Before the season began, the Boston University men’s basketball team talked about its desire to win some non-conference games against high-profile opponents.
After letting an opportunity to win one against Stanford University get away, the Terriers now turn their attention to another big-time program, this time a little closer to home — the Boston College Eagles.
After beating up on the undermanned and overmatched Columbia Lions, the Terriers now face a BC squad desperate for a win after being embarrassed 85-58 by St. Joseph’s University in its season opener on Saturday.
‘I’m sure they’ll be jacked up coming off a loss,’ said head coach Dennis Wolff.
In its first two games, BU’s guards have played great defense and will be put to the test once again. Against Stanford, the Cardinal’s starting guards Julius Barnes and Matt Lottich were held to 6-24 shooting with eight turnovers. Columbia’s starting backcourt of Jeremiah Boswell and Tito Hill was limited to 10 points and only two assists.
The Eagles, however, will provide the Terriers’ backcourt with its biggest challenge to date. In senior Troy Bell and junior Ryan Sidney, BC has two potential All-Big East guards, and Bell might be the best player in the conference.
In the loss to the Hawks of St. Joseph’s, Bell shot only 2-14 from the floor, something that will almost certainly not happen again. Bell and Sidney combined to go 0-9 from three-point range, another statistic that is unlikely to be repeated.
‘They’re very talented at the one and the two,’ Wolff said. ‘I don’t expect Bell to shoot 2-14 again.’
Junior Kevin Fitzgerald and sophomore Chaz Carr will try to keep Bell and Sidney in check, with help off the bench from red-shirt junior Matt Turner and senior Paul Seymour. Carr and Turner are both coming off their best halves of ball this season after scoring nine and 10 points respectively in the second half of Saturday’s win. Both players will need to score often if the Terriers are to have a chance.
‘What St. Joe’s did was play a smart game offensively, and that’s what we have to do,’ Wolff said.
In last year’s 82-65 loss, Carr had 11 points, but Turner had only two on 1-5 shooting, with four turnovers.
Inside, BC is led by senior forward Uka Agbai, who, at 6’8′ and 260 pounds is a bruising force who can control the paint. Against the Hawks, Agbai scored 16 points, pulled down nine rebounds and blocked three shots.
The other bright spot for the Eagles in their opener was the play of 6’7′ freshman forward Craig Smith. Smith came off the bench to score 15 points and block a team-high five shots in 27 minutes of action.
The frontline of Agbai, Smith and 7-footer Nate Doornekamp, can give the Terriers problems on both ends of the floor. BU will need big games from interior players like junior Ryan Butt, sophomore Rashad Bell and senior Billy Collins to neutralize the Eagles frontcourt. In addition, 6’10’ red-shirt freshman Matt Czaplinski, who saw his first action for the Terriers against Columbia, will be an important factor off the bench.
Last year’s game against BC was not one of BU’s more memorable outings. The Eagles topped the Terriers 82-65, and led by as many as 33 points in the second half. BU had only eight assists in the game and committed 24 turnovers, which kept them from staying competitive.
‘We had too many self-induced mistakes last year,’ Wolff said. ‘We weren’t ready enough to play against a team of that caliber.’
Now Wolff is confident that his team is ready to take on BC and will have a chance to pull off an upset.
‘I like our team a lot, and we’re capable of winning one or more of these non-conference games,’ Wolff said.
‘And this would be a great place to start.’
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