Terriers dominate The Mount 86 - 77

This is a game that I really don't want to spend that much time writing about.  BU jumped off to an early lead and never trailed in this game, they led by 20 at one point during the second half.  It really surprises me that the score was so high because of how inept both offenses were in the first part of the second half.  One of the cons of going to a live game; there is no button to change the channel.  You can't tune into a more exciting game and then switch back at the end of the game.  This felt like a game I would much rather listen to on 1510, while watching a much more exciting game on TV. 

The game did have it's exciting parts, don't get me wrong.  The thing that killed it was the pace.  For every one or two dunks there were ten fouls.  Combined there were 59 team fouls in this game.  In both halfs the two teams were in the bonus within the first ten minutes.  This killed the last ten minutes of the game.  Everytime there was the slightest bump the ref was calling it.  Then all of the players had  to walk at a snails pace to the other end for free throws.

I have to say though BU's brand of Basketball is a lot more exciting than most mid-major teams and huge improvement over last year.  The most impressive play of that game to me was when I saw John Holland hustle for a loose ball near the scorers table.  The whole crowd, and probably coach Chambers knew that he was not going to get it.  He dived anyway, it ended up being off of the Terriers.  But to see that kind of hustle on a routine play was like watching Derek Jeter run out a ground ball.  No matter what the cicumstance you are going to see John Holland give it his all every night.  John Holland averages almost 20 points per game which is enough to put him among the top 40 in the nation in scoring.  That's no fluke, the junior from the Bronx (coicidentally the same city where Derek Jeter plays home games) is a great player and has a legitimate shot to be the America East Player of the Year.

During the game, the Terriers utilized a trap full-court press early in the first half that was very effective.  They forced many turnovers and held The Mount to one field goal in the first nine minutes of the game.  BU struggled almost as much, scoring only a few field goals and wasn't really able to pull away until the second half.

(Halftime came and the Newton fifth grade boys team came onto the court.  For a bunch of little kids, some of them played pretty well.  They went up and down the court pretty quickly and made some impressive passes.  It was almost more exciting than the game itself).

I was hopeful about the second half.  And as mentioned before, this game did have it exciting parts.  The first ten minutes of the second half was probably the most exciting of the game.  The Terriers were making some clutch threes. John Holland made a couple of pretty spectacular dunks. And Jake O'Brien had some pretty sweet plays inside the paint. Both Holland and O'Brien ended the game with 21 points.  After the first ten minutes both teams were in the bonus, the game struggled to find any real flow the rest of the way.  There was a foul and foul shots every 30 seconds.  If the Terriers were up by 20 like they had been earlier in the game I probably woul've left.  But somehow The Mount stuck around by making more than 80% of their shots at the charity stripe (compared to the 56% the last game).

A deceiving score to an awful and worse game than I anticipated.  The Mount was never in this game.  They fell behind early in the game and could never find the energy to catchup to a very strong Terriers team right now.

With their first winning streak of the season the Terriers have to feel pretty confident about their performance thus far in the young season.  Dayon on Tuesday will be a real test.  Dayton is a better team but unlike the Georgia Tech, Kansas State and UConn games, I think they have a great show to win.

Other Notes:

• MVP of the game: John Holland, no surprise at all.
• The Mount Saint Mary's MVP: Shawn Atupem's hair (see my previous post).  He looked like one of those rappers fom the early 90's or the main character from house party.  Maybe the most exciting thing about the Mount Saint Mary's team.  I don't know how this team was picked first in the NEC, they are bad. 
• Coach Chambers was screaming at his team early in the game for fouling the The Mount.  The funniest part was how he said it "Stop fouling! They only have one field goal!"
• Like a dumbass I forgot to bring the camera.  I promise I will have pictures for the Stony Brook game.

Next Up:
Boston U v. Dayton Flyers
12/29 - 7 pm ET
 Listen: 1510 AM

My Thoughts on "The Mount" Game to Come Later...

The Boston U Terriers knocked down Mount Saint Mary's Mountaineers 86 - 77.  Here's the recap on the BU Website.

When the performance of the night for Mount Saint Mary's goes to Shawn Atupem's hair, that's not good. I probably could've taken a way better picture, but like a dumbass I forgot to bring the camera.  More on this game later, after work I am going straight to the train station to go back to home for the holidays.  It needs to be said now, this was an excruciating game to watch both teams combined for 59 total personal fouls.  The game started off slow and never found a fluid flow.

House Party 2?

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JC's Preview: "The Mount" vs. Boston U

After over a week hiatus because of exams the Terriers are back in action tomorrow at Case Gym against the Mount Saint Mary's Mountaineers, or the small school located in the Maryland Appalachians that refers to themselves as "The Mount." That is a pretty hilarious name.  Why can't other school's have nicknames like this? For example because of BU's diverse student body; fans, students and alumni could refer to BU as "The World."  Or because BU is a very expensive private university in a conference with a bunch of state schools, BU could refer to itself as "The Upper Class." I could see the headlines in the Daily Free Press now: "The Upper Class beats Vermont" in other news "BU raises tuition another $10,000 per year." Onto the preview....

JC's Preview  

Last time out

• Boston University (4-6) went to Poughkeepsie and beat the Marist Foxes 88 - 72 in a game that was almost no contest.  Corey Lowe scored 27 points and John Holland added another 21 of his own.  The big story, however, was the Terriers program record-tying 15 three point field goals on 60% shooting from beyond the arc.
• Mount Saint Mary's (3-7) went to Pitt and lost their fifth straight game to the Pitt Panthers 66 - 48.  The Mountaineers were horrible shooting from the floor in the Pitt game making only 31.6% of their shots from their field and 56.3% from the charity stripe.   In their last two times out The Mount scored 48 and 38 points against lower tier major school Pitt and mid-major Old Dominion respectively.

Analysis
Both teams were in a very similar place at the beginning of the season --both picked to win their conferences.  However,  entering the conference slate, the teams could not be on more opposite sides of the spectrum.  BU is coming off a dominating win over a mid-major opponent in which it tied a program offensive record but still gave up a lot of points on defense. For BU, it's 15 three-pointers was a huge confidence booster.  Fans and conference opponents are beginning to see the team that was picked to win the America East.

On the other side Mount Saint Mary's, "The Mount," is still on a five game losing steak coming into the matchup tomorrow.  During that stretch they have had trouble on offense, only scoring above 60 points once. However, they have limited some good teams, from major conferences, to low point totals (Pitt scored only 66).  Their inability to score points and adeptness to turn the ball over has some scratching their heads about the team that was picked first in the NEC preseason poll.  The Mount have already started conference play and are already in the cellar with disappointing 0-2 record versus conference foes.

Prediction
On paper it looks like an easy game for the Terriers.  The Terriers are on the up and up and starting to play to their potential as a an experienced and talented team. The Mount is seeing why preseason rankings mean nothing and are beginning to become frustrated with their performance.  However, The Mount still have the same talent that they started the year with, it could at any moment awaken, all it takes is that one motivating pep talk or team meeting. The Mount is going to be anxious to end their 7 game road-trip with a win over a non-conference opponent.  I think Mount Saint Mary's will be a tough opponent, this has the feeling of a trap game for the Terriers.  Ultimately, I think that the Terriers are more of a well-rounded team at this point in the season and will win the game, but it will be close. The Terriers take it in a close one 63 - 58.

"The Game"
Boston U v. Mount Saint Mary's
12/22 7 PM at Case Gym
Listen: 1510 am
 

Other Housekeeping Items

• I'm borrowing my roommates digital camera tomorrow for the Mount Saint Mary's game, so get ready for some much higher quality pictures than the ones I have been taking on my crappy cell phone.
  
• I am planning out my posts for 2010.  I want to incorporate more weekly/daily features into the blog.  I plan to do some top fives, maybe a mailbag. If anyone has questions, comments, or suggentions for me please send a message to jim@terriersbasketball.com.
  

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