Will the real Northeastern University please stand up?
When the Terriers (11-6, 6-0 America East) take on the Huskies tomorrow at Case Gymnasium, they will be facing the most inconsistent team in the America East.
The Huskies (8-10, 1-4 America East) have beaten Boston College in Chestnut Hill, a place where the Eagles routed the Terriers, 80-61. On the other hand, Northeastern has lost to Troy State and Northern Arizona, hardly basketball powerhouses, before stumbling through its first five conference games.
BU returns home after road games at the University of Hartford and the University of New Hampshire, playing some of its best ball of the season. After coming back to pull out a victory with 7.7 seconds left against Hartford, the Terriers embarrassed the Wildcats 94-64 on Wednesday.
‘Any road win is a good win, I don’t care if it’s by one or 30,’ BU coach Dennis Wolff said. ‘The guys showed poise and toughness against Hartford and were very focused [against UNH].’
Forwards Rashad Bell and Ryan Butt have given the Terriers a legitimate low-post presence, which has allowed the Terriers perimeter players better looks from three-point range.
Against the Wildcats, BU was able to get seniors Billy Collins and Paul Seymour open shots from downtown after pounding the ball inside.
‘The outside worked well because we were able to get the ball inside and they were collapsing,’ Wolff said. ‘If we’re going to be successful, we have to get post touches and then go outside.’
‘We wanted to go inside because [UNH is] a small team,’ Bell said. ‘Their biggest guy is around 6’5′ and everyone else is 6’3′ and under, so we could get some easy baskets.’
Which they did, as forwards Bell, Butt, Collins and Jason Grochowalski all scored in double figures.
When the Wildcats focused on the low-post, guards Chaz Carr and Matt Turner were able to go to work, as they put together their best combined effort of the year. Carr and junior Kevin Fitzgerald easily beat the New Hampshire pressure, leading to easy scores almost every trip down the floor.
BU will need both facets of its offensive game working tomorrow when it faces Northeastern, a team with strong play on the perimeter and in the paint.
Freshman guard Jose Juan Barea leads the Huskies with 16.6 points per game and a team-high 74 assists on the year.
After Barea, junior forwards Javorie Wilson and Sylbrin Robinson had 15.2 and 12.6 points per game, respectively.
‘Wilson and Robinson can create some match-up problems at the 3 and the 4,’ Wolff said. ‘They are very talented offensively.’
Wilson and Robinson are two of four players on the Northeastern bench from Miami Senior High School, where current Huskies assistant Frank Martin was the head coach. Due to Martin’s connections, Northeastern was also able to land University of Miami transfer Marcus Barnes, who won’t be eligible to play until next year.
Despite a disappointing 1-4 start in conference play, it’s safe to assume the Huskies will be ready to play tomorrow afternoon against the Terriers. Expect to see more of the team that beat BC, rather than the team that lost to Stony Brook.
‘This is a rivalry game,’ Wolff said. ‘I don’t care what the records are, it’s going to be a good game.’
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