saying we played great, but when the other team plays their butts off, you’re probably not going to look great,” he said after the game. “I just think that those kids from Boston University played their hearts out. They’re really well coached and played hard.”
Coach K was not the only one impressed with the game last night. The announcing team, including Jay Bilas and Bill Raftery, was equally impressed with the Terriers, saying that they have a good chance to win the America East this year.
Again, Coach K agreed.
“I think they’re going to win a lot of games,” Krzyzewski said. “[They] probably have a chance to win their league.”
Indeed, this game showed that this year’s team has a great chance to make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2002. With Northeastern University gone and the University of Vermont without its two best players of the last four years (graduation) and its landmark coach Tom Brennan (retirement), BU certainly has a chance to win both the America East regular season and Tournament this season if it plays other teams as tough as it did Duke on Monday night.
But this game didn’t only prove BU to be a very good team and a contender for the America East title. It might have also helped BU in recruiting for years to come. When prospective athletes are deciding whether or not they want to play for the Terriers, they will definitely consider how tough they played against the Blue Devils. And if they beat the University of Michigan on Nov. 22 for the third straight year, it’ll make it a lot more possible to land some top-notch recruits.
Look out hockey, BU may soon become a two-sport school.
James Schneider, a sophomore in the College of Communication, is a weekly sports columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].