The Boston University men’s basketball team looks to win its first game in two weeks tonight when it travels to Orono, Maine, for a conference matchup with the University of Maine.
Tonight’s game marks the first meeting this season between the Terriers and Black Bears, and it comes at a time when both teams need a win. After a loss to the University of Hartford on Tuesday, Maine sits half a game behind the Hawks and trails the Terriers by one full game for second place in the America East standings. For the Terriers, a loss tonight could drop them from second to fourth in the standings.
Maine (9-12 overall, 6-4 America East) is led by senior guard Errick Greene, who is second in scoring in the America East with 18.6 points per game. He is also eighth in rebounding, with 6.0 per game, and second in assists, averaging just fewer than four per game.
A bigger threat to the Terriers might be junior Justin Rowe. The seven-foot center leads the conference in blocks, averaging more than four per game, and is second in the America East with 10 rebounds per game. Rowe shoots well from the floor and is first in the conference in field goal percentage, making more than 62 percent of his shots.
BU (13-9 overall, 7-3 America East) will be undersized tonight, as Maine has nine players measuring 6-feet or taller. Junior forward Billy Collins will have to shoot the ball well (he leads the conference by making nearly half of his three-point attempts), and freshman guard Chaz Carr will have to find a way to play effectively against a larger and stronger Greene in order for BU to run its normal offense.
The Terriers will also look to junior guard Paul Seymour to provide a lift off the bench, much the way he did BU’s last game, an 89-85 overtime loss to the University of Vermont (16-5 overall, 9-1 America East) on Saturday. Seymour scored a team-leading 19 points on 8-of-19 shooting in the losing effort.
Freshman forward Rashad Bell also had a strong game against Vermont, scoring 14 points and grabbing nine rebounds in 30 minutes. He is averaging 12 points and six rebounds in his last six games. Bell might be called upon to add a presence down low against Maine.
BU is coming off two-straight losses to America East opponents. After losing 44-42 to Hartford (10-14 overall, 7-4 America East) in the final seconds, the Terriers fell to Vermont in overtime four days later.
The last two games between BU and Maine have been thrillers. The first, coming on the last day of the regular season a year ago, was a 76-74 Terriers win at Case Gymnasium. The second game was an overtime nail biter in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament in which Maine made 12-of-13 free-throws in overtime to emerge victorious.
After tonight’s game, the Terriers return home for three games against America East opponents before traveling to the State University of New York at Stony Brook on Feb. 12. BU’s last game of the regular season is at Case Gymnasium against Maine. The conference tournament starts March 2.
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