The Boston University men’s basketball team will host first place Bucknell University on Sunday afternoon at Case Gym in one of the most important games of the season.
The Terriers (16-11, 11-4 Patriot League), in the midst of a four-game winning streak, have been firing on all cylinders recently and will catch a very talented Bison (20-8, 12-3 Patriot League) team at a good time. With a win, BU has a chance to tie Bucknell for first place in the Patriot League.
In their first matchup on Jan. 21, the Terriers fell 70-59 to the Bison. BU ended up blowing a seven-point lead at the half and will look to even up the season series this weekend.
The Terriers need to continue their impressive play to shut down center Nana Foulland and the rest of the Bison. Foulland leads the Patriot League in field goal percentage (61.9) and blocks (1.8), while also averaging 14.7 points per game. His 8.1 rebounds per game are good for second in the Patriot League as well.
While Foulland has arguably been the best big man in the league, senior forward Justin Alston has been playing at an impressively high level, winning Patriot League Player of the Week last week and tallying a double-double against Colgate University on Wednesday. Alston totaled 20 points in the first meeting against the Bison, while leading scorer senior guard Eric Fanning was held to just five points on 0-7 shooting.
To go along with his offense, Alston’s defense and rebounding have been solid, too, defending the paint and playing a critical role in the Terriers’ current win streak.
BU head coach Joe Jones acknowledged Foulland’s undeniable skill, but knows Alston can compete with anyone.
“They’re a really tough team,” Jones said. “They have a great inside-outside game. Nana is one of the better bigs in the league, but I think Justin is capable of playing against any of the bigs in the league, and he has proven that.”
BU also will have the difficult task of slowing down the Patriot League’s third leading scorer, forward Zach Thomas, and guard Stephen Brown, who is fourth in assists. However, the Terriers have a line of players who can neutralize the aforementioned Bison standouts, such as junior guard Cedric Hankerson, who has totaled 17 steals in his past six games.
The Bison are in first place for a reason, and Jones knows his team will have its hand full on Sunday.
“They got a really dynamic point guard and really good depth,” Jones said. “They’re just a very good team.”
The Terriers are not far behind though. BU has been playing some of its best basketball at a crucial point in the season. Its depth has been key in its recent surge. Junior forward Nick Havener returned from a three-game DNP stretch on Feb. 11, while freshman forward Max Mahoney has been a consistent contributor as well.
As for Havener, Jones will continue to get him back into the swing of things, working him in with the other big men.
“Nick has been playing his customary 18 to 20 minutes,” Jones said. “That’s what I see him playing on Sunday. We’ve played inside-out a little more and gotten the ball to Justin and Max which has helped us a lot offensively.”
Sunday’s game features the two best teams in the conference to date, and it very well could be a preview for the Patriot League crown. The game is coming at the right time for a BU team that has found its rhythm.
“We have good depth and we’ve been more consistent,” Jones said. “I think we’ve played better offense as of late and taken better shots.”
