Terriers Host No. 13 Saint Joseph's At Case Gym
November 25, 2003 | Men's Basketball
RADIO: Today's game can be heard locally in the Boston area on WRCA 1330-AM (Waltham), with Rich Levine and Doug Guy calling the action. WTBU, the B. U. student-run radio station, also provides the call on 640-AM and 89.3 FM. TV: CN-8, available throughout the Mid-Atlantic States and New England. Ed Berliner handles the play-by-play, and Rob Kennedy provides the color analysis. INTERNET: Game audio can be accessed on the official B.U. athletics website. WTBU will also provide internet coverage at www.wtburadio.com.
THE GAME · Tonight's home opener marks the second men's basketball game in as many years between Boston University and Saint Joseph's. The Hawks won last year's meeting, 71-49, at Alumni Fieldhouse in Philadelphia. · Saint Joseph's is looking to keep its record spotless after a 73-66 victory over No. 10 Gonzaga 11 days ago, while the Terriers are attempting to win their first game over a ranked opponent since a 62-55 win over No. 18 Navy in the 1959 NCAA Tournament, when the Terriers advanced all the way to the Final Eight. Saint Joseph's was picked to finish first in the East Division of the Atlantic-10. · SJU's Jameer Nelson was named A-10 Player of the Week last week after his 20-point, 10-assist effort in a 73-66 win over Gonzaga on Nov. 14.
SERIES NOTES · Tonight's is only the third meeting between these two schools in men's basketball. Saint Joseph's has won the first two, including last year's 71-49 win in Philadelphia. · The first game in the series was a tight 78-77 Hawks' win on Feb. 25, 1983. That Terrier team, under then-head coach Rick Pitino, went on to finish the season with a 21-10 record and fall to another Philadelphia team, LaSalle, 70-58, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. · Dennis Wolff is 0-1 when matched up against SJU.
NEXT UP FOR THE TERRIERS B. U. heads down Comm Avenue to take on its Green Line rival Boston College on Saturday, November 29. Game time at Conte Forum is 1:30 p.m.
INJURY UPDATE The Terriers are healthy coming into tonight's game.
HAWKS COME INTO TONIGHT'S GAME RANKED AMONG NATION'S BEST This week, Saint Joseph's is ranked 13th in the Associated Press Top 25 college basketball poll. The Hawks are 18th in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll.
LAST TIME OUT: TERRIERS GET CLIPPED AT HOLY CROSS, 59-57 The Terriers trailed by as many as nine points in the first half, but battled back to take a 38-30 lead with 12:51 remaining in the second half. B. U. led, 42-35 with 10:20 to go, but Holy Cross went on a 16-2 run over the next 3:42, capped by a Torey Thomas three-pointer to give the Crusaders a 51-44 advantage. B. U. would mount a comeback in the final four minutes, erasing an eight-point Holy Cross lead and taking a 57-55 lead on a Chaz Carr trey with 39 seconds left. Holy Cross' Jave Meade made a layup and hit a pair of free throws with five seconds left to secure the win. Both Thomas and John Hurley had 18 points for Holy Cross. B. U. was led by Ryan Butt's 12-point effort.
B. U. BASKETBALL IN 95th SEASON The Boston University men's basketball program began its 95th season of competition with the start of the 2003-04 season. The Terriers have compiled a 900-908 all-time record. The team has a 205-135 America East conference mark. While it may be the 95th season of basketball at B. U., it has been 102 years since the school first fielded a mens' basketball squad. The Terriers' first year of competition was during 1901-02. Since 1980, there have been 16 winning seasons, eight 20-win campaigns, five NCAA Tournament appearances, and three NIT trips.
TERRIERS' LAST GAME IN 2002-03: ST. JOHN'S ESCAPES WITH NIT WIN B. U.'s final game last season was a 62-57 loss to eventual NIT champion St. John's in the first-round of the NIT on March 19. The game, played on the Red Storm's home court of Alumni Hall in Jamaica, N. Y., saw the Terriers take a 46-42 lead with less than seven minutes left, but a late 12-0 Red Storm run quelled the Terrier upset bid and sent St. John's to the victory. The Red Storm would go on to defeat fellow BIG EAST rival Georgetown, 70-67, in the championship game.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HAWKS Ranked 13th in this week's Associated Press poll, Saint Joseph's, under ninth-year head coach Phil Martelli, returns senior All-America guard Jameer Nelson, who averaged nearly 20 points and five assists last year for the 23-7 Hawks. The team opened its season with a 73-66 victory over 10th-ranked Gonzaga on Nov. 14.
LAST TIME VS. SAINT JOSEPH'S Boston University endured a 71-49 loss at Saint Joseph's Alumni Fieldhouse on Dec. 5, 2002. After trailing, 21-16, with 8:39 remaining in the first half, Saint Joseph's went on a 19-3 run on its way to an eight-point halftime lead. The visiting Terriers went on a short 6-0 run early in the second half to cut the Hawks' lead to 38-33, but the home team ended B.U.'s chances of victory with a 30-8 run that gave SJU a 27-point lead with 2:48 to go. Pat Carroll and DeLonte West led the Hawks with 16 point apiece. Matt Turner had a team-high 11 points for B.U.
AT HOLY CROSS, SOPHOMORE WYNN HAS MOST COMPLETE GAME OF HIS CAREER Sophomore guard Shaun Wynn had the most complete game of his career on Saturday at Holy Cross. In a career-high 32 minutes of action, Wynn tied his career highs with six points and four assists, while setting career marks with six rebounds, three field goals, and six field goal attempts.
Rashad Bell Named To America East Preseason All-Conference Team Junior forward Rashad Bell was among the players selected by a vote of the league's coaches to the America East Pre-Season All-Conference Team. Bell, an All-Conference First Team performer last year, will be a key component as the Terriers attempt to regain their America East-championship form of two years ago. Bell averaged 12 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Terriers last year.
Terriers Selected To Finish Second In America East Pre-season Poll The Boston University men's basketball team is picked to finish in a tie for second place with Northeastern in America East by the conference's coaches. Last year, B.U. edged Vermont as the coaches' pick. This season, the Catamounts edged the Terriers and Huskies by two points for the top spot. UVM received four of the 10 first-place votes, while B.U. got two, and NU four. TEAM (1st-Place Votes) PTS 1. Vermont (4) 74 2. BOSTON UNIVERSITY (2) 72 Northeastern (4) 72 4. Hartford 50 5. Stony Brook 46 6. Binghamton 45 7. Maine 40 8. UMBC 20 9. Albany 16 10. New Hampshire 15
TERRIERS VS. ATLANTIC-10 FOES Saint Joseph's and Fordham are the only two Atlantic-10 basketball teams on the Terriers' schedule this season. The Terriers travel to the Bronx on Dec. 28 to face the Rams. Overall, B.U. has a 46-76 (.377) record against the current membership of the A-10. Of the 12 teams, the Terriers have played Massachusetts the most. UMass owns a 37-29 edge in the series. The Terriers have a10-18 record against Rhode Island, and a 1-12 mark against George Washington. Against the remaining nine teams, B.U. is 6-9.
Bell, Collins, Butt, Wolff Earn Post-Season LEAGUE Honors In 2002-03 Three Terrier players and head coach Dennis Wolff earned America East post-season honors last year. Junior Rashad Bell was named to the All-Conference First Team, a year after being named to the All-Rookie Team. Billy Collins, who graduated last May with a degree in history, earned Second Team honors. Senior Ryan Butt earned his first post-season honor, picking up an All-Conference Third Team nod. Wolff earned his second career Coach of the Year award. He also won the award during the Terriers' 25-5 America East Championship season of 1996-97.
B. U. Makes Back-To-Back Post-Season Appearances For First Time Last season's NIT bid, combined with the team's NCAA Tournament trip in 2001-02, gave B. U. its first-ever back-to-back post-season tournament appearances in the program's 94 seasons of existence. Overall, the Terriers have made six NCAA and three NIT appearances, but never in consecutive seasons. Dennis Wolff joined former Terrier coach Mike Jarvis in guiding the team to three post-season trips. Wolff has two NCAA trips and one NIT appearance at B. U.
WHO'S GONE FROM LAST YEAR's SQUAD Key among the Terriers' graduated players from last year's team were Billy Collins and Paul Seymour. Collins, an All-Conference Second Team selection as a senior, was second on the team in scoring at 9.7 points per game and led the Terriers in rebounding at 6.9 boards per contest. Seymour moved up to 14th on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,136 career points. He averaged 7.8 points as a senior.
Terriers Welcome Threesome To Commonwealth Avenue In 2003-04 B. U. welcomes three newcomers to this year's team. Etienne Brower, a 6-7 forward from West Hempstead, N.Y., and Pat Martin, a 6-2 guard from Springfield, Mass., will join the team as true freshmen this year. In addition, sophomore Kevin Burton, a 6-6 forward from Sayville, N.Y. will be a walk-on member of the team.
Senior Foursome Set To Captain Terriers B. U. seniors Ryan Butt, Kevin Fitzgerald, Jason Grochowalski, and Matt Turner will captain the 2003-04 Terrier men's basketball team. It is the second straight season that Fitzgerald and Turner have served as captains, while Butt and Grochowalski are serving for the first time.
AE Commissioner's Cup Belongs To B.U. For Second Straight Year For the second straight season, Boston University earned the Stuart P. Haskell, Jr. Commissioner's Cup, which annually recognizes the strongest athletic program in America East. Terrier athletic teams won five of the 18 conference championships and finished second five times. The award is named in honor of Stuart P. Haskell, Jr., the first commissioner of America East, serving from 1987-97. TEAM PTS 1. BOSTON UNIVERSITY 326 2. New Hampshire -33 3. Northeastern -40 4. Vermont -55 5. Stony Brook -59 6. Maine -78 7. Albany -90 8. Hartford -118 9. Binghamton -135
FORMER TERRIER COSTELLO NAMED ASSISTANT COACH Former B. U. basketball standout Mike Costello joined the Terrier coaching staff before the season. Costello, a 2000 B. U. graduate with a degree in sociology, will assist in the Terriers' recruiting efforts, practice and game preparations, on-the-floor coaching, scheduling, and compliance. Additionally, Chris McLaughlin returns as the team's administrative assistant coach this season.
Terriers Set Team Record For Three-Pointers For Third Straight Year For the third straight season, B. U. set a team record for three-pointers made in a season. Last year, the Terriers made 204 threes, one more than they made the previous season, when they had 203. In 2001-02, the team set a record with 194 made treys. Also broken last season was the record for attempted three-pointers. The Terriers hoisted 601 three-pointers.
Three-Point Streak At 215 And Counting B. U. has made at least one three-point field goal in 215 consecutive games. The last time the Terriers were held scoreless from beyond the three-point arc was Feb. 10, 1996, when they missed each of their 10 three-point attempts at Vermont. B. U. has hit three-pointers in 265 of the 268 games under Deniis Wolff.
Terriers Topped League In FT %, Rank Second Best In Program History B. U. led America East in free throw shooting in 2002-03 after hitting on 74.2 percent of its shots. The percentage is the second-highest free throw accuracy mark in the Terriers' 94 years of basketball. The 1982-83 team shot 76.4 percent. Junior Rashad Bell finished third in America East after shooting 79.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Terriers On The Positive Side Of The Assist-To-Turnover Ratio In 2002-03 For the first time since its 25-5 season of 1996-97, B.U. finished a season with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio. In 2002-03, the Terriers were credited with 420 assists, while committing just 414 turnovers, a 1.01 ratio, a number that led America East. Overall, six Terriers had positive ratios, led by senior Kevin Fitzgerald's 1.88 ratio (79 assists, 42 turnovers).
Wolff All-Time Leader in Coaching Wins at B. U. With a 69-42 victory over Hartford on Jan. 22, 2001, Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff became Boston University's all-time leader in coaching wins when he earned victory number 102. Wolff passed Mike Jarvis, now the head coach at St. John's, who was 101-51 in five seasons at B. U. Heading into the Saint Joseph's game, Wolff has an overall mark at B.U. of 149-119 (.556).
UMBC JOINS AMERICA EAST IN 2003-04 The University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) joins America East this season. Head coach Tom Sullivan, in his ninth year as coach of the Retrievers, welcomes the return of all five starters. UMBC has been no stranger to success recently, earning the Northeast Conference regular-season title in 1998-99 and posting a 20-9 record in 2001-02.
WOlff's DAUGHTER, nicole, starts SEcond season at defending national champion connecticut Dennis Wolff's daughter, Nicole, is a sophomore on the defending National Champion University of Connecticut basketball team. She had six points in 20 minutes off the bench in the Huskies' 95-46 victory over Western Michigan on Sunday, Nov. 23. Nicole missed the final 28 games of last season due to stress fractures in her foot. Starting the first 10 games last year, she averaged 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest. The 2002 McDonalds National High School Player of the Year, Nicole led her Walpole (Mass.) High School team to the 2002 Massachusetts State Championship, averaging 22.9 point and 15.5 rebounds per game. Wolff himself was a player at Connecticut during the 1976-77 and 77-78 seasons. Wolff's oldest son, Matt, who is a senior at Walpole, is also an excellent basketball player.
Boston University To Host America East Championship Once Again B. U. will serve as host for the first three rounds of the 2004 America East Conference Men's Basketball Championship. The first round, as well as the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the tournament will be held at B. U.'s Walter Brown Arena from Friday, March 5 - Sunday, March 7. The championship game will be decided on Saturday, March 13, on the home court of the highest remaining seed. The title game will be televised nationally by ESPN. This year's tourney will include 10 teams, as Binghamton will be eligible for the championship for the first time since its move to Division I status. In addition, UMBC will play a full conference schedule after accepting membership into the conference in April.
TERRIERS ON THE INTERNET Internet coverage of the Boston University men's basketball team and each of the 23 Terrier athletic teams can be found on the internet on the official Boston University athletics website at: www.bu.edu/athletics. Up-to-date game stories, rosters, statistics, player information, and much more is just a click away!
