Funny how it always comes down to practice.
The parallels are undeniable. Good practices lead to wins. Poor practices lead to more and more disjointed games — a key factor during the Terriers’ recent six-game losing skid. But the streak is over thanks to a 79-72 win over Harvard University last week, and it’s no coincidence practices have been more upbeat since then.
Good thing, too, with the Boston University men’s basketball team (2-6) traveling to Yale University (3-5) tonight — in the teams’ first meeting since the 1935-36 season — for a game that will determine whether BU’s previous win was an aberration or the start of something more: a winning streak.
One win might not be enough to warrant “back on track” status, but the big difference has been evident: the elevated play of sophomore guards Corey Lowe and Carlos Strong.
“We’ve had good practices,” said BU coach Dennis Wolff. “Corey and Carlos have been practicing as well as they’ve been practicing since they’ve been here. When your two most talented guys practice like that, you’re more apt to have a good practice.”
During the losing steak (though Lowe missed two games for personal reasons), the backcourt tandem shot a collective 47-of-133 (.353 percent) — including the final loss against Manhattan College, when they combined for 48 points. Against Harvard, the duo went off for a not-too-shabby 16-of-33 for 45 points and, most importantly, a 79-72 win. The performances earned Lowe America East Player of the Week honors yesterday.
In the Harvard game, however, it was junior Marques Johnson’s efficiency (7 assists, 0 turnovers) and sophomore Scott Brittain’s post play (17 points, 8 rebounds) that fueled the Terriers. Similar performances will be necessary against a deceivingly strong Yale squad.
While the majority of BU’s early opponents have hailed from the Atlantic 10, the seventh-best conference in the country in terms of Rating Percentage Index, Yale has already faced two teams from the third-best Pacific 10 conference.
The Bulldogs began their season with a decent 82-71 win over Sacred Heart University, but they proceeded to run a four-game gamut that rivals any pre-conference schedule among Atlantic 10 teams. A nine-point loss to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst — which hosts BU on Dec. 29 — was followed by back-to-back Pac-10 losses to Stanford University (72-61) and UCLA (81-47) before a 60-39 loss to the College of the Holy Cross.
“[Yale’s] record is a little deceptive right now,” Wolff said. “Ours is a little deceptive as well because some of the teams we’ve been playing now are losing. Yale is a pretty good team.”
Yale recently beat the University of Vermont, 86-76, but the win came against a Catamount squad playing without injured star Marqus Blakely (19.4 ppg, out for at least two weeks).
“Vermont played them pretty deep into the game and [the Catamounts] are going through a little bit of what we’re going through right now,” Wolff said in reference to sophomore co-captain Tyler Morris’ injury.
In the end, it doesn’t matter who they have played or who they are going to play. What matters is which Terrier squad shows itself: the group of individuals that can’t grab defensive rebounds or the team that made the necessary in-game adjustments against Harvard.
Tonight’s game will be decided on defense, considering the aggressive play both Lowe and Strong have displayed on offense and Wolff’s emphasis on fighting through screens during the early parts of yesterday’s practice. It’s quite likely screens will be set to slow Yale’s senior scoring trio of Caleb Holmes (12.1 ppg), Eric Flato (11.9) and Matt Kyle (10.9).
“I do think we can attack them off the dribble,” Wolff said. “We’re going to have to guard as passionately as we did for most of the game the other night.”
