On Wednesday night, the Boston University men’s basketball team hosts Binghamton University &- the squad America East coaches picked as their preseason favorite to finish last in the conference &- at Agganis Arena with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Currently sitting at fifth-place in the standings &- one spot behind the Terriers (14-12, 9-5) &- the Bearcats (11-16, 6-6) have proven their doubters wrong by posting quality wins against the top two teams in the AE table &- Stony Brook University and the University of Vermont.
BU’s record against the same opposition?
0-4, including double-digit losses on the Seawolves and Catamounts’ home floors.
“That Stony Brook game, that was brutal,” said BU coach Patrick Chambers on Feb. 4. “That was a brutal game, packed house, small gym. Maine was brutal. They’re tough places to play &- Vermont, obviously. We have to use those experiences [to get better].”
The Bearcats come to Boston on a three-game losing skid, but one bright spot for Binghamton during that stretch has been the play of junior forward Greer Wright, who has averaged 17.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in those three defeats.
Who will Chambers rely on to stop Wright &- a player he has deemed as one of the best, if not the best, in all of America East?
Look no further than BU’s 6-foot-3, 215-pound senior co-captain Carlos Strong.
“Carlos is becoming our defensive stopper,” Chambers said. “I’m asking Carlos to do a lot. He’s been so efficient the past four or five games and I’m asking him to stop the best player. That’s a senior. That’s a senior who now gets it and wants to be that type of player.”
Binghamton also boasts a future star in the making &- freshman guard Dylan Talley &- who leads all rookies with 11 ppg and has earned four AE Rookie of the Week honors.
In the teams’ last matchup on Jan. 14 &- a 63-55 BU win at Events Center &- senior guard Corey Lowe tallied a game-high 22 points to go along with six assists and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Jake O’Brien recorded his fourth career double-double, finishing with 15 points and 10 boards in 37 minutes.
“They play super hard,” Lowe said of the Bearcats after the game. “That was one of the best games we’ve been a part of this year or even in my four years. They play really hard. They came out and just punched us in the face. It took us a while to wake up. We came back, and I’m proud of my teammates for fighting back, staying tough and grinding it out in the end.”
Wright had team-highs of 17 points and three assists in the contest, while junior forward Moussa Camara grabbed eight rebounds for a Binghamton squad that carried a 30-26 advantage into the halftime break.
Wednesday’s game marks the Terriers’ final regular season game at Agganis Arena this year, but Chambers is optimistic that his team will be given more opportunities to showcase its talent at 925 Commonwealth Ave.
“I absolutely love it,” Chambers said of Agganis Arena. “I wished we had all our games in here… Hockey’s our bread and butter, I know that &- they have a lot of events here. But we’ll get this thing going, headed in the right direction. We’ll get some people in those seats. I think this place could be a really incredible venue for BU men’s basketball.
“I feel at home here, I really do. I love it here. It’s incredible, especially when it’s got some people in the stands.”
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