Any time a team accomplishes a positive feat that hasn’t been attained in a span of three seasons, it’s a safe bet that team is executing at a high level. That statement’s certainly true of the Boston University men’s basketball team, which is currently on a six-game winning streak – its longest since the 2004-05 campaign (a season in which BU won 20 games) – and playing its best basketball since that same time period.
Because of BU’s torrid start in America East competition (and the University of Vermont’s loss to Binghamton University in a wild game at Patrick Gymnasium last night), the Terriers (12-9, 7-2 AE) find themselves alone in first place, a half game ahead of Vermont, entering Thursday’s marquee matchup against the University at Albany at Agganis Arena (7 p.m.).
In the first meeting between the teams, BU lost, 62-61. That game was the first the Terriers played without junior guards Tyler Morris and Carlos Strong, and BU was also without the services of junior guard Corey Lowe, who served a one-game suspension by Dennis Wolff for picking up two technical fouls in the contest prior.
On Thursday, however, BU will have Lowe on the court – even though that court will be Agganis, where the Terriers haven’t won in nine regular-season games – and the opportunity to prove itself against one of the conference’s best.
‘We thought we had a chance to win the first game without [Lowe], but a lot of the same issues that plagued us then are going to be important in this game,’ BU coach Dennis Wolff said of the teams’ first meeting at SEFCU Arena. ‘They’re a very good rebounding team and a good team defensively.’
The game could be a defensive clinic as the Terriers and Great Danes (13-8, 5-3) are first and second in the conference in field-goal percentage defense, and both are allowing less than 70 points per game.
Unlike BU, however, Albany has had eight days to prepare for Thursday’s game, while the Terriers will be playing for the third time in six days. Fatigue has been a constant talking point since BU’s bench was shortened, but Wolff has taken measures to prevent breakdown prior to the conference tournament.
‘We’ve shortened practice a bit, we’re not banging on each other as much, we’re doing a little more talking and a little less physical stuff,’ Wolff said. ‘I think the credit goes to the strength coach [Glenn Harris] and the kids, because these kids are in terrific shape.’
Despite battling exhaustion, the Terriers have managed to win in a variety of ways over the last the few weeks – comeback victories, overtime instant classics, near-blown leads – but their latest victory method has been the blowout. Monday, BU defeated the University of Maryland-Baltimore County by 17, and Saturday, the Terriers downed the University of Hartford by 25 – good for a combined score of 154-112.
In fact, since the start of America East competition, the Terriers are averaging 74.7 points per game (second in the conference). While a large portion of the credit needs to go to sophomore forward John Holland, who’s averaging 23.3 points per game in conference play, Lowe has proven to be the foremost facilitator of the unexpected turnaround
‘There’s been a lot made about the play of John and [freshman forward] Jake [O’Brien] and [junior forward] Scott [Brittain], but in my mind, the number one factor behind the good play of the group has been the excellent point play that Corey’s given us,’ Wolff said.
Since taking over the point guard duties, Lowe’s averaged 17.1 points per game and 5.4 assists per game (second in America East). In the past, he had shown flashes of compiling such a complete stat line on a nightly basis, but inevitably slipped back to a ‘scoring only’ performance – not that that’s a bad thing by any means. Now, however, Lowe is becoming a lock to turn in a brilliant floor game, highlighted by superb decision-making, every time he suits up.
‘To me, he’s playing better than he’s ever played,’ Wolff said. ‘He’s certainly been good with the ball, involved the other guys, and been very unselfish as a point guard.’
Since BU’s loss against Albany, the Terriers have gone 6-1 – something few might have thought possible after disheartening non-conference losses and injuries to key players.
‘I still thought we had enough guys to win,’ Wolff said. ‘Everyone’s embraced the roles they have. But they don’t give you anything for having a good first half of the conference season, so now the challenge is to go through the next half, playing teams that are very comparable to us, with the same intensity that we played the first half.’
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