Men’s basketball looks towards clash with Army

Like many college and professional basketball programs, the Boston University men’s basketball team uses Synergy Sports Technology, an analytics website, to rate its performance across all aspects of the game.

BU (10-11, 3-5 Patriot League) head coach Joe Jones noted that, according to Synergy, his team ranks among the best in the nation when it comes to defending plays after timeouts. However, the Terriers have struggled to keep up that focus, as was evident in Sunday’s collapse against Bucknell University.

“When we kind of can settle ourselves down, we’re very, very good,” Jones said. “If you didn’t have the capability of being a good defensive team, you couldn’t do that … But over the course of 40 minutes, we struggle to execute. You could say a lot of things as to why that is, but the bottom line is, we’ve shown the capacity to do it at the most critical time. Why aren’t we doing it more often?”

The Terriers will try to solve that question and snap a two-game losing streak Wednesday night when they visit United States Military Academy to conclude the first half of their conference slate.

Army (12-7, 3-4 Patriot League) boasts the conference’s leading scorer and top rebounder in seniors Tanner Plomb and Kevin Ferguson, respectively, but their statuses are uncertain for Wednesday’s matchup.

Plomb (21.8 points per game) has missed three straight games with a knee injury and Ferguson (8.2 rebounds per game) has been sidelined with an injured ankle. Without Plomb in the lineup, the team has averaged 65.3 points per game, down from its league-leading average of 81.1.

Regardless of who suits up for the Black Knights, Jones is looking for a complete defensive effort that rivals what the Terriers have been able to do offensively. BU averages 72.7 points a game, but gives up an average of 73.3 points.

“We’re averaging enough points to win games,” Jones said. “It’s really the defense is where we’re struggling. We’re really struggling to defend the three, and we’re struggling to keep people in front of us. Just overall, we’ve been very poor.”

BU’s 3-point defense will need to be in top form, as the Black Knights shoot the long ball at a 36.9 percent clip.

On the flip side, Army has proven to be one of the conference’s leading 3-point defenders, limiting opponents to 33.7 percent from behind the arc. In their two meetings last season, the Black Knights held BU — a team heavily reliant on the 3-pointer — to under 25 percent from downtown. This season, though, the injuries the Terriers have sustained have made them less reliant on the three ball.

“We score the ball at the rim now,” Jones said. “This is a much different team. The way we attack people is a little different. Offensively, we’ve proven we can put up enough points.”

Despite all the team’s injuries and defensive struggles, Jones said he believes his team has the pieces to make a run at a Patriot League title, much like Lafayette College did a season ago.

The Leopards (5-14, 2-6 Patriot League) finished 9-9 in conference play, but came on strong down the stretch to take home the 2015 Patriot League Tournament title. The challenge for Jones, then, is getting the Terriers mentally ready for that road ahead.

“In every conference, some team steps up and starts to get it done,” he said. “It’s more about, ‘Can we continue to get better? Can we continue to keep the guys confident? Can we keep them positive? Can we keep improving? Can we take another step tomorrow in terms of what we’re trying to do? Do they have a better understanding of what we’re trying to do? And then, can they do it?’”

Despite those lingering questions, Jones maintained faith in his team’s ability to turn things around.

“Any time you put up that many points and you show an ability to stop people at certain points,” he said, “I’ve got to think that we’ve got as good of a chance as anybody.”