The Rodney Dangerfields of College Hoop: The Mount St. Mary's Preview

Boy that Northeastern game was fun, wasn't it? The Terriers really cut those Huskies down to size.

No, we're not going to shoot 55% from the field every game, but we won't need to. We're not going to hit 15 3-pointers every game, but we won't need to.

Fact is, we're sitting pretty at 3-1, and feeling good about our chances for the rest of the out-of-conference.

The next test comes tonight. Mount St. Mary's is the first of 4 teams we play who were in the NCAA tournament last year. The Mountaineers were relegated to the national version of the America East's Stony Brook Invitational Play-In Game, where they defeated Coppin State. Then they went on to act as a punching bag for UNC.

They got stuck in the PIG because they play in the Rodney Dangerfield of all conferences, the Northeast Conference. Ain't nobody give the NEC no respect. The NEC has had its champ sent to Dayton 2 out of the last 3 years. But this year the Mount is out to change some hearts and minds, and make some noise. They're even listed on the Mid-Major Top 25 this week, at #23. (In case you were interested, BU only got one 25th place vote - but that might change after the NU win.)

So basically, Mount St. Mary's is not a team to just steamroll over. They're a team that, like BU, wants to show everyone that they can play. All this points to a great game tonight in Emmitsburg, MD. And who better to tell us about our next opponent than one of their own. Ryan, who writes about all things MSM at TheFanBlog.blogspot.com, has agreed to give us a little insight (oh, and if you want to read what we told his readers about BU, you can see it here):


BU Hoops Blog: Much like the America East, the NEC doesn't get much respect nationally. Tell us why BU should be worried about coming in to play reigning NEC champs, the Mount.

The Fan Blog: I think that the Mount will present quite a challenge for Terriers. Last year, the Mount ended up winning the NEC tournament by getting hot down the stretch. Most of last year's team minus Chris Vann, who was the team's leading scorer, returns for this year. And as most of us who follow Mt. St. Mary's basketball realized early in the year last year was that the Mount's best basketball was ahead of them. Last year's run was probably a year ahead of schedule. This is now a team with a good bit of experience that is still looking towards playing its best basketball. It has started the season playing well, but still has plenty of room to improve.

BU Hoops Blog: You've been following MSM for a long time - is this the best basketball team they've ever had?

The Fan Blog: No, I don't think so. Come the end of the season, maybe they'll be able to say that. However, as most of your fans realize the NEC and America East are one-bid conferences. Potentially, this team has a chance to be very good and maybe approach some of the levels that past Mount teams have. But when you talk the best teams in Mount history, its hard to ignore the 1962 National College Division Champions (and no, I didn't follow them back then). But I'd probably take the 1995-96 team if I had to vote for the best team ever. That team didn't make the NCAA tournament, but did play in the NIT. If memory serves me correctly, they lost only two regular season conference games, before falling in the NEC tournament. Along the way during the season they won at Georgia Tech, the defending ACC champs.

BU Hoops Blog: Granted, it's Thanksgiving break and many students are out of the area. But normally, what are the crowds like? Is basketball the big event on campus that students can rally around and get raucous? What kind of atmosphere will the Terriers be coming into? Are there any cool fan traditions?

The Fan Blog: The Mount is traditionally the best supported team in the NEC. I think the attendance numbers bear that out. It's early in the season and crowds tend to build as the season wears on. The Knott ARCC holds about 3500 at capacity. Anything more than half full on Saturday night would surprise me. However, with the fact that the NEC banner is being raised, and its the first home game since longtime head coach Jim Phelan was inducted into the College Hall of Fame it might bring a few more people out. But the fact that school had a little break for the holiday will keep the Mount Maniac (Student section) under control. That section is seated under the basket to the visiting team's bench side of the floor, which makes for some interesting conversation at times between the section and the end of the bench. The students really do a good job of supporting the team. I think not having a football team makes this one of the big on-campus activities. I don't know if its a tradition or not, but former BU head coach Roy Sigler, and current Mount color commentator has been known to pump up the crowd from his courtside seat when the team needs a lift.

BU Hoops Blog: Jeremy Goode led Mount St. Mary's in scoring last year, and is off to a great start again this year with 19ppg in the early going. What's his game like? Is he the team's MVP?

The Fan Blog: Jeremy is a small point guard, listed at 5-9, who is as quick as quick can be. His outside shooting has improved this season but he generally gets his points by utilizing his quickness to beat defenders off the dribble and getting into the lane, where he has an uncanny ability of drawing fouls. He has worked hard on his free throw shooting in the offseason, but has struggled again from the line of late. He also is a pretty good distributor of the basketball and runs Coach Milan Brown's sets pretty well. But it is his quickness and speed on the dribble that has allowed Brown to go away from his methodical half court offense.

BU Hoops Blog: John Holland is our highlight reel dunk artist - who from the Mount can we expect to match his ferocity on the rim? And yes I just described John Holland as ferocious.

The Fan Blog: I think that Kelly Beidler who will likely match up with Holland is about as athletic as they come at this level. He's had some nice dunks in games, but I've never thought what we've seen from him in action probably measures up with what he throws down in an open gym or on the playground. Shawn Atupem has shown the most ability in a game to rattle the rim. But maybe we're just spoiled at the Mount, figuring we'll never again see the likes of Alex Watson, who once did the dunk Dee Brown missed in the NBA Slam Dunk contest (the year he won) in a game.

BU Hoops Blog: Finally, give us a prediction for the game (blatant homerism expected and encouraged).

The Fan Blog: Homerism aside - and I can say that until I make the pick, I really think this is going to be a very good basketball game. I've kind of wavered all week about who I thought would win this game. I think the Mount has been tested very well early, and I think BU has played a tough schedule as well. And I think the Mount would have a better record if it had played BU's schedule. Just as I think BU would likely have lost both of the games the Mount has dropped. Ultimately, I think the Mount's defensive intensity will be the key to the basketball game. I picked the Mount to win 78-72 in my game preview, so I'm sticking with it.

BU Out-shoots NU 83-75

You'd think that a match-up between two mid-major basketball teams from Boston would be a draw at at Boston bar, but no.

No matter. As I sat by myself in the corner of the bar watching BU take on Northeastern, it felt like I was watching a Duke-UNC game. It was a back and forth athletic competition in which shot after shot was falling. Most baskets were answered by the other team. Was I really watching a BU game?

Corey Lowe was playing in a league of his own during the first half, draining threes like he was tossing coins into a wishing well. He scored 23 points in the first half, as it seemed NU's focus was on guarding John Holland. John Holland was quiet in the first half, but came to life in the second as the Corey Lowe Show garnered all of Huskies attention. He finished with a "paltry" 17 points.

Also in the second half, Jake O'Brien was left open enough times for him to score 21 points. He found his stroke big time, making 5 of 7 from three point range.

In all, the Terriers sank 15 threes. It was a fine display of what we're capable of, if we hit our shots.

And it wasn't just the offense that was on target. The Huskies made a lot of shots, trading 3's and 2's throughout the game, but the shots they missed, we rebounded. We collected 25 defensive rebounds, diminishing their second-chance shots and a key to winning the game.

But there's no denying that we won this game with our offense, something that we rarely do. Normally we win by keeping our opponants score around 65 or less, but the fact is we wouldn't have won without the slashing and shooting by Lowe and Holland, and a mammoth second-half explosiong by JOB.

It was a great game, not only because our offense put on a show, but because it's been quite a while since we've beaten Northeastern. They've made us look bad since they ditched us for the Colonial, but we made up for it tonight. If we keep up this momentum, we can head into conference play with a pretty damn good record.

Crosstown Rivals

If you live in Boston, you should be at the game at Northeastern tonigh. If you live in New England, you should be watching on NESN. Anywhere else in the country? It might be tough for you to see the game.

Unless you live in LA, in which case you should head to Sonny McLeans on Wilshire in Santa Monica. It's the only Boston bar that I know of out here, and they carry NESN, so that's where I'll be. Drop on by, the game starts at 5PM Pacific. I know that's a little early to head to a bar, but take advantage when you can, because BU games are hard to come by out here.

The Return of King Husky: The Northeastern Preview

There's so much to say about the BU-Northeastern battle coming up tonight. I'm not sure I can do it justice.

This is a game I didn't realize I would miss twice a year when they left the conference. Our most natural rival - most schools don't have a rival whose games you can walk to from campus.

Both teams are on the upswing. BU of course brings their stacked backcourt and reinforced frontcourt across the fens, where NU's big inside presence will be waiting for them. NU is led by Matt Janning, a 7-year-old who escaped from kindergarten and easily surpassed Northeastern's lax admissions standards with no help from his mommy. Luckily for NU, he can actually shoot the basketball.

Two years ago, both teams hit rock bottom. BU had just lost Hassan, Gaffney and others to transfer and started 5 freshman. NU's coach Ron Everhart had just skipped town to Duquesne, bringing with him their best player Shawn James, all their blue-chip recruits and a couple suitcases full of cash. As a show of sportsmanship, we had a guest appearance before that game in 2006 from the #1 NU Huskies fan, known only as King Husky, to give his thoughts on the rivalry and the game.

Now that things for both schools are better, I invited King Husky back this year to talk about tonight's game and some old-school trash talk. I can only hope that BU students head over to the dirty side of Boston tonight to give it right back.


BU Hoops Blog: Two years ago, you described 2006 BU-NU as the weakest the rivals have been in years. We know the Terriers are a lot better now -- from the NU perspective, how much better are this year's Huskies compared to back then?

King Husky: Two years ago, NU fans thought we were like the Cleveland Indians team in the first “Major League” movie. We looked down the roster and said “who the heck are these guys?”. We were a team without an identity whose stars were bit players and leftovers from the Ron Everhart Era.

Our most highly touted recruit was a kid that didn’t look old enough to be my paper boy (Janning), and we had recruits that you couldn’t find on any recruiting service. Heck, not even legendary America East posting board poster “Ginzo” could complain about how tall really Manny Adako was.

We were asked for patience by Bill Coen, and since we had nothing else to do, we gave it to him. After being lied to and betrayed by Our Former Head Coach (we don’t call him by his given name – we refer to him as OFHC) we were the proverbial parched man in the desert, we needed something resembling hope. We knew we’d be young, but no one knew how good Matt Janning would be. I mean he’d get carded at a PG-13 movie, but he’s been a godsend.

Under OFHC, we were a collection of talents that never really jelled. Under Bill Coen, we’re a team. We may not run and gun or press like crazy, or have 9 star recruits but we are a better team.

Last year we had a bunch of “almost” against the Beagles from the Heights, Uconn, Illinois, and Maryland – and finished .500 in the CAA. This year, we stunk up the joint against Michigan on national TV, but we bounced back and ruined Keno Davis’ first game against PC, and beat a pesky Holy Cross team. We’re 3-1 and are feeling pretty good about the way this season is playing out. We seem to be beating teams with good defense and real good shooting.

We’re a veteran team with only one senior that gets any significant playing time – which is an interesting statement.

I still think we are a flawed team as we don’t shoot well from the outside, we don’t rebound well, and I’m not sure how deep we are, but I may be overanalyzing things.

BU Hoops Blog: Corey Lowe/John Holland vs. Chaisson Allen/Matt Janning - thoughts?

King Husky: Only internet dorks that read blogs like this and Diehard Dogs realize how much fun it’s going to be tonight watching these guys go at it. Janning has been fantastic against PC and HC and Chase Allen’s been a bit of a disappointment early on – his numbers haven’t been what we thought we’d see in Year #2.

I really like John Holland, and I’m surprised Corey Lowe hasn’t transferred yet. When I’m bored and NU is on the road I go to Case and watch you guys play and Holland’s the one guy who I’m really p-issed that NU doesn’t have on its team. He can really light it up and is incredibly athletic.

If you like wings (and I’m not talking about the buffalo kind), this battle could be fun as the “game within the game”.

BU Hoops Blog: Way back when, my favorite BU crowd prank was waving diapers with "#5" on them every time Jose Juan Barea acted like a crybaby. Does the NU crowd have anything original in store tonight, or will they just be going with traditional Matt Wolff chants? Got any suggestions for them?

King Husky: I was thinking of having the NU fans do a “roll call” like the Bleacher Creatures do at Yankee Stadium. Instead of chanting the names of the starting lineup for NU we were going to chant the names of all of the guys who have left the Terriers in the past 4 seasons – but that would take too long. I was also thinking of having the students chant “we want Gaffney” or “where is Creekmore” something like that.

Since this is Matt Wolff’s last trip to the Arena in this rivalry, and to the best of my knowledge he hasn’t beaten NU in his career, I’m sure we’ll be getting on him a little bit – for old time’s sake.

I don’t think either team has a kid you can really “hate” – back in the day JJB was an easy target, and Rashad Bell was also someone you could get on. The two teams now have some sickening mutual respect for each other which isn’t good for guys like you and I who thrive on controversy in this series.

By the way, Barea and his $5 million NBA contract send their love.

BU Hoops Blog: BU drew 600 to last Saturday's game against St. Peter's - can NU beat that tonight?

King Husky: Wow, you are setting attendance records left and right on Comm. Ave again this year – was there a big debate against the Sorbonne that your students attended instead of the basketball game?

Who took the time to draw 600 fans? You guys must have used a couple boxes of Crayola 64’s to draw that many people.

We are planning on renting the fake “fans” that movie directors use to make sports scenes look like a stadium is full, so if you count that, yes – we’ll have more than 600.

BU Hoops Blog: Which historically bad Atlantic-10 team will Bill Coen be taking Matt Janning and Chaisson Allen to after fleeing Northeastern next offseason? Fordham? St. Bonaventure? LaSalle?

King Husky: Boston University.

Oh, that’s right, you guys are still in the America Least. How’s that perpetual move to the A-10 coming?

I think he’s going to replace OFHC at Duquesne. The Boston-Pittsburgh pipeline worked out pretty well the last time, didn’t it?

BU Hoops Blog: NU has taken the past few games of this series, including a blowout last time we interviewed you. I can tell you we think things will be a little better for the Terriers this year - what's your prediction for the game? (Of course, blatant homerism is expected and encouraged.)

King Husky: This game has me worried, REAL worried. I think Silber State’s back court is real good. Perhaps the second best in the city. I’m not convinced that Jake O’Brien is anything more than a real good America East player – which is good for you after January , but he could present some problems for us. I really like Scott Brittain as well.

NU’s looked SOOO good that last 2 games, we’re bound to have a letdown at some point, and I hope it’s not against the Rat Dogs. The prediction..

Silber State 64
Northeastern 63

This one will go down in Husky-Rat Dog lore as one of the classics.

Boxlines of the Week

It's Monday night, so you know that means. It means it's time for the Boxlines of the Week, stupid. Did you not read the title of this post?

Boxline of the Week

John Holland - 11/22/08 (St. Peters)

 Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
Holland.     9-14   4-7    4-4   2  0  2   3  26  0  2  0  0  24

John managed to score 26 points in only 24 minutes. He also had no blocks, steals, or assists, which I find strange. How many points if Holland played his normal 35 minutes or so?

Boxline of the Weak

Tyler Morris - 11/18/08 (@Bucknell)

 Player Name  FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP  A TO BLK S MIN
 Morris.      1-7    1-5    2-2   0  6  6   2   5  5  1  0  1  40-

There weren't many candidates as no one really sucked this week. But it had to be somebody, so I'm sorry, Tyler. He shot 1 for 7 against Bucknell in over 40 minutes against Bucknell. Two years ago, Tyler was one of our biggest scoring threats. This year, it would be nice if he scored a bit more, but look at those other categories. 6 rebounds, 5 assists, a steal. He's doing what he needs to be doing. We have other scorers, and we need Tyler to be the point guard for this team. I promise he will get no more "boxline of the weak" awards.*

*Unless he has a really, really shitty game.

Win against St. Peter's, Lose against The Quest

It wasn't the blowout we were all hoping for, but last Saturday BU at least came away with a win against St. Peter's. Despite the final score, BU was clearly the better team all day long and was firmly in control. Two droughts, near the end of each half, allowed the score to get a little closer than it should have. But even a 5-point margin was a vacation compared to the full-on, Dennis-Wolff-vein-popping Cardiac specials provided by the first two overtime games.

BU has a winning record for the first time since the very beginning of last season when we were 1-0.

Johnny Holland went off for a "quiet" 26 (well, it seemed quiet to me, except for his thunderous alley-oop slam from Mr. Corey Lowe) in only 24 minutes. Someone remind me why he only got 24 minutes. This effort, combined with the one against Bucknell where he took over in OT, was enough for him to snatch the Co-Player of the Week award, his first of what I assume will be several this year. Corey had another good game, but again missed some key FTs down the stretch. Jake O'Brien had tough shooting night, which I guess we have to expect once in a while - but boy does he love to shoot when he gets the ball, whever he gets it. But Wolff doesn't mind, as he said after the game, "If he’s looking at the basket and his feet are set, I’ll be mad if he doesn’t shoot."

Finally, Scott Brittain returned to the active roster. He wasn't the unquestioned difference-maker right away - with 2 points in 11 mins - but that is our fault for expecting too much. It's obvious Wolff is easing him back into the rotation, totally understandable because you can't be too cautious with head injuries. Take your time Scott, and we know you're gonna come up huge for us down the road.

As for The Quest for 901, that went sadly unfulfilled. A paltry 600 settled into the Roof for its opener, well short of the half-enrollment of St. Peter's I was hoping for. We'll have to settle for one-third of their total enrollment. Maybe the Dec. 10 matchup against Yale in Case Gym will bring more luck, although I suspect they have an enrollment a bit larger than St. Peter's.

Delayed Wrap-up/Props to John Holland

I don't know how much of a wrap-up is needed for Saturday's win over St. Peters. We controlled to whole game, and it shouldn't have been as close as it was. Towards the end, it looked like the Terriers thought they were supposed to let St. Peters catch up so that they could go to overtime. Maybe they're getting used to it?

Also, the Terriers thought it would be fun to embarass me by making my predictions look like they were made by a complete moron, which I'm obviously not. We won 67-62, not 81-66. Only two players scored in double digits, instead of five. Jake O'Brien had a good game, but did not get a double-double. And I never made it to "In-N-Out" to get a double-double of my own, but that's mostly my fault.

I even overshot my attendance estimate by two hundred people, which is pathetic. 600 people showed up, which is the one of the worst showings since that Stony Brook game when 159 people showed up.

But we won, and that's the important part. John Holland was dominant once again. He scored 26 points, even though he did little else (2 boards, no steals, blocks, or assists). Yet it was good enough to earn him America East Co-Player of the Week.

Congrats John, you've had a great start to the season, and I'm anticipating many more of these awards from you this season.

Some Quick Game Predictions

BU wins 81-66, JOB gets a double-double, I get a double-double from In-and-Out at halftime, and 5 Bu players will score in double digits.

Here's hoping.

The Quest for 901: The St. Peter's Preview

St. Peter's is almost certainly the worst team we will play this year. They only won 6 games last year, and only 5 the year before that. We were forced the play them on the road in last year's Bracketbuster, squeezing out a bit-too-close-for-comfort 3-point victory. And so we're forced to play them again this year at our house. Hopefully that will be the end of this boring series.

While BU has played two opponents of decent quality to a 1-1 split so far, St. Pete has played two poor teams, Wagner and Lehigh, and lost to both of them by double-digits.

The peacocks are led by Wes Jenkins, who led the team in scoring last year and seems to be well on his way again this year: he's the only 'Cock in double figs so far, with 22.5 ppg through 2 games.

On the BU side, we should get a YOOGE boost from the return of Scott Brittain, who will play but not start. I'm very excited about Scotty coming back - I thought we would have won both our games so far in regulation with his help. I'm expecting big things and much improvement from him, thanks to some tough love from Wolff:

“I’ve been on him relentlessly for a kid that I really, really like,” Wolff said Nov. 7. “I’ve said to him at the end of the year, you’ll either be on one of the all-league teams or you will hate me.”

Moving on, this will be the second home opener for BU this year -- this time they're opening up the Roof. Historically, attendance for games at the Roof has languished in the triple-digits, a stark contrast from games at the Greek. This will be compounded by tomorrow's no-name opponent. However, it's still early in the season, so people are supposedly still excited about the team. And students haven't left for Thanksgiving yet, for the most part. Here's a fun game: the total enrollment at St. Peter's is 1,802. The capacity of Case Gymnasium is 1,800. Assuming the 12 student athletes on the St. Pete's basketball team were sitting on the bench, they don't even have enough students to fill our tiny high school-style gym.

But here's the question: Can BU pack at least HALF of St. Peter's enrollment into Case for tomorrow's game? That's 901 Terriers fans and sympathizers. Why or why not?

Godzilla in OT

Games like the GW game make us wonder why we follow sports as passionately as we do, until a game like the Bucknell game comes along.

John Holland was a MONSTER once the overtime period started, and Bucknell were millions of fleeing Japanese. He dominated. Pounding his chest and screaming after each bucket, you could tell he was not going to allow BU to leave that gym as losers.

That's something we've missed the last couple of years, probably since Rashad Bell left town. Ra-Bell would single-handedly take over games and simply not accept defeat. That toughness factor is back this year, and it's a welcome sight. We would not have won that game last year, there's no doubt about it.

The story of the game, however, hinged on a defensive adjustment made at halftime. Whereas Bucknell was hitting from all over in the first half, they were never allowed to get into any kind of a rhythm in the second. With John Holland on the full-court press and at the top of that zone, the Bison had trouble even finding space and time to take a shot.

Aside from Johnny's rejuvenated play in OT, Corey found his stroke and Jake the Snake got it done again. Tyler, Carlos and Johnny hit their freebies (ahem, Corey). And everybody contributed on defense, especially Matty Wolff who was forced to guard Bucknell's center at the end of the second half and in OT when our big freshmen were both out of the game.

On a personal note, and anyone who watched the streaming Bucknell feed online will agree with me, I couldn't be happier that their d-bag announcer had to go home a loser. He couldn't have been more unprofessional.

Here's looking forward to a win against St. Pete's... in regulation. The boys could use a rest.

Do or Die

At the foul line, game tied, with once second left. Out of curiousity, who do you want at the line? Corey Lowe had the chance to seal the deal at the end of regulation against Bucknell but couldn't deliver. Fortunately for him, and all of us, he was able to deliver in OT and guide us to a win.

In a do or die situation sort of like this, I'd want Tyler Morris at the line.

Who would you want? Why? Tell all of us in the comments section below.

Booyah Grandma

No F-ing way were we gonna lose two overtime games in a row against moderately well-known mid-major teams. That's what was going through John Holland's mind Tuesday night. In those exact words.

Having not scored in the first half, Holland decided to wake the hell up and take care of business in the second half, and even moreso in overtime to lead BU to a thrilling 71-68 OT win against Bucknell.

But it's not like he didn't have help. Even though Corey Lowe missed a game winning free-throw with one second left in regulation, he made a clutch runner towards the end of OT to put us up 2, and ended up making the difference (had 19 points by the way). And JOB continued to work on his resume for the all rookie team with 15 points, a block, steal, and 3 boards.

And Matt Wolff somehow got 13 rebounds. What's up with that? No, I'm not complaining, but that's not the Matt Wolff that I know.

Lot's of good stuff, tonight. Really good stuff. Down 16 at one point, we tightened the D, took care of the ball, and were able to claw back thanks to some sharper shooting than we had in the first half. And we got it done at the foul line, which is something we've had problems with in the past. Bottom line, we earned this win.

We still have a lot of work to do, of course, but I'm guessing Wolff goes easy on them between now and their next game on Saturday, because our boys have got to be exausted after their first two games.

That ESPY for "Biggest Upset" is 3 long years in the past: The Bucknell Preview

The mid-major world fell in love with the Bucknell University Bison in 2005 when it knocked off NCAA Tournament favorite Kansas in the Big Dance. They became renowned giant-killers, and backed that up with a few big wins against huge programs over next couple years. (And that ESPY they won was against some familiar competition).

Make no mistake: this is not the same Bucknell team, and the difference is nobody is afraid to play this year's version.

Bucknell was picked to finish 5th in the 8-team Patriot League... and that was before their preseason 2nd teamer and best player Stephen Tyree went down with a season-ending knee injury during a pick-up game (idiot). They still don't know who is going to pick up the scoring slack. And Tyree is a big forward who was the PL Defender of the Year, so right off the bat that helps us immensely because...

Scott Brittain is going to be missing from the lineup again - he's not even going to make the trip. And I can't blame him... a flight to Philly, followed by a 2 or 3 hour bus ride in the middle of nowhere. In the meantime, Scott, we need to get you better. According to the Encyclopedia of Natural Healing:

To speed healing and increase oxygen to the brain, and to prevent further damage after a concussion, supplement with antioxidants. Vitamins A, C, E and all the B vitamins, as well as the minerals selenium and zinc, are antioxidants. In addition to stimulating the healing process, vitamin C also enhances the *immune system, reduces *blood pressure and protects against *bruising and blood clotting. Vitamin C should be taken with bioflavonoids to improve its effects. Vitamin E works to repair damaged tissue. When vitamins C and E work together, they have a greater effect than when they are taken separately.

Also:

Arnica is an excellent homeopathic remedy for a concussion resulting from a blow to the head, reducing *pain and speeding healing. Use the 30c strength, placing 2 tablets under the tongue. Repeat for two more doses, every fifteen minutes for a severe injury, or an hour apart if less severe.

So yeah, BU Sports Medicine... get on that.

As far as the guys who are still on the court for us, I'm optimistic. Johnny Holland seems to have picked up right where he left off. The freshmen, Jake O'Brien and Jeff Pelage, are picking up rave reviews from the most unlikely of sources. Carlos Strong is doing some real good things. And, most importantly, Corey Lowe and Tyler Morris can't possibly shoot as badly as they did on Friday night.

Three days ago, Bucknell got destroyed by Maryland by 29 points. Three years ago, in the only prior meeting between the BU's, we lost by 6 and Corey Hassan was our leading scorer. Tonight, I'm looking for something right in between...

My prediction for the game: BU 70 Bucknell 57

A Tough Pill to Swallow

We had it. We all felt it. Everyone in that packed Agganis Arena could feel it Friday night, but this year, we'll always think of GW as the one that got away.

To be frank, GW looked like shit. Our defense was on lockdown. We out-hustled them. Where did we go wrong?

A few things that troubled me Friday night:

-We had trouble cleaning up around the basket. Five possessions in a row, we had the ball in the paint and couldn't score. Having Scott Britain in the line up could have helped, but Jake O'Brien looked solid, and once Jeff Pelage gets a little more confidence, he can be a monster down low. Give him some time and I think he'll be good.

-Corey Lowe and his ridiculous three-pointers. 1-11? I lost track of how many shots he took that were five feet behind the arc, but I count all those as turnovers. He knows he's the backbone of the team, and I think he just tried too hard to fulfill the expectations of him. He'll get into a groove soon enough, and settle down.

-Nevermind that we made less than 50% of our free throws, but we only took 13 to their 29. We need to balance that out by attacking the hoop more.

-It took a promotion of tickets to a Coolio concert to fill the Greek. Coolio is tough to pass up, but I hope it was excitement for BU basketball that got fans to the game.

But some good things:

-Jake O'Brien already looks like a veteran. I'm excited about this kid. I also like Tall-boy's idea of calling him JOB from now on.

-Carlos Strong looks like he hasn't missed a beat since last year. He may not start, but I think he's one of the most important players on the team.

-Same goes for John Holland. He's no longer the electric freshman who's turning heads all of a sudden. He's now got to be one of the dependable veteran guys. He better stay healthy, or so help me God...

-We kept our turnovers under 15. It'll be a great season if we can do that every game.

-It was one hell of an exciting game, and I'm hoping that will be enough to bring kids back to more games in the future.

At least we didn't lose by 13

Although, maybe that would have been easier. Tonight's 63-58 overtime loss to GW was one of the ugliest, most sickening losses I remember at BU. As in it just made me sick to my stomach.

Look I know my prediction had BU coming out on top, but I really didn't think we would win this game. I had this as one of the two out-of-conference losses. So its own, this isn't a terrible loss.

But if you look at HOW it was lost, you just shake your head. The Colonials did just about everything they could to hand the game to us on a platter, and we wouldn't take it. They shoot 46% on field goals, so what do we do? We shoot 29% The shoot 55% on free throws, so what do we do? We shoot 46%. They turn the ball over like 25 times, so what do we do? Well, I mentioned the shooting percentages didn't I? Corey Lowe couldn't hit water if he fell off the BU Bridge tonight. We missed so many 3-foot shots that GW should have just stopped guarding us when we got into the paint. And Matt Wolff, I've defended the kid before... but yegods, every time we could NOT afford a mistake it seemed like he was throwing the ball away, or making a dumb foul, or taking an impossible shot.

[Deep breath]

OK, in the interest of sanity I will list a few positives.

• Jake O'Brien looked great and I like him a lot. He did NOT look like a freshman out there and he significantly outplayed the senior Rob Diggs while they were out there together. He was all hustle going after loose balls and rebounds. He was stepping up and trying to make plays with the ball when nobody else would.
  
• John Holland scored 22 and was the only consistent performer on offense. And he had a monster breakaway dunk in the first half.
• The Corey Lowe rebound and game-tying layup made for an exciting moment, even if it did just set up the crushing disappointment known as overtime.

I'm going to forget about this one ASAP and start looking forward to Bucknell. Maybe I'll even drive up there on Tuesday. Anything to move on.

I will say one thing: I believe that if Scott Brittain plays, BU wins this game. Jake the Snake played well, but once he fouled out we had NOTHING in the middle to step up against their redwoods. Maybe that's the best thing to think about to make myself feel better.

Big George, Raspy Elmore and Trailer Trash: The GW Preview

I have a love/hate relationship with GW. First off, it's practically the same exact school as BU in almost every way. I live about 3 blocks from the Charles Smith Center, and I've seen more GW games over the past 2 or 3 years than any other college besides BU. I've got plenty of friends who attended (Facebook lists 37, but even that might be low), a few past girlfriends, and I have a healthy respect for all things Colonial.

LOVE: Froggy Bottom Pub - the site of our biennial DC BU Alumni happy hour when BU comes to play GW in basketball.

HATE: The "G-G-G...G-DUUUB" chant at their games.

LOVE: Coach Karl Hobbs. He's basically Dean Elmore's clone, but a LOT better at basketball and a raspier voice. Seriously, which is which?!?? (OK, you can tell... but it's close.)




HATE: "Big George" the retarded-looking 12-foot tall mascot, and "Little George" the extremely creepy-looking 6-foot tall mascot. And for some reason a hippo. However, I'm hearing rumors that one or both George mascots will be getting an overhaul this season, welcome news indeed.

LOVE: The ladies of GW who visit McFaddens for Trailer Trash Tuesday $1 beer night.

HATE: The dudes of GW who visit McFaddens for Trailer Trash Tuesday $1 beer night.

The game should be a very good one. We haven't had much luck against them lately - as Matt Whitrock has noted, GW has won the last 4 matchups by 13 points each time. GW is way down again this year, and we're up. Last year, GW beat us (despite 100 screaming BU fans) but lost to both Binghamton and UMBC - that cannot happen again.

Over in enemy territory, the guy at GWhoops.com does a better job of breaking down the BU lineup than I ever could (find "Next: Boston U." on the lefthand side). He's right about the Terriers' front line, but I think he undersells BU's tremendous defense and the ability of Holland and Lowe to completely take over a game.

GW has insanely athletic big men, especially compared to us. The best Colonial is Rob Diggs, who has murdered us in the past few meetings. The other guy on the team that I like is Damian Hollis - he's got a good inside-out game and always seems to be dominating when I watch GW. He can also thrash down a nasty dunk. The problem with Hollis is he always looks like he's asleep. I'm hoping the Hot Dog can make a sign or a chant to that effect. GW is pretty weak on the perimeter and we have a major advantage there, however if you leave him alone Noel Wilmore will sink a 3-ball at the worst possible time.

It'll be interesting to see how Wolff will use the freshmen to combat GW's advantage down low. An article in the Freep today said Wolff might even start O'Brien today! I think all BU fans generally agreed that we thought we'd have a lineup like this:

G Morris
G Lowe
F Wolff
F Holland
C Brittain

If O'Brien starts (in place of Wolff? Brittain?), that would be an interesting way to shake things up. Oh, and the High Roller mentioned it yesterday, but for those out of town, the game will be streamed on the 'net - you have to pay for it but whatev.

My prediction for the game: BU 73 GW 65

[UPDATE] And we have our answer on the starting lineup question. According to the Hot Dog, Scott Brittain will not play tonight due to a concussion sustained in practice this week. This hurts when going up against a team with such a huge inside presence. Look for freshman Jake O'Brien to take Scott's place, with Vlad Sirutis and fellow frosh Jeff Pelage getting serious minutes as well.

That time of the year

Yes, indeed, it's that time of the year again. As Tall-boy explained, we have reason to feel confident again this year.

I remember having that feeling last year, though we finished in the middle of the pack. Still, the team's hard work was rewarded with a thrilling upset over Albany in the tournament. It was the first time in a long time that I'd been at a BU win with that much excitement. Plus, it ended with those morons from Albany who got mohawks leaving the floor feeling like jackasses.

But this year, we'd like to go further, and we have all the parts to make it work (assuming everyone stays healthy). And it all starts tomorrow night at the Greek. I wish I could be there, if not for a chance to see a big Terrier win to start off the season, then to see a live version of "Gangsta's Paradise" after the game.

Additionally, For anyone not living in the northeast, consider buying the All-Access Pass on the BU sports website. I just did, and I know it'll be worth every penny of it. $10 a month, for every home bball game and hockey game, and I'm willing to bet that if you're a bball fan, you're probably a hockey fan too. Even though we're not.

Holy shit the season starts tomorrow, better get a preview in

It's the best day of the whole season: all the excitement and optimism of the upcoming months, before the drag of losses and injuries sets in. Today, we're undefeated. Today, we can all have visions of that magical George Mason/Davidson year that we still think is possible for us. Today, we can envision the huge crowds that will flock to Case and The Greek because the buzz is finally growing around this sure-to-be-special team. Today, we're so sure we're getting that autobid.

Well, that could all change tomorrow if we lose to GW of course. But let's not think about that.

This year's squad returns just about everybody of importance. Not that Ibe wasn't important, because we all know he changed my life as well as yours, but I mean of importance to the success of the team. We've still got our two-time All-AE performer, our HEALTHY 2007-08 AE Rookie of the Year, our reigning AE Rookie of the Year (plus reigning All-Defensive Teamer), our Olympic Hero, our Dunk Champion. Plus we add a couple new guys who seem to have some promise.

Will all these guys (plus one more year of experience and bonding without the distraction of transfer rumors thank God) translate into more wins than last year's campaign? Dennis Wolff seems to think so, and so do I.

Out of Conference Schedule
This year's schedule looks to be a fair bit easier than it was for last year's disastrous 3-9 campaign. Not easy, mind you, but a little easier. As the Wolff-man said, there's a few conference winners on there.

My prediction: 7-3
I think we beat up on Yale, Harvard and St. Peter's, as we should. Delaware, Bucknell and Holy Cross are all down from where they once were, and I think we take em. As for Cornell and the Mount St. Mary's, yes they're conference winners but I think our conference is stronger than both the Ivy and the NEC, so we should be able to beat both. I'm chalking up Marshall and Notre Dame, as much as I loathe them, as losses. That leaves Northeastern, who's up this year, and GW, who's down this year - I think we split those, but I don't know which one we beat.

Conference Schedule
Vermont is going to be loaded. Hartford brings almost everyone back, except for their one big guy, so they're a question mark. Albany loses way too much. Same for UMBC. UNH brings everyone back including a good freshman class, so they're on the upswing. Maine brings almost everyone back, but they're just not as talented overall - they probably stay about the same. Stony Brook lost their only two scorer, so they suck again. And who the eff knows what's going on in that clusterfuck known as Binghamton?

My prediction: 11-5
With everyone from ESPN to Blue Ribbon to the AE coaches picking us to come in first, expectations are high. I think this group can live up to them, with a few minor hiccups along the way.

1. Vermont
2. BU
3. Hartford
4. UNH
5. UMBC
6. Albany
7. Maine
8. Binghamton
9. At this point do I even have to write it?

We're almost there...

I think I just got a boner...

[As regular readers have undoubtedly noticed, the video always starts playing when you visit this site. So I'm taking it down until this post leaves the front page and heads to the archives. You can still see it here. Dear BU, please equip the next video with an off switch. Sincerely, the BU Hoops Blog and its readers.]


... because the BU basketball season is THREE DAYS AWAY!!!

That video makes me want to buy season tickets even though I don't even live in Boston.

PS - I don't even care that it covers up the sidebar, it's a bitchin video.

The n00bs

Coach Dennis Wolff has added two large men to the team this year, and I think it's only appropriate that we talk about them before they start playing for us.

One of last year's new large men was totally lame. Will Creekmore, some turd-flinger from Kansas, came in with gaudy numbers. Turned out those numbers were so gaudy because he was playing against high schoolers in Kansas. Once he came into contact with real men (aka Coach Dennis Wolff) he decided to retreat back to the midwest like some 6'8" Frenchman. The other, Matt Killen, never found the court much last year but at least he's balls enough to stick it out and work harder. He looked badass in the Terrier Tip-off dunk competition and frankly I don't think he got a fair shot. I asked Coach Wolff specifically about Matt this summer and he responded, "I KNOW Matt Killen is gonna be a player here, and a good one... I just don't know when." We're waitin for ya, Matty, no more Killen time. (har har... sigh)

While Killen will seem like a n00b since we saw so little of him last year, these other guys truly have never set foot on the Case Gym floor. The first is Jeff Pelage, who hails from Pompano Beach, FL - one assumes he did not make his recruiting visit to Boston during the months of October - May, otherwise what the hell is he doing up here? Bring some longjohns, pal.

Wolff describes Jeff as a "physical"post player, and I've read in multiple places that he's a "back-to-the-basket" center. From this I surmise that Jeff can't really shoot and will spend this season coming into the game, missing most of his shots, averaging more fouls than minutes and fouling out of every game. But you know what? We need one of those guys, and we haven't had one since Matt Czaplinski, so I say bring it on Jeff.

Our other large freshman is Jake O'Brien. By all accounts, everyone seems to be hyping JOB (new nickname a la "GOB" from Arrested Development). I don't want people to go overboard because of last time, but we're hearing good things. Jake tore it up in high school and was a state champ, just like C-Lowe. Not only that, but Wolff hasn't stopped fluttering since Jake stepped on campus. This summer, he told me that "no other freshman during my time here has made such a smooth adjustment to the college game," and that Jake "will be able to contribute immediately." This coming from a man who does not bestow compliments like that to unproven players willy-nilly. We need a down-low counterpart to Scott Brittain, and Jake would do nicely. Wolff himself says he brings a great ability to step out and hit the 3-ball with regularity, something we haven't had since Ryan Butt strode the pathways of West Campus. When Wolff breaks out the Butt analogy, you know we're in business. And, from a personal standpoint, this unveils a whole second era of Butt jokes.

One thing's holding me back from a full-on, JOB endorsement though. Jake spent his formative high school years at a place called BC High. Yeah, as in Chestnut Hill University High School. I know, I just gagged too. The "Eaglets," as they're known, grow up in the shadow of an Abercrombie-covered monument of sameness that would make me want to gouge my eyes out. Was he brainwashed while at BC High to hate everything about BU? Will he wait until the most important point in the season to suddenly sabotage the team? I kind of feel we should have a really crazy background check/loyalty test, kind of like they might have for the CIA. I guess time will tell on Jake's allegiances. For now, I'm giving JOB the benefit of the doubt, that he saw the superiority of BU from atop his perch at the other end of Comm Ave, and escaped to seek sweet refuge there.

The whole thing makes me wonder though if anybody has ever graduated from BU Academy and gone on to play basketball for Boston College.

The Return of Sully

I had to do a double-take while I was watching the Terrier Tip-Off video last weekend and saw this:

Nevermind his goofy grin and arm flail, but it seems that Brendan Sullivan, who appears to be on the 2008-09 roster, is the same one that appeared on the 2005-06 statistics page. However, all evidence of him has been scrubbed from the 2005-06 roster archive.

Brendan, who was only on the team for one year, was best known for two things:

1)
His 15 point explosion against Rider, where he canned 5 three-pointers, scoring all but 6 of his 21 career points.

2)
The questionable circumstances under which he left the team. After being suspended for team rules, rumors flew about locker room fights between Sully and another member of the team, never substantiated. He ended up missing the last game of the regular season and the entire America East tournament due to his suspension, as mentioned in the Game Notes for the February 26, 2006 game against Hartford. Then, after the season, Brendan either quit the team or was kicked off the team -- we never found out, because he didn't comment for this Freep article.

Who knows what he did between then and now -- but he's back as a junior (did he go to school or play ball for one of those three years?) and he's paying his own way as a walk-on.

So... Brendan did something bad enough to be suspended by Wolff for the remainer of a season and leave the team for "off-court troubles"... and now he's welcomed back by Wolff 3 years later? And where the eff did he go? I'd love to hear more about how this happened.


[Update]: Looks like America Least beat me to the punch on this.

Just The Tip-Off

The Hot Dog does a good job of summarizing Non-Midnight Madness this year, but he cheated since he was actually there. On the other hand I wasted an hour and a half of my Saturday watching the complete video which is helpfully uploaded on the BU site. Little did I realize that many of the highlights are viewable separately, and without some of the grating radio commentary, by going here.

The atmosphere looked pretty good - crazy light systems and whatnot. They collapsed the bleachers on one side, I guess so they could make a crowd that would normally be half-full look, well, full. They should think about doing that against Stony Brook.

New uni's

Looks like the Terriers got new jerseys this year (away ones at least), and get this: they have NAMES on the back. Making the jerseys that the High Roller and I bought last year for 65 bucks charmingly obsolete. I guess they are throwbacks already.

Seems like the names on the back has its pluses and minuses. While it'll be easier to identify our freshmen right away, it may also open our players up to Popoko-style harassment/torture while on the road.

Clear winner: Carlos Strong. His name is badass, you can't argue with someone whose jersey says Strong on it.

Clear loser: Matt Wolff. For those opposing fans that weren't giving Matty a hard time because they forgot he was the coach's kid... sorry Matt.