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.