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. 

Where Amaker Buys His Apples: The Harvard Preview

I'm ready to get over this one.

At exactly 8:51pm on Saturday, November 29, I turned off the BU vs. Mount St. Mary's game, drove to airport and boarded a Delta 737 that took me directly (via layover in Cincinnati and Houston) to the Le Blanc Spa & Resort in Cancun, Mexico to partake in some relaxation, refreshment and rejuvenation for my mind, body and spirit. I was in a knot after that game, and a Shiatsu massage, seaweed body wrap and a 50-minute Steam-Vichy Rain Journey were just what the doctored ordered to calm my hoop-rage.

Or, not. I couldn't drop the 3 grand it would take for rejuvenating therapy, so I had to rely on the old fashioned Frank Costanza method:



It was a frustrating game - to listen/watch, to play in, and to coach. Mount St. Mary's is a good team, and they played well enough to win on Saturday - but I don't think they are necessarily the better team. I think the teams were evenly-matched to the point that whoever was the home team would win. MSM jumped out to a big early lead, but BU was able to grind it down throughout the entire 2nd half to tie the game with 5 minutes left.

Much of the trouble in this one came from FREE THROWS and REBOUNDING. We were dominated in both aspects. I think that's where much of the frustration came from. Plus that one really frickin fast guy they have.

It appears as though D. Wolff blew a gasket in this one. The refs blew a shot clock violation on MSM with about a minute to go that could have altered the outcome of the game, and the refs basically admitted they blew it by not T-ing up Wolff during his ranting. The players got fired up too, with news coming that the two teams nearly erupted in fisticuffs near the locker rooms after the game.

But it's time to forget about that now, and I can only hope that much of that fire carries over to tonight's game against Harvard. This is another team that is easy to underestimate but not very easy to beat. BU has pwned the smart kids lately, winning 14 of the last 15. And Tommy Amaker has nightmares about the Terriers, dating back to his back-to-back home losses to BU back at Michigan.

He's starting to bring some good players to the Crimson though, and it's showing in the standings. Harvard is going to challenge for the top couple spots in the Ivy League by the end of the year.

There are plenty of reasons to hate them though:

1. New York Times exposes dirty recruiting by Harvard

"In a New Era at Harvard, New Questions of Standards"
The New York Times
By Pete Thamel
March 2, 2008

"It is also because Harvard is willing to consider players with a lower academic standing than previous staff members said they were allowed to. Harvard has also adopted aggressive recruiting tactics that skirt or, in some cases, may even violate National Collegiate Athletic Association rules [...] In the race to become competitive in basketball, Harvard’s new approach could tarnish the university’s sterling reputation."

And this is funny...

"In another case, Amaker approached the parents of an athlete in a grocery store and urged that their son visit Harvard..."

See ya in the produce aisle, Tommy!

2. Harvard encroaching on BU's territory

"Residents mobilize against Harvard"
Allston-Brighton Tab
By Karen Elowitt
February 15, 2007

Allston may be smelly and disgusting, but this side of the river is ours, bitches!

3. Apples