At least our girlfriends still love us

Yesterday, BU lost to Cleveland State in one of the most excruciating losses I can remember, 63-62.  The Terriers allowed an 11-point lead with less than 10 minutes left evaporate into thin air, thanks to some shoddy FT shooting down the stretch, a clock operator mistake, and then a terrible inbound plus a foul with 5 seconds left.  Read the gory details here.

Cleveland State came into the game as 10-point favorites over BU (which is more than Pitt was favored over Penn), armed with a win over a Top-10 team and coming in at #26 in the most recent AP poll.  Make no mistake, this would have been a HUGE win for BU.  This would have been the closest we'd come to a win over a ranked team since the magical run of '59.

Most deserving of a turd sandwich are the guards from the scarlet and white.  Darryl Partin played well overall (yes, he's now the #7 scorer in the nation), but man we've got to hit the free throws, and in the second half he didn't.  I think we got spoiled last year by John Holland and his 90% FT percentage closing out games.  This was a problem in the close Northeastern loss too.  And you know what else was a problem from that game?  Inbounding the ball, which became a problem at the worst possible time against Cleveland State.  With 5.5 seconds left and a one-point lead, even on a second try, we have to get the ball in (I'm referring to you, Matt Griffin).  There are no excuses for that, especially with a time out sitting in our back pocket.

I can't think of many worse ways to lose a game:

- opposing player tells you he's been cheating with your girlfriend as he skies in for a game-winning dunk.

- ref awards technical FTs to the other team after hearing you swear in reaction to finding out your girlfriend cheated on you.

- while cheating on you with the opposing coach, your girlfriend tells him all of the team's last second inbounding plays, leading to a turnover and bucket.

Basically, all the worse ways of losing a game involve finding out your girlfriend cheated on you.  This was a tough loss. 

Pat's Meaner Demeanor

Pat Hazel played an underrated role in BU's championship run last year.  He doesn't put up big offensive numbers, but over the last half of the season he became a force in the middle of the defense.  In the end, I guess he was accurately rated because he was awarded a spot on the AE All-Defensive Team.

But while Pat hasn't registered any blocks yet on the season, we've seen renewed vigor on the offensive side as he is scoring 7.5 points per game in the young season.  One thing I noticed during the Northeastern game was some really solid inside moves and nifty footwork by Pat when he got the ball.  This was against NU's very athletic and tall interior line.  If Pat can keep showing aggression and using these moves to get to the basket, he could make an impact on offense this year.

The key with Pat, as always, is making sure he stays clear enough from foul trouble to continue being a factor.

We still don't know if Dom Morris is going to get around to utilizing his size to get inside (instead of chucking up 3-pointers over and over and over...).  Cornell has some height on the interior, but they aren't athletic as the Northeastern or Texas front lines.  This game should be a good test of whether we can be successful scoring with our bigs.

Packed to the Gills: The Northeastern Review

Let's get this out of the way.  We lost to one of our main rivals, in overtime.  It sucked.  Moving on...

This needs to be said: I've never seen the Roof packed like that in my life - and I've been to two America East Championship games there.  Every seat was filled, and people kept streaming in.  Kids were filling every aisle, stuffing every corner of the gym and basically hanging off the rafters.  I'm not sure how many standing room tickets were sold, but I'm damn glad the fire marshal didn't show up tonight.  Terriers, PLEASE keep this up!

The BU student section was phenomenal, the best I've ever seen it.  It was huge, it was loud, and it was on its feet the whole game.  Northeastern brought a nice little contingent as well, which made for a REALLY fun college basketball atmosphere.  Chants back and forth, screaming no matter who was scoring or had momentum.  I must admit I questioned the NU students' decision to remove all their shirts during the overtime period, considering their various physiques (flabby/manboobs or scrawny nicole ritchie types)... but hey they won the game so maybe that was the right play.

As for the basketball itself, BU showed some flashes but we have a ways to go before we're a really good team. Lots of dumb mistakes tonight - holding onto the ball after a rebound, free-throws, inbounding???  It was pretty obviously the first game of the season, because things looked rusty.

But I saw good things too.  DJ Irving and Darryl Partin showed the type of scoring versatility that we'll need from them this year.  I thought Pat Hazel was very solid, on offense and defense, when he wasn't picking up fouls.  Mattt Griffin came up with some huge 3-pointers in the last couple minutes.  The freshmen Chionuma and Kennedy showed glimpses of why they're so highly touted in the few minutes of action they got. 

And that comeback from 11 points down with 3 or 4 minutes to go??  Very gutsy.  That alley-oop tip-in to Hazel with 1.1 seconds left was INCHES from ending that game.

I like this team.  They'll get better and make some noise this year, count on it.

#9 Egregiously Omitted Summer Story: 2011-12 Schedule released

Every year, we wait patiently to see what kind of goodies the OOC-Fairy has left in our Schedule Basket.  And this year, after many years of waiting, she has left us a particularly tasty morsel:  a date with our ugly step-sister up the road, the Eagles of Boston College (sucks!).

In real life, a date with a maiden this hideous would be the stuff nightmares are made of... she shows up late, her breath smells of garlic and funyuns, she has a zit the size of North Dakota on the old honker, she won't STFU about her lame-ass job, and to top if off she won't even let you get to second base in the backseat of your Honda on the way home.  In short, she sucks.

But in college basketball world, this is our dream date.  Our Terriers have wanted a piece of these Beagles since BC cut off the series in 2004 after a too-close-for-comfort 6-point victory at home.  And whether this change of heart is due to their new head coach or just a much-needed sack enlargement procedure, we're glad it's happening this year.  Why?  Because they are going to SUCK even more than usual!!  In the traditional sense, of losing games.  On their web site's front page alone, it trumpets the news of 1) being picked 12th a.k.a. LAST in their conference-- and 2) squeaking out their exhibition game by 4 points over something called American International College.  I don't want to get ahead of myself, but this could be a real fun year to face Chestnut Hill University.

The schedule also provides other delights.  We travel down to Austin to play Texas on the Longhorn Network, cause of much chagrin amongst Texas A&M, the Pac-12 and other parties. For some reason we travel to Philly THREE SEPARATE TIMES, to play at Villanova, St. Joe's and LaSalle - here's hoping the boys don't gorge themselves on cheesesteaks.  We play a very solid slate of good mid-major programs, highlighted by the 3-day Legends Classic against Rhode Island, Hofstra and Cleveland State - I will be personally lobbying hard for a road trip to that one.  And of course, we open against our rivals from the dirty side of Boston.

Here is the out-of-conference schedule in its entirety:

11/11/11 vs. Northeastern
11/13/11 at Texas
11/20/11 at Cornell
11/25/11 vs. Cleveland State
11/26/11 at Rhode Island
11/27/11 vs. Hofstra
11/30/11 vs. Delaware
12/03/11 at Boston College
12/07/11 at Saint Joseph's
12/10/11 vs. Harvard
12/13/11 at Villanova
12/22/11 vs. Bucknell
12/29/11 at La Salle
12/31/11 at Quinnipiac

#11 Egregiously Omitted Summer Story: BU AD Mike Lynch joins twitter

Big news from the world of social media, as BU's reclusive chieftain of sport Mike Lynch has joined the ranks of such luminaries as @KourtneyKardash, @charliesheen, and @shitmydadsays.

I'm impressed to note that the tweets appear to be authentic and written by Mr. Lynch himself -- however, the page lacks the "Verified Account" badge as yet so I'll reserve final judgment on that.

You can follow him here:  http://twitter.com/#!/BU_AD_MLynch

While the AD's tweets so far have mainly trumpeted the achievements of the various BU athletic teams (and there's certainly nothing wrong with that!), I'm hoping his account will consist of more than PR pablum and we get to see an insiders view of the department and its day-to-day vision and strategy.  This is something the fans desperately want.  We need more than the date and time of the next basketball game... we need our leaders' true feelings on the outcome, what he ate at the game, what he thought of a clever fan chant, or whether the refs screwed us.  I'd also love to know if the AD at Boston College has been a dick about scheduling a basketball game at The Greek, or if the AD feels the same way about Northeastern as the rest of us do.

One disappointment so far:  As of this writing, nothing from Mr. Lynch as to the failure of BU to be swept up in the conference realignment madness.  Looking forward to his thoughts about how the trickle down could aid BU's rise to collegiate athletic dominance.

"Boy, That was an Egregious Failure of Blog Stewardship"

If there is one thing this blog is known for, it's taking it easy over the summer. In fact, I never even write about the final game of the season, mostly because I'm depressed about it -- as Kyle says, "it always ends in a loss." Depression + Laziness = Dormant Blog.

This summer, the absence was even more inexcusable than usual. Some serious shit happened around here! And I was off learning how to do the Party Rock Anthem dance, or somesuch. So it all went undocumented... here at least, which is all that matters.

So I'm ready to make amends and make sacrifices and make it up to you... right after I make a sandwich for lunch. Starting this afternoon, I'll count down the Top 12 Things I Neglected to Write About Over the Summer, in order of egregiousness of the omission. They'll range from "Eh, Even the Best of Blogs Let a Story or Two Slip By" to "WTF, What is the Point of Having a Blog if You're Not Writing About This?"

#12: H.J. Gaskins leaves the team
#11: BU AD Mike Lynch joins twitter
#10: Hot Dog and Jesus break blog silence
#9: 2011-12 Schedule released
#8: Class of 2016 shaping up
#7: Touted frosh join the team
#6: BU selected Pre-Season #1
#5: JOB has foot surgery
#4: John Holland graduates
#3: BU keeps it close with Kansas
#2: Pat Chambers leaves
#1: Joe Jones enters

All this leading up to the much anticipated kickoff to the season this Friday against the odious Huskies of Northeastern. Come with me!

What Can We Count On

IT'S BACK!!!

Yes, BU basketball comes back tonight. But there is an air of unfamiliarity about the team this year. For the first time in 5 years, Tyler Morris won't be hustling down the court - he was as close to being the "rock" of BU basketball as you can get. You could always count on Tyler being there and giving it all, from his Rookie of the Year to his outstanding performance in the CBI to finish his career.

No, we won't have Tyler to serve as our rock this year. We won't have the tumultous presence of Corey Lowe - the will he or won't he transfer rumors, the conflicts with coaches, the nagging injuries. Sure you couldn't "count" on Corey, but you felt better knowing the erstwhile Big East point guard was there. We can't count on the gritty determination and potential of a Carlos Strong coming off the bench, the steadiness of a Scott Brittain in the middle, the character of a Tunde Agboola, the confusion that was Brendan Sullivan, the adorableness of a Mike Schulze.

Right now, we can only count on one man, one force: John Holland.

This team will go as far as JH23 can take them. He's undoubtedly the best player in the America East. Coach Chambers declined to make him a team captain (opting instead for 2 guys who have never suited up!) because he didn't want to give John any additional pressure on top of the load he is going to have to carry. Is he up for the challenge?

We don't really know what he'll have in terms of help yet. Jake is a good player but one peg lower. Pelage is another peg below that. But that's it! Will Griffin, Partin and most importantly Pat Hazel be able to help? I have no idea. Will some of freshmen step up? We now have a DJ and a Malik -- great basketball names -- so that bodes well. Early reviews on Travis Robinson and Dom Morris are promising.

Tonight we see if we can turn some of that promise into performance. Northeastern is a team in a remarkably similar situation. Like BU, they have only 3 upperclassmen who were there last year, and a ton of underclassmen. Two things BU has in their favor:

1) They didn't lose their best player. NU did (Matt Janning).
2) They don't go to Northeastern (always a plus)

BU has won the last 2 crosstown matchups in a row. I think this will be a close game, like last year's overtime win at Case, but extremely sloppy due to two inexperienced teams.

Guys, we NEED this win. I hate Northeastern. Do us fans a solid and start this season off with a win.

WILL BU WIN TONIGHT?
Magic 8-Ball sez:

Shock! BU will not play MAAC Bracketbuster

OMG.

Yes it's still boring, but amazingly BU will NOT play a crappy MAAC team in this year's Bracketbuster!! We get to travel to Delaware instead (Hi... I'm in Delaware....).

After catching St. Peter's and Iona, we finally get someone else. And that someone else is a team we have played the last two years in a row, but whatever!

BU will attempt to extend its 2-0 all-time record in Bracketbuster games against a team that is actually pretty crappy. Delaware is sitting near the basement of the Colonial at 6-16 (2-9 in conference) and a lovely RPI of 205. In terms of common opponents, UD got beat by Northeastern and Bucknell, both of whom lost to BU, but defeated Vermont who has beaten BU.

In any case, this is a game that I could conceivable go to, so I'm happy. And it's a possible win over the CAA, always a good thing. What does everyone else think?

Adding Insult to NU's Injury

It's always fun to beat our rivals from the dirty part of the city. For the second year in a row, we did just that - this time in overtime, and on our home floor. There were no BU students in attendance to start a "Where's your football" chant, but we knew it was in the minds of their fans.

The Hussies are picked to finish 2nd in the Colonial Athletic Association behind Old Dominion this year, which makes this win arguably even better than our victory over Indiana.

It was a game of runs. NU got an early 10 point lead, which BU erased by halftime. BU jumped out to big lead in the second half, which was erased by the end of the game. Fortunately, BU ended up on top at the end of 45 minutes.

With John Holland having an off night, we needed someone to step up - and Jake O'Brien did, just like last year's game at Northeastern. Corey Lowe also stepped up, despite his 7 turnovers, and made a gutsy shot near the end of regulation, with the shot clock buzzer sounding, to tie the game and send it to overtime. B.J. Bailey played his best game so far with over 20 minutes, and he looks to be getting more comfortable with every step onto the court.

I was there and captured the final moments of regulation and the overtime period - Corey's big shot and Northeastern's last gasp.

Where's Your Football?: The Northeastern Preview

Today, coming off the rush and exhaustion of a long Puerto Rico trip, a brand new experience, the team stays home to host one of its most familiar opponents, Northeastern. The all-time series is 70-66 in favor of BU, including last year's destruction of the Huskies that served as Jake O'Brien's coming out party.

The timing of this game is questionable. I'm sure there's a good reason for scheduling it on an afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving, but I don't know what it is. Probably squeezing in an extra day of rest after the San Juan trip. But on any other day (except maybe Thanksgiving itself), this game seems like it could be a pretty decent draw for students and alumni, maybe even hold it in The Greek. Today, I think we'll struggle to bring 500 people out to the Roof.

Northeastern has only played two games, a pretty close loss to great Siena team during the 24-hour ESPN showcase, and a close win over an OK Utah State team. The Huskies may be a little more talented this year, but the Terriers are already in mid-season form having played 5 games already. NU is predicted to finish near the top of the Colonial Conference this year, led by senior sharpshooter Matt Janning, who was kept relatively in check in last year's meeting despite his 22 points.

Finally, it must be mentioned: Northeastern dropped their football team this week. And while many people across the collegiate athletics landscape might express sadness, most BU fans are wearing a smile this week. Countless "BU football" chants over the last 12 years are coming back to bite those obnoxious fans in the ass. I love it. Come up with something new at the next Beanpot, losers!

Their hero is WHO?? Talkin' P.R. hoops with the locals

Sean Kingston nearly ruined this nice video we did with some cool kids from Puerto Rico who were there watching the basketball tournament. So I apologize in advance for the audio quality, which is why I had to put in the subtitles.



A big thanks to Andy, Robert and Eddie for taking the time to tell us what they think of basketball and the Puerto Rico Tip-Off!


This is Denis Clemente in the white jersey, the Kansas State player who the boys came to see, a.k.a. the next Jose Juan Barea. So far in the tournament, Denis is averaging 12 points per game in a win over BU and a loss to Ole Miss. Hopefully, the guys will be rooting for BU against Georgia Tech tomorrow afternoon!

[UPDATE 9:25 PM]

I just remembered seeing this by Denis Clemente a couple months ago. Sickness.

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?

Be Perfect, BU: The Marshall Preview

I tried to watch We Are Marshall last night, to get inspired for this afternoon's game against the real Marshall. But the video store was out of it, and the closest thing I had was Friday Night Lights which I had never seen.

Truly inspirational. And you can picture Coach Wolff in that locker room motivating the Terriers to victory just the way Billy Bob Thornton did. Well, maybe not exactly the same.



The game today will be played at lovely Agganis Arena. A lot's been said this week about whether BU should be playing more of their games at The Greek or if they shouldn't play any at all. I've written about this before, and I'm firmly of the mind that BU should be playing games there - in fact I love this half-and-half arrangement they have now. The shooting percentage numbers are lower there, for sure - but I believe that's caused by the quality of the opponent we host there.

A week and a half ago, these same Terriers shot 55% in a win in Northeastern's Matthews Arena. The general shittiness of Matthews aside, it's a pretty similar setup to Agganis: it's located on top of a hockey rink; there's seats behind the baskets. And I don't think the Terriers have been coming over to practice in Matthews Arena on their off days. So the idea that BU is unable to shoot well in Agganis for those reasons simply doesn't hold water.

However, I love that the term "curse" is thrown around now. Here's D-Wolff:

“I vehemently disagree with the idea that there’s any curse at Agganis,” BU coach Dennis Wolff said. “Agganis is a state-of-the-art building. It’s one of our home courts. It’s great to play in there and that’s how we have to look at it.”

And if there's a team to break the "curse" against, it's Marshall. This is not the same team that destroyed us 70-47 last year. And we're not the same team either - that was when Tyler was still hurt, Johnny H. was still coming off the bench, and C-Lowe was on his mental health vacation.

This year's Marshall Thundering Herd come into The Greek at 1-4, with losses already to Wisconsin-Green Bay, Morgan State and East Tennessee State. Not lighting the world on fire quite yet.

This is BU's second chance (out of 3) this year to lay the smack down on a major conference opponent, since Marshall's coming from the Conference USA. Make it happen.

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.

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.

Basking in The Prestige

When ESPN is bored, it loves to rank things... mascots, titletowns, whatever. Since there's nothing college basketball-y going on now, they decided to rank the "prestige" of every D-I college basketball team.

Nobody knows what the hell this means. It might mean how successful the team has been over the past couple decades, but then why don't they just say that?

Anyway I'm not gonna complain about it because BU somehow scored startlingly high on the prestige scale.

America East:
108. Boston University
159. Vermont
T-256. UMBC
270. Hartford
T-278. Maine
297. New Hampshire

Others of note:
69. Siena
T-70. Boston College
93. Drexel
100. George Mason
T-111. Providence
T-115. Holy Cross
T-118. Northeastern
123. George Washington
T-145. Delaware
T-183. Hofstra
T-210. Towson
T-284. Harvard

Highest of the America East (Albany, Bing and Stony Brook haven't been D-I long enough to qualify), higher than 4 out of the 5 teams that left AE for the Colonial, higher than all but 1 team from the MAAC, higher than most of the A-10, Pac-10 and Conference USA.

Most importantly, higher than our main rivals NORTHEASTERN and VERMONT.

How did they come up with this? Well, the system put a high premium on winning the regular season title (higher than winning the conference tournament even). And it gave just as many points for an NIT berth as it did for an NCAA berth. That means those 3 years in a row where BU finished #1 in the regular season but lost in the tourney were BETTER than winning the tourney and going to the NCAA. It also subtracted points for losing seasons, of which BU has not had many.

So, all hail BU, the most prestigious team in the America East (AKA the tallest midget in the world).

The 08-09 schedule is out... and I'm already excited about making Notre Dame jokes

Here's the list of teams we hope to belittle in this space after the Terriers beat them during this upcoming season:

11/14 - vs. George Washington
11/18 - @ Bucknell
11/22 - vs. St. Peter's
11/25 - @ Northeastern
11/29 - @ Mount St. Mary's
12/3 - @ Harvard
12/6 - vs. Marshall
12/10 - vs. Yale
12/13 - @ Notre Dame
12/21 - vs. Delaware
12/29 - @ Cornell
1/2 - vs. Holy Cross

It's an interesting list. Much weaker than last year's; we effectively swapped out St. Bonnie, St. Joe's and UMass in exchange for Mount St. Mary, Bucknell and Cornell. We replaced the A-10 with the NEC, Patriot and Ivy - significant downgrade in talent.

But you know what? It's fine with me. Last year we only won 3 out-of-conference games, and if this schedule helps us win more than that, I'm all for it. I was really excited about last season, and that losing streak at the beginning of the year was a real turd in the punchbowl. And there is probably only one game on that whole list that is a near-certain loss (ND). The rest are eminently winnable.