Halfway Home: The Hartford Preview

Terriers are back from their much-needed week off today, and they're on national TV! The question is, why?

We play Hartford today, and this year Hartford stinks so bad it's more like Fartford. The Hawks sit in last place at 2-6, while BU sits above everyone except Vermont right now. On paper, BU should dominate. But the guys can't rest on their laurels, whatever that means - this one smells like a trap game to me.

The Terriers are on a 4 game winning streak because of the effort they've been putting in every game. We know they are rested, but will they get off to a slow start? The effort level worries me - because while this team can be real good when they try hard, they can be real bad when they don't.

This also represents the halfway mark of the conference season. After this game, BU will have played every team at least once. If you told me at the beginning of the year they would have the chance to play for a record of 6-2, I would have been happy. If you told me that at the beginning of the conference season after we lost TyLos, I would have been ecstatic.

A well-deserved break

The Terriers have been sleeping in their dorms for the past two days, and today they'll finally get back to practice after the most exhausting week I can imagine anyone ever having, except for maybe Michael Phelps circa August 2008.

The Terriers have won 4 in a row to stand atop the AE standings, the most impressive on paper being the blowout road win against Binghamton, who is also tied for 1st. But each of the wins stood out: the big comeback win at Maine, after being down by 18 in the first half; the deja vu game against UMBC only 2 days after the longest game in Boston history; and, of course, the longest game in Boston history.

When I planned my Boston trip this year, I wanted to combine it with several things:

• ** A 3-day weekend (thanks Marty!), which actually turned into a 4-day weekend in the DC area (thanks Barack!)
• ** A BU hockey game, which turned out to be a win over BC (thanks Kim for the front-row seats!)
• ** The AFC and NFC Championship weekend, which has turned into an annual ritual at T's Pub (I refuse to call it by the new name, despite the increased prices for the same mediocre food)
• ** A BU basketball game

Everything was working out in the planning, except that the hoops game was against Stony Brook. Don't get me wrong, I was excited about the prospect of seeing any BU basketball game, expecially at The Roof -- but having it be the Seawolves was a very "ehhhh"-inducing thought.

Obviously, I couldn't have been more delighted about how the game actually turned out.

Though I respect the current student section, we snagged front-row seats where we used to have the students -- Section 4, directly across from the BU bench. Truth be told, the majority of the game was sort of forgettable. I remember thinking at half-time, "Wow, this game is going so fast. I can't believe I came all this way for a BU-Stony Brook game and now it's almost over." Later, in the second half, Stony Brook kept chipping away at our league, and I started thinking, "Oh my God, we could lose to Stony Brook today."

Stony Brook actually took the lead briefly at the end of the second half, and after that everything was a blur. Scott Brittain made a spinning post move and got fouled on a critical possession in the final minute, and people started getting raucous. Then came the ridiculous buzzer-beater 3-pointer on the other side, which shut most people up but I was ecstatic because it meant that I didn't have to go home yet.

The next hour was filled with jumping out of my chair into the aisle every time John Holland or Corey Lowe made a huge 3-pointer, and slumping back into my seat every time Stony Brook answered. Holding my breath when Corey went coast-to-coast to tie it with 4 seconds left. Matt Wolff's rimmed-out half court heave at the second OT buzzer was a heart-in-the-throat moment. It's also when the ladies that accompanied our group started wondering when the damn game was going to be overwith.

When we were down by 5 in the second OT, I thought it was over but Corey put the entire team on his back and forced a fourth. When we were up by 7 in the fourth OT, I thought it was over but Stony Brook clawed back once again, and the girls got that Oh-God-Here-Comes-Number-Five look in their eyes. But a SBU put-back (which really should have gone in) rimmed out, and there was joy. BU wins, 99-97.

Corey decided during the overtimes that he was not letting BU lose the game. It was amazing to watch. John made some ridiculous rainbow 3-pointers. There was some fun jawing back and forth between Corey and the talented Stony Brook freshmen.

The game made national news, especially since Johnny played all 60-minutes. Bob Ryan was in the house, and you could tell he wanted the damn game to end, but he came out the next day with a good story in the Globe.

But what totally distinguished this extraordinary athletic event is that this wasn't merely your, pardon the expression, "ordinary" four-overtime game. This was one of the most competitive strings of overtimes any two teams have played.

Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports called up to interview John:

"I'm definitely a little tired," said Holland, who finished with 29 points and seven boards in the win. "It was a battle. I was just looking for ways to stay energetic and motivated."

Kyle Whelliston at Mid-Majority weighed in with the numerical implications of BU's recent extra sessions:

A lot of people sent this one in, and we'll get to another mailbag soon I promise once things get settled down again, but Boston University certainly has played its share of overtime games lately. Last night at the venerable and historic Roof, the Terriers outlasted America East champions UMBC in an 80-77 double-OT thriller-chiller. This game just three days after a four-overtime win over Stony Brook. John Holland played all 60 minutes!

Add in earlier OT wins over George Washington and Bucknell, and BU has played eight overtime periods this year. It probably doesn't surprise you to know that that leads the nation, but there are three previously tied teams with six: William & Mary, Idaho State and Bucknell. And there are the 129 squads that haven't played any extra periods at all.

Boston University has already tied last year's national high in overtime periods with about two months to go in the season -- Quinnipiac played eight of them in 2007-08. BU's next OT period would match the endurance kings of recent memory, the Indiana State Sycamores of 2005-06. They played nine extra frames.

ESPN Radio called after the game to talk to Coach Wolff, and I still haven't heard it since I don't have ESPN.com Insider. The game was mentioned at the end of SportsCenter and was a headline on ESPN.com's men's hoop page for a few days.

All said, this was the most intense basketball game I've ever been at. I'm really glad I didn't change the trip to Boston just because of Stony Brook. Everyone who was there will remember this one for a looooooong time.

But the Terriers forgot about it quickly and closed out the win with two wins after that, including 2 more OT's (ho-hum) against UMBC and the comeback in Maine. The team showed it could show some grit when the going got tough and win some close games. The most important thing now is keeping up that momentum and turning it into more wins. Right after the team wakes up from it's well-deserved rest.

The Quest For a 40-Minute Game: The Maine Preview

After playing 6 OT periods in the last two games, our boys have got to be beat. But to keep up with Binghamton in the standings, we need to bus it up to Maine and take care of business.

Maine's always been kind of a middle-of-the-pack team, but the way this season is going for us, I'm not sure what to expect. You've got to think that fatigue is going to catch up with the team on a lazy Sunday like today, and that either Corey or Holland with have a bad game (In the last two games, they've played 105 and 104 minutes, respectively), but wouldn't it be great if that didn't happen?

The way I (and probably most everyone else) see it, Dennis Wolff better start utilizing the bench more if he wants to avoid Corey, John, and JOB burning out before the tournament rolls around.


A few predictions for you:

-BU will be up by 12 at half-time, and slowly let the Black Bears crawl back into it in the second half.
-Corey Lowe will go 6-24 from three-point range.
-Sherrod Smith gets 1 minute of play and will be lucky to score a basket.
-Scott Brittain get's a double-double.
-BU wins 80-77 (in OT, of course)

UPDATE (1:04 EST, 1/24/09) : Just heard on the radio that Sherrod Smith is out with flu-like symptoms. So much for that prediction.

This Will Never Top the Last Game: The UMBC Preview

I still haven't gotten over last Monday's ridiculous win over Stony Brook. In fact, it took so much out of me that immediately afterward I contracted the worst flu virus ever. I am still now recovering from the flu (and the game), which is why I still haven't written about it. That's coming, along with photos, very soon.

But for now, we'll talk about tonight's UMBC game. The only thing about the last game that's relevant now is how tired our guys might be. John Holland played 60 (brilliant) minutes, and every other started played at least 47, because BU only played 7 guys in the whole game.

Luckily, the Retrievers also limit themselves to about 7 guys. Not only that, but a couple of them are hurt, including the best point guard in the conference Jay Greene. Greene had a concussion and it's unclear if he'll play... but based on Scott Brittain's experience, it may be weeks before he plays up to his potential again.

This is not last year's UMBC squad. These guys are not going to rip through the conference again. Maybe they'll repeat as champs, but it'll be a lot flukier if it happens this time. They are already 2-3 with losses to Stony Brook and New Hampshire, plus a blowout to Vermont.

With both teams shorthanded, I like the Terriers in this one.

THE ROOF!!!: The Stony Brook Preview

For those who were wondering, no you can't use the GSU's wireless network without being a student. Lame. I eventually wandered down to Bruegger's Bagels in Kenmore, which for the price of a cup of soup and a Nantucket Nectar allowed me to plop down for the whole Binghamton game.

Gotta say, I was not expecting to watch the game I saw. I was expecting something similar to the Vermont game, since Binghamton has been real good lately, and just beat UVM at their place. No, the Terriers decided to come out swinging, dominating from wire-to-wire in a blowout.. WTF. John Holland, as usual lately, led the Terriers with 28... he's averaging close to 25 per game since TyLos went down! He has been a beast. The team has been a roller-coaster ride.

Although I've watched almost every game on the 'net, today is the first time this season I'll watch the Terriers live. Pathetic, I know. And it's Stony Brook, but that's just the way the timing worked out. And even though Stony Brook has shown a little feistiness this year... it's still Stony Brook.

More exciting is the fact that the game is at The Roof. When the flashy new kid comes to town (Agganis), you kind of forget about Old Reliable. A place that nurtured my love of Terrier basketball. Over the last few years, I've somehow managed to make it to Boston only for games at The Greek... I think because I planned around the biggest games (Vermont, Michigan, UMass, etc). So I haven't been to a game at The Roof in years... and I've been missing out.

The chance to be sitting within body-odor range of the players. Sitting anywhere you want. The little concession booth out in the hallway. It's all great. Walking up those steps to the ticket-takers from the West Campus dorms, hearing the band playing inside and knowing that the Terrier basketball experience is right through those gym doors -- it's a feeling of anticipation I grew to love during my time at BU, and I'm pumped to get to re-live it today. Even if it's against Stony Brook.

I Give Up

That's right, I give up. Not on this season, but on trying to understand this team. This season has been like an elevator ride (up and down), and it's hard to foresee what will happen. That said, I'm pleasantly surprised by today's game. Hell, I didn't even know there was a game, but when at a bar today I saw the bottom line scores and that BU beat up on that other BU? I nearly shat myself.

John Holland had another magnificent game, netting 28 points. Corey Lowe scored close to his average. Jake O'Brien is still making his case for the all-rookie team. The team came together for an 81-64 beatdown in Binghamton. But when we host Stony Brook Monday night, will we be able to score 80 points?

The point is, who the hell knows how this season is going to play out? Will the pre-season #1 pick show up Monday night night, or the team that got blown out by Cornell and Holy Cross? Either way, I'm kind of enjoying this demented ride of a season.

Back To My Roots: The Binghamton Preview

Tough loss to take, last time out at The Greek. BU, and by BU I mean John Holland, played pretty well in the first half, building up a big lead. But at the end of the half, Vermont started doing full court press pretty much every time and it started working. They kept this up for the entire second half, and we had no answer.

The lead kept ssssssssssslipping away, and we were helpless. It was so obvious we were helpless against the press that when we were down 5, it felt like 25 and I knew there was no way we were coming back. Dennis Wolff called it "caving in" but I think they just ran out of gas.

The turning point, I believe, was the stoppage in play after Marqus Blakely stole the ball from Matt Wolff, Matt tried to grab it back, and then a pile-up ensued on the floor. Anybody else get the feeling that the game felt different before and after that play? I feel like several minutes of standing around got us out of any rhythm we may have been establishing.

But the real problem was handling the press. And here's the reason we couldn't handle the ball coming up the floor: WE HAD NO BALLHANDLERS. When you put 4 forwards out there with 1 guard, teams are going to take advantage.

So here's my plea for today's game in Bing: start Marques Johnson, and let him play. He can handle the rock.

Today I'm back in Boston for the first time in a year, for some kind of alumni weekend+football watching+general drunkenness. Unfortunately the Terriers are not in Boston. So I'm going to do the right thing and watch the game online in the GSU. You can purchase the video from Binghamton here, beware of homer announcers. Question: Does the GSU have free wireless for anyone, or am I going to have to go across to Espresso Royale?

Marqus vs. Johnny: The Vermont Preview

I'm excited about tonight's game. The preseason #1 and #2 face off, and neither looks as good as they did back then. BU is missing some pieces and went through a rough patch, and Vermont somehow started out 0-2 with losses to Binghamton and Albany.

Truth be told, I thought Vermont was going to steamroll the entire league this year. They've got all the pieces in place to be really good. Then again, I thought BU had all the pieces too.

The Terrier-Catmounter matchups always seem to be tight and low-scoring (especially at The Greek). Read this Boston Examiner article for an example of the type of game that usually results. This time around, I hope to see a little less "low-scoring" and a little more "Lowe scoring."

The aforementioned article mentions that The Greek has plagued UVM in previous visits. Indeed, Vermont is the only regular season opponent we've actually beaten there. Much has been said about the Agganis Curse... but this is our 4th game this year in the building, the same number as in the Roof. Time to find a new excuse.

The main attraction for tonight's game comes down to this:

VS.

Marqus Blakely and John Holland, while not the same player, have a lot of similarities. John broke out toward the end of his freshman year, Marqus showed flashes at the end of his freshman year then broke out bigtime his sophomore year. Both can thrown down unbelievable highlight reel dunks. Both are averaging 15 points per game, just behind the their point guard for the team lead. Both were recognized for their defense last year on the AE All-Defensive Team.

That said, John has a great jump shot and Marqus does not. Marqus is unstoppable in the paint and John is not. They probably won't be guarding each other at all tonight, as BU has gone almost exclusively to the zone, thanks to the recent injuries and a short bench. But just having both these performers on the floor turns the potential for amazing plays up to 11.

Thanks for joining us, Mr. Brittain

BU's new look offense necessarily runs through the paint a lot more than the old one did. When you lose two of your best shooting guards, that's what happens.

That's why the re-emergence of Scott Brittain from the brink of obscurity couldn't have been timed more perfectly.


Scott had been a complete non-factor all season, after he started with his head injury. He scored a high of 3 points in the team's first 12 games. He played 7 minutes each in the humiliating losses to Delaware and Cornell. He didn't even get into the game during the humiliating loss to Holy Cross! Not only did the concussion slow him down from the start, but Coach wasn't happy with his effort/progress in practice which is why he wasn't getting any minutes. Coach said before the season that he was going to hardest on Scott out of anyone - he said that by the end of the season, he was going to either turn him into an All-Conference player, he was going to hate his coach's guts. For the first half of the season, I'm sure it was the latter.

But when TyLos went down, Scott was asked to step up out of necessity, and he responded. He played 26 minutes against Albany, scoring 10 points with 7 rebounds. He followed that with 15 points in the blowout of UNH. Maybe he's scoring more just because there are less options on the floor -- but he's looked a lot better out there... more agressive, less tentative.

How has this happened? Modern medicine still doesn't know everything about concussions. Although Scott was medically cleared to play after two games, he hasn't looked "right" until now. Maybe it just took him a full couple of months to clear his head. Or maybe Wolff's yelling at him in practice finally got through to him. Maybe he saw two of his teammates go down, see how bad they wish they were on the court, and realize he needs to make the most of his opportunity to be out there since he's able to play.

Whatever it is, keep it up Scotty!

Back to .500 in America East!

There's nothing like inviting UNH to town, if you want to ditch that 5-game losing streak.

Thanks to the Mild Cats, BU is back on the right track after a 31-point thrashing in The Roof. We didn't seem to be suffering ill effects, at least for this game, from the absence of TyLos. And we got a glimpse of how Dennis plans to run the team for the rest of the year without them.

Sadly, the Rod will not be a large part of the plans. Neither will Tunde. However, the Rod got a good 4 minutes of burn against UNH -- 4th man off the bench!! He's been a player Wolff has thrown in to a game in years past when he gets REALLY pissed at guys 1-8 in the lineup, and I expect that to continue this year.

In other news, John Holland is a man. Probably my favorite thing in the world is watching him play tight D at the top of the zone, watching him tip a pass and chase it into the backcourt -- and for about 2.5 seconds being overcome by goosebumps knowing that John Holland is about to throw down a ferocious breakaway dunk. Nice feeling.

Johnny scored 25 in both games last week - the 25 in the loss to Albany was almost more impressive since he was missing Corey Lowe and was trying to carry the team across the finish line by himself. But both games served notice that JH23 is out of his slump and can go toe-to-toe with any player in America East. For his efforts, John was rewarded with his second America East Player of the Week, and I salute him.

Big Bounce Back: The New Hampshire Preview

What can we expect from the rest of the season? Don't ask me.

I thought the depleted Terriers would come out against Albany and pretty much lay down and die, and they responded with one of their most inspired efforts of the season. John Holland and Marques Johnson put the team on their backs, and if not for the benching of Corey Lowe they would have won the game.

The loss almost hurt more because I felt like they deserved it. A tough final minute by Scott Brittain, which contributed to the team's collapse, obscured his best game of the season and hopefully a sign of good things to come for Scott.

The final shot at the buzzer by Matt Wolff didn't fall. He's not my first choice for the last shot, but Holland and JOB were covered pretty well. It wasn't until BU was inbounding the ball with 8 seconds left, down by 1 point, that I remembered a healthy Corey Lowe was sitting on the bench and I was sad.

The Terriers, and John Holland in particular, were despondent after the tough loss, and today's game against New Hampshire will be an indicator if they can bounce back. Could the tough loss of two players be a catalyst for more focused play the rest of the season?

Sorry, Marques

I thought you were going to be horrible as our starting point guard, but I take it back. Thursday night against Albany, you showed that we can still run an offense, even without Tyler controlling the ball.

You lead our offense for 40 minutes and didn't turn the ball over ONCE. You even scored 7 points, 7 assists, and out-rebounded everyone else on our team (by the way, in terms of rebounds, BU 27-Albany 44. Can't win when that happens).

So I'm sorry I doubted you. After Thursday's performance, I feel somewhat safe with you running the point. Our season doesn't have to be a total loss, even though we're at a disadvantage without Tyler and Carlos.

My apologies,
High Roller

Debut of the New Look Terriers: The Albany Preview

I was planning to do a recap review of the entire out-of-conference season, but any games played before today hardly even seem relevant anymore.

I know that the BU Athletic Dept still hasn't confirmed any injuries, or the fact that Corey won't play tonight, but I'm taking the Hot Dog at his word. The kid once transported a t-shirt 350 miles for me, for crying out loud. So assuming he's right, how do the events of *Black Thursday* change this team?

Short answer is: Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck... A slightly longer answer is: it will change the team a lot.

BU's bread-and-butter (when we were still making bread and butter at the beginning of the season) was always the perimeter game. Big time 3-point shooters. That's what opposing defenses focused on. Now, Corey Lowe is our only 3-point shooting guard. Yes, JH23 and JOB can go long-range, but they're are forwards, so they have other responsibilities too (ahem, rebounding, ahem...). And Corey isn't even playing tonight!!

Marques Johnson will be running the point from now on. Marques cannot shoot 3's with any regularity. Who else is there tonight? Sherrod Smith, Tunde, Sam Tully and Michael Schulze have a combined 2 career 3-pointers, both by Sherrod (who sports a .111 3FG%). Brendan Sullivan, not a guard but another walkon, at least has 5 in his career, albeit all during one magical night at Rider. Bottom line: We are not getting production from the 1 or the 2 positions tonight, unless one of the traditional starters (Holland or Matt Wolff) shifts over.

Probable starters, I'm guessing:
G Johnson
F Wolff
F Holland
F O'Brien
F Brittain (maybe Pelage?)

That's a big lineup - 4 forwards, 1 guard. This completely changes the offense into a post-oriented one. The emergence of JOB and Jeff Pelage, along with the leftover talent that we know Scott Brittain has (need ya know, buddy), makes that the strength of this team. Do we even have plays designed to get the ball into the post?!?!

For those wanting to see D'Wolff gone from the sideline, you'll get to see what kind of coaching mind he has tonight... for better or worse.


The High Roller is stuck at work and cannot blog, but weighed in on today's occurrences via text message. A few choice nuggets of wisdom:

• First off, im excited 2 c the rod get some decent time. I always like seeing him play
• I cant think of ne more positives. Thir is a horrible situation all around
• I still dont get why hes benching corey. If hes trying to make a point its not working
• Also I think marquez wil5 be a disaster

So there you have it. The High Roller has a knack for seeing the big picture, spelling errors or not.

And you know what? I'm so burnt out by all this stuff that I can't even thing about our opponent tonight, Albany. So no scouting report or anything. Just know that they lost their 3 or 4 best players from last year when we KNOCKED THEM OFF IN OVERTIME IN THE TOURNAMENT and so they've got a lot of new contributors. None of which I know much or anything about. Read what this guy has to say.

Anyway, it's still my job to root for the Terriers, so GO BU, and.... this should be interesting.

"No, the season didn't die... it just went to go live with a nice farm family"

Thanks to a scoop from the Hot Dog, we now know that:

A) I was wrong about Corey - he's BENCHED for the Albany game
B) Tyler Morris is OUT FOR THE YEAR with a torn ACL.
C) Carlos Strong is OUT FOR THE YEAR with a torn meniscus.

Fuck.

First, I feel for the guys who got hurt, especially Tyler. Ever since he got to BU, the kid can't stay healthy long enough to tie his shoelaces. He was the heart and soul of the team during his Rookie of the Year season, and it killed him last year when he wasn't able to contribute -- this is going to be even worse on him.

This team was going to have a hard enough road getting back to its old form... now it has to try it without two of our best players. For a season that started with so much promise and potential... this is a real shame.

Neither Carlos nor Tyler had been playing up to his potential yet this year - but they are important players that contribute a lot to this team. Suddenly, our backcourt -- which was the supposed strength of the Terriers -- is now missing two of its best shooters.

Marques Johnson will now play the point position for about 38 minutes per game. Before this happened, I was going to suggest getting Marques more minutes on the floor as a way to help the offense flow a little better - now we'll be getting it whether we like it or not.

But suppose Marques or Corey needs a break, or gets into foul trouble, or God-forbid gets injured... who comes into the game? Of the remaining guards on the roster, Sherrod Smith leads in minutes played with... 2. Total. For the season. And even he's more of a wing player. Could this be the emergence of the mythical, rarely-seen but never-verified Sam Tully, or --dare I say it-- Tunde??

Oh man, we're in trouble...

Wolff might sit Corey against Albany... but I don't believe it

The Albany Times-Union is reporting (via Albany message board Big Purple Fans) that Coach Wolff is considering benching Corey in tomorrow's game at Albany:

It will be a “game-time decision” whether Boston University junior guard Corey Lowe will play at the University at Albany on Thursday night, according to BU assistant sports information director Scott Ellis.

Boston U. head coach Dennis Wolff is thinking about sitting Lowe, the team’s leading scorer at 17.6 points per game, because he was ejected from the Terriers’ 19-point loss to Holy Cross last Friday. Lowe received two technicals, one for shoving a Holy Cross player and one for arguing with an official.

Couple things - I thought both fouls were for talking to the refs after questionable foul calls, not shoving anybody. And I don't think he was ejected, he just racked up 5 fouls including the T's, so he fouled out. Some conferences have a rule that if a player accumulates 2 technicals in a game, he must sit out the next game -- however, the America East does not have this rule.

I highly doubt Wolff will sit his best player for this very important game. The main reason for this is that I don't think he was that mad about it! After the second technical, which was given for almost nothing done on Corey's part, Wolff didn't even look mad - I think he was happy one of his players cared enough to get fired up. And after the first technical, Wolff was so ripshit about the call that he HIMSELF got T'd up for arguing it.

Here's what's going on: Opponents have been focusing on tightly defending Corey Lowe on the perimeter over the last few games, which is a big reason why he's been off his game and our 3-pt shooting has suffered. If Wolff can plant the seed of doubt that Corey might not play, that forces Albany's Coach Will Brown to create a whole new defensive gameplan, instead of devoting all their practice/scouting toward stopping Lowe. Why else would he have his S.I.D. just deliver that information to an Albany journalist?? I'm thinking Dennis is engaging in a little gamesmanship here.

Wolff has benched players before, so it's possible - but count me surprised if Corey doesn't play tomorrow.

Whose fault is it?

This team is bad right now and looks like it's getting worse... thank God we're not playing NJIT this week. I don't think this season is a lost cause by any stretch -- at this point last year, things looked even more hopeless before it got turned around.

But a change needs to happen, and with the first conference game coming up on Thursday NOW is the time for it to happen.

Whose fault is it when the team falls behind by double-digits during the opening 5 minutes in back-to-back blowout losses due to defense -- the coaches drawing up the scheme and doing the scouting, or the players out there executing (or not executing, as the case may be)?

Whose fault is it that players reach for loose balls and go after rebounds with the intensity of a basset hound rather than a hyperactive Boston terrier -- the young ADULTS who are getting paid (tuition) to exert effort toward winning ballgames, or the coaches who are paid actual money (and in BU's case, a hefty chunk of it) in return for motivating these individuals?

Whose fault is it that the same players, shots and playbook that delivered 83 points on the road against Northeastern, a very good team, could manage barely half that at home 1 month later against Holy Cross, a very poor team?

I'm not inside Dennis Wolff's head. Nor am I inside John Holland's, Tyler Morris's, Scott Brittain's or Matt Wolff's. So I don't know what the problem is. And since the team has been bad for a few weeks now, apparently neither do they. If they did I'm sure the situation would be rectified.

This team has the tools -- players and coaches -- to be good, maybe even great. Nobody's getting fired during this season, and nobody's transferring away. These are the guys we're going to win with or lose with this year.

The real question is -- when is someone going to decide that in the end it really doesn't matter whose fault it is, and just fix it?

OK Maybe the Sky is Falling: The Holy Cross Preview

I cautioned people not to overreact to the back-to-back Notre Dame and Delaware losses. Well, now it might be time to start worrying.

The 30-point shellacking at the hands of an Ivy League school, good as they may be, was upsetting. There were clearly defensive breakdowns very early, and once we got down by 28-5, there was no looking back. I do believe the team was trying hard to get back in the game, but that was an impossible deficit. And they had nobody in the middle to answer their 7-footer.

I salute the efforts of Matt Wolff, who has shown the most hustle during this winning streak, and Tyler Morris, who has been averaging over 10 points over the last 5 games. Jeff Pelage played his best game against Cornell with 8 points and 8 boards.

You gotta wonder about John Holland, who has been absent lately, and Scott Brittain, who is still a non-factor this season. Wolff even benched Holland in favor of Carlos, which didn't have the desired effect on either of them.

Holy Cross has owned us lately - and we've sucked at The Greek this year. Signs point to a rough game for the Terriers, but we'll see if they can put it back together.

The Cornell Reaction

Originally, my recap post of the Cornell game was just going to be a Youtube clip of someone puking. I couldn't find one that was able to get my feelings across, and finally decided to stop watching videos of people puking.

Suffice to say, that was a disgusting game. I usually stick it out, but this time I stopped listening to the game once we were down 29 points sometime in the first half.

I believe in this team, even when there are plenty of signs that I shouldn't. That's why I'm going to chalk this loss up to the Terriers still being in holiday/vacation mode.

Let's pray that this 30 point loss is our worst game of the season. It's a new year, let's start it off right against Holy Cross tonight.