I will now give you the understatement of the year: This hasn’t been the best first half for two of our school’s most important teams. As we prepare to head home (if you’re lucky, to some place warmer than here) for the holidays, the Boston University men’s hockey and basketball teams currently sit five and four games under .500, respectively.
Look, there’s no denying the talent is there for both of these teams. No one saw either of these starts coming. But saying they haven’t underachieved to this point is like saying Michael Vick enjoys taking dogs for long walks in the park. Now we can only hope the oldest clich’eacute; in sports rings true: It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. So before I leave you and collect my gifts from Santa, I give you what needs to be done to right the ship:
Let’s start with the Icedogs. We’ll find out a lot about this team in the next few weeks. What they need — more than anything — is a winning streak. I know, that sounds ridiculous. What sports team doesn’t want a winning streak? It could be on the horizon for the Terriers, though. The schedule between now and when we return from Winter Break sets up a struggling team to get on a roll. With the likes of UMass-Lowell, Merrimack and a struggling Maine squad on tap, these games could get things going. Bottom line — it’s now or never for this team.
For BU to climb back to .500 and beyond, however, a few changes need to happen. The goaltending story has been beaten to death. We all know that to really get somewhere, one of them needs to get hot. What’s also needed, however, is consistent scoring from at least three lines. The Ewing-MacArthur-Higgins line has produced 46 points in the team’s first 15 games, while inconsistency has plagued the rest of the squad. Nick Bonino and Colin Wilson have shown flashes of brilliance as freshmen, but are already at the point where they need to provide points every night.
For a team that clearly isn’t the same inside its own blue line as it was for the past few years, the offense has to be a juggernaut. Talent is abundant, but putting three to five pucks in the net every night is essential for this team to get to where it wants to be.
As for the 2-6 men’s basketball team, the most glaring issue is a little more obvious. In a sport in which key player production simply can’t be replaced as in, say, football, the absence of co-captain Tyler Morris has been devastating. His leadership is essential on the floor if this team wants to succeed.
On BU’s road to recovery, getting him back in time for America East play should help. But those factors alone won’t make the preseason pick to win the conference walk on water.
So far, this team has lived and died by the trey. When sophomore guards Carlos Strong and Corey Lowe shot the lights out, the team picked up two victories. When they didn’t, the team was on the wrong side of very lopsided scores.
Having watched the Celtics of the early 2000s, I know how troubling this style of play can be. The “live by the 3, die by the 3” strategy is a recipe for disaster. Sure, you can get on a roll when your perimeter shooters catch fire. But all it takes is one solid defensive team that runs a high zone and your night is doomed.
In order to be a legitimate threat to every team they play, the Terriers need to have a far better inside-outside threat. Besides, the high pressure on shooters like Lowe and Strong will subside somewhat if Terrier opponents are kept honest by solid inside play.
There you have it. Besides a fresh Randy Moss jersey, those are my wishes for Christmas and beyond in TerrierLand. If these things can happen, our squads will once again be relevant when we return to campus. It not, start scouting the spring sports teams.
Happy Holidays, folks.
Chris Lyons, a senior in the College of Communication, is a weekly columnist for The Daily Free Press. He can be reached at [email protected].