Men’s basketball opens at home vs. Columbia

After weeks of practice on the Case Gymnasium floor, the Boston University men’s basketball team will get to throw on the real uniforms instead of the practice jerseys when Columbia University comes calling tomorrow night.

The Terriers (0-1, 0-0 America East) are coming off a crushing loss Monday night against Stanford University in the first round of the Preseason NIT. Even though BU Coach Dennis Wolff said Monday’s game was one his team should have won, he expects his team to be ready to go tomorrow night.

‘I think they’ll bounce back,’ Wolff said. ‘My experiences here tell me that these guys are pretty resilient. That kind of loss stays with the coaches a little more than it stays with the kids. Still, they see it as it was, which was a lost opportunity to win a game.’

The Lions (0-1, 0-0 Ivy League) are also coming off a crushing loss in the Preseason NIT. But unlike BU’s loss to Stanford, the Lions’ loss was crushing because, well, they got crushed. Including steals, the Lions committed more turnovers, 40, than points scored, in a 60-36 loss in Piscataway, N.J. Rutgers stormed out to a 16-2 lead and never looked back en route to a 22-point lead at halftime. While Columbia looked sluggish and completely outmatched against Rutgers, Wolff said his team cannot take the game lightly, considering the Terriers fell victim to the Lions last season.

‘We lost to Columbia last year and that’s all the incentive we need,’ Wolff said. ‘Plus it’s our first home game of the year. Those two things are reason enough for our guys to up for the game.’

With a big nationally televised game less than a week old, and a matchup against rival Boston College coming on Tuesday, one might expect the Terriers to be looking ahead to the game with their B-line rivals. Wolff disagrees.

‘We have a competitive group,’ Wolff said. ‘But we realize we’re not good enough to look past anyone.’

The Terriers will need to continue the kind of defensive pressure they showed on Monday night against Stanford. BU held Stanford to 25 percent shooting in the first half and was able to jump to an 8-0 lead before the Cardinal put one through the net. Wolff obviously knows of Columbia’s tendency toward turnovers, and hopes that his pressure defense can exploit it tomorrow night.

‘We’re going to try to put pressure on them the best we can,’ he said. ‘They obviously had trouble handling the ball the other night.’

One point of interest for the Terriers will be the Lions’ rebounding ability, as it was the only category they led in on Monday night, outrebounding Rutgers, 34-33. Forward Colin Davis and center Chris Wiedmann led the way for Columbia, pulling down a combined 17 boards.

With the return of red-shirt junior Matt Turner from a shoulder injury that sidelined him most of last season, BU’s already-strong perimeter defense is bolstered that much more. But with sophomore Chaz Carr stepping up last year in Turner’s absence, Turner may not receive the same number of minutes that he has in previous years. While Turner tallied only 17 minutes on Monday night, a low amount compared to the 29 minutes per game that he has averaged in his career, Wolff said that ‘he played the appropriate amount of minutes.’

Even in their near-win on Monday night, the Terriers did have problems scoring, especially down the stretch in the second half. One player Wolff is looking at to step on the offensive end is junior forward Jason Grochowalski, who, after pouring in 18 points in the Terriers’ exhibition win over One-on-One, tallied only one point against Stanford. While he did not name names, Wolff noted the need for overall improvement on the offensive end.

‘What I’m looking for in general from all the guys, is they need to make the type of plays that good players need to make,’ Wolff said. ‘They need to read what is available, and if they see that they need to take a shot, then take it, if it calls for them to make a pass, then pass it. That’s what I’m looking for in everyone.’