Terriers Face URI In NIT Opening Round Game
March 15, 2003 | Men's Basketball
GAME #29: Boston University Terriers (23-5, 17-1 AE) at the University of Rhode Island Rams (19-13, 7-9 Atlantic-10). WHAT: 2004 National Invitation Tournament Opening Round. DATE: Wednesday, March 17, 2004, 7:30 p.m. ARENA/SITE: Ryan Center (7,657), Kingston, R.I. RADIO: Every Boston University NIT game can be heard locally in the Boston area on WCRN AM-830 and WROL AM-950 with Rich Levine and Doug Guy calling the action. Student radio station WTBU FM-89.3 and AM-640 will also provide coverage. INTERNET: Tonight’s game can be heard on the internet at www.bu.edu/athletics/webcast and at www.wtburadio.org
THE SERIES Tonight’s game is the 32nd in the men’s basketball series between B.U. and Rhode Island. The Rams lead the series, 21-10. The first nine games in the series were played before World War II. After a 26-year hiatus, the two teams renewed the series in 1964. They met 17 times in the next 17 years. URI and B.U. have met only twice since Dennis Wolff arrived, with the Rams taking both ends of a home-and-home series in 1996-97 and 1997-98.
NEXT UP FOR THE TERRIERS: The winner of tonight’s game plays the winner of tonight’s West Virginia at Kent State opening-round game. Site, date, and time to be determined.
HOW THE TERRIERS AND RAMS GOT HERE B.U. had arguably the best regular-season in team history, going 23-4 overall and 17-1 in America East Conference play. The top-seeded Terriers entered the conference tournament with hopes of getting back to the NCAAs, but a first-round loss to No. 8 Stony Brook ended that plan. URI has won five of its last seven games, but stumbled in a 79-50 loss to George Washington in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic-10 Tournament on March 11 to end up here tonight.
WOLFF NAMED NABC DISTRICT 1 COACH OF THE YEAR On March 12, Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff was named the District 1 Coach of the Year by The National Association of Basketball Coaches. The award recognizes the country’s best men’s collegiate basketball coaches.
WOLFF NAMED AMERICA EAST COACH OF THE YEAR FOR SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON B.U. head coach Dennis Wolff was honored by his fellow coaches with his second straight America East Coach of the Year award this season. Wolff led the Terriers to a 23-5 overall record (entering tonight) and their third consecutive regular-season title with a 17-1 conference record. Wolff and his coaching staff certainly earned the award, as it was the their thorough pre-game preparations and halftime adjustments that put the Terriers in a position to succeed this year. Wolff also earned the award last year. It is his third Coach of the Year award. He earned his first in 1997.
TERRIERS MAKING SECOND STRAIGHT NIT TRIP AND FOURTH OVERALL The Terriers are making their fourth NIT appearance and are 0-3 in the other trips - all on the road. Rhode Island is the Terriers’ first non-Big East NIT opponent. In 1980, they lost at Boston College, 95-74. Six years later, in 1986, the Terriers lost at Providence, 72-69. B.U. returned to the NIT last year, hanging with eventual NIT champion St. John’s before succumbing, 62-57.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY IN THE NIT 3/10/80 at Boston College L 74-95 3/13/86 at Providence L 69-72 3/19/03 at St. John’s L 57-62 3/15/04 at Rhode Island ???
WOLFF, ASSISTANT COACH WILLIFORD WON 1992 NIT TITLE AT VIRGINIA B. U. head coach Dennis Wollf was an assistant at the University of Virginia in 1992 when the Cavaliers won the 1992 NIT title. Fourth-year assistant coach Jason Williford was a freshman on that UVa team. The only other time Wolff has been involved in the NIT prior to last year was during the 1982-83 season as an assistant at St. Bonaventure.
TERRIERS AND RAMS ALMOST MET IN 1997 PRE-SEASON NIT Had B.U. come up with a victory over Connecticut in the 1997 Pre-Season NIT, it would have advanced to play Rhode Island in the quarterfinals. The Terriers lost that game, 68-54, and URI went on to lose to UConn, 80-67.
LAST YEAR IN THE NIT: ST. JOHN’S ESCAPES WITH NIT WIN OVER TERRIERS 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.
WALPOLE HIGH WINS MASS STATE TITLE BEHIND YOUNGER WOLFF Walpole High School, behind senior Matt Wolff, won the Massachusetts Division 2 State Title last week at the FleetCenter. The Rebels finished the season with a 25-0 record. Wolff has signed to play for his father at B.U. next season.
LAST GAME: NO. 8 STONY BROOK SHOCKS NO. 1 TERRIERS IN AE TOURNAMENT Eighth-seeded Stony Brook shocked top-seeded B.U., 62-58, in the quarterfinals of the America East Championship on March 6. Rashad Bell hit a turnaround jumper in the paint to knot the score at 58-58 with just under a minute to play. SB’s D.J. Munir hit an off-balance layup to regain the lead, 60-58, with 30 seconds left. B.U.’s Chaz Carr raced the ball up the court with under 10 seconds left but lost the handle. B.U. played well, but Stony Brook shot 59 percent in the second half (54 percent overall) and had only 10 turnovers.
LAST GAME AGAINST RHODE ISLAND: RAMS DOWN TERRIERS BY 23 POINTS Tyson Wheeler scored a game-high 23 points and Luther Clay added 13 points and 13 rebounds as Rhode Island defeated B.U., 86-63, at Case Gym on Nov. 30, 1997 in the last game the two teams played before tonight. The Rams shot 52 percent from the field and nearly 55 percent from behind the three-point line. Current B.U. assistant coach Mike Costello played in the game for the Terriers, scoring seven points.
RAMS AND TERRIERS HAVE FOUR COMMON OPPONENTS THIS SEASON B.U. and URI have four common opponents this season. They have both played the America East’s New Hampshire and Vermont, and the A-10’s Fordham and Saint Joseph’s. In six games each against those foes, both teams came out with 4-2 records. The Terriers lost to Saint Joseph’s and Vermont, while URI lost to the Hawks twice.
WYNN WINS RESPECT FROM COACHES; NAMED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Sophomore Shaun Wynn was rewarded for his excellent play this season, earning America East’s Defensive Player of the Year award. He is arguably the Terriers’ best defender and is averaging 8.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game (ranks second in America East). He was also named to the league’s All-Conference Third Team along with senior teammate Ryan Butt, a Third-Team pick for the second straight year.
TERRIER PAIR EARNS ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST-TEAM HONORS For the first time in both of their careers, senior Jason Grochowalski and junior Chaz Carr earned America East All-Conference First Team honors. It’s the first end-of-the-year award for Grochowalski since being named to the All-Rookie Team as a redshirt freshman in 2000-01. Carr was runner-up to Vermont’s Taylor Coppenrath in the 2001-02 Rookie of the Year voting. He was named to the All-Conference Second Team as a freshman, as well as earning a spot on the All-Rookie Team.
B.U.’s 23 WINS A REGULAR-SEASON HIGH; SECOND BEST ALL-TIME B.U.’s 23 wins is the most ever for the program in the regular season. The 1996-97 team had 22 regular-season victories entering the America East Tourney. This year’s team is tied with the 1987-88 Terriers with 23 wins. A look at the most wins for Terrier teams in a full season: # YEAR WINS 1. 1996-97 25 2. 2003-04 23 1987-88 23
TERRIERS ANGLING FOR BEST WINNING PERCENTAGE EVER AT B.U. At 23-5, B.U.’s .821 winning percentage is currently the second-highest ever at the school. A list of the highest winning percentages at B.U. # YEAR REC WIN % 1. 1996-97 25-5 .833 2. 2003-04 23-5 .821 3. 1957-58 15-5 .750 4. 1958-59 20-7 .742
TERRIERS 43-7 IN REGULAR SEASON IN LAST THREE SEASONS B.U. finished this season 17-1 in America East play. Combined with their 13-3 records in the last two seasons, the Terriers are 43-7 in regular-season play since 2001-02.
IT’s A program first - three straight 20+ win seasons for B.U. B.U. comes into the tournament with 23 wins. It marks the program’s third straight 20-win season. Along with the team’s 22-10 record in 2001-02 and its 20-11 mark last year, it marks the first time in the program’s 95-year history of men’s basketball that the team has won 20-or-more games in three straight seasons.
CARR BECOMES SECOND TERRIER TO REACH 1,000 CAREER PTS THIS YEAR; TURNER NEXT Chaz Carr scored 11 points in the Terriers’ regular-season ending win at Binghamton on Feb. 29, making him the 26th B.U. men’s basketball player to score 1,000 career points. He joins Jason Grochowalski, who passed the 1,000-point mark in the team’s 70-50 win at UNH on Feb. 4. Matt Turner could be the next player to reach the scoring mark, entering tonight’s game with 990 career points.
TERRIERS EARN THIRD STRAIGHT AMERICA EAST REGULAR-SEASON TITLE With its win at Binghamton on Feb. 29, the Terriers earned their third straight America East regular-season title.
CARR NAMED TO NABC DISTRICT 1 SECOND TEAM On Feb. 18, Chaz Carr was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches District 1 Second Team. He joined NU’s Jose Juan Barea as a Second-Team selection. Vermont’s Taylor Coppenrath was the only non-Big East player to be named to the First Team.
HEAD COACH DENNIS WOLFF In his 10th season at B.U., Dennis Wolff is the all-time leader in coaching victories at B.U., bringing a 172-123 (.583) record into tonight’s game. Overall, he is 202-141 (.589) in his 12-plus years as a head coach. He earned his 200th career head coaching victory with the Terriers’ 82-68 win over Northeastern on Feb. 22. He has led the Terriers to the last three America East regular-season titles, a pair of America East Tournament Championships (1997, 2002) and has been named the conference’s Coach of the Year three times (1997, 2003, 2004). The Terriers are making an unprecedented third straight post-season appearance with tonight’s game. They earned an NIT bid last year while going to the NCAAs in 2001-02.
TERRIERS’ SCORING OFFENSE PICKING UP STEAM LATE IN THE SEASON The Terriers have scored 70-or-more points in six of their last eight regular-season games. Before scoring 64 points in an 11-point win at Maine on Feb. 18, B.U. had scored 70-or-more points in four straight games. It was the first time the Terriers have done that this season. They hadn’t done so in five consecutive games since late in the 1997-98 season.
TERRIERS RANK 12th In nation in scoring defense B.U. is holding its opponents to just 58.8 points per game this season, a total which leads America East and is 12th in the nation as of games played through March 8. B.U. has held 15 of its 28 foes to under 60 points scored. Because of this, the Terriers are 20-0 this season when they score 60-or-more points.
Terriers 14th in Nation in fewest turnovers; HAVE 10th best record In addition to ranking ninth in scoring “D”, the Terriers are 14th in the country in fewest turnovers per game. The Terriers only cough up the ball an average of 12.1 times per game. Additionally, the Terriers, at 23-5, have the 16th best winning percentage (.821) in the country.
BY THE NUMBERS - MISCELLANEOUS STATS The Terriers have won 23 of their last 25 games. During that stretch, they have allowed 70-or-more points only twice. Don’t do a double-take on the Terriers’ 9-0 record when their opponents earn more rebounds. It’s true! This season, the Terriers are... - 9-0 when outrebounded by opponent - 22-1 when leading with 5:00 in regulation - 20-0 when scoring 60-or-more points
FIVE TERRIERS HAVE 800+ CAREER POINTS Jason Grochowalski and Chaz Carr each passed the 1,000-point career scoring mark this season. Two other Terriers are nearing that scoring plateau, with two having a chance to reach it before this season is over. Senior Matt Turner has 990 career points, while senior Ryan Butt has 960 and junior Rashad Bell has an even 900.
B.U. WINNING GAMES BY LARGER MARGINS IN LAST TEN GAMES The Terriers’ last 10 regular-season games (all wins) were decided by margins of 10 points or more. This was contrary to earlier this season, when 10 of their first 17 games were decided by six points or less. The Terriers were 8-2 in those games. B.U. won those 10 late-season games by an average of 15 points. The margin of victory in those eight early-season games was only 2.6 points per game.
TERRIERS WINNING TIGHT GAMES THIS SEASON Ten of the Terriers’ first 17 games this season were decided by margins of six points or less. The Terriers won eight of those 10 games. The first two losses came by identical 59-57 scores, while the last was a four-point loss to Stony Brook in the first round of the America East Tournament last week. WINNING THE ALL-IMPORTANT RPI BATTLE B.U. is not only in first place in the league standings, but also leads the league by a large margin in terms of RPI (Ratings Percentage Index). The Terriers have the league’s best RPI win this season, taking down Michigan, 61-60, in Ann Arbor on Dec. 30. How the league RPI is looking these days (collegerpi.com) - (As of Mar. 14): RPI TEAM VS. TOP 100 84 Boston University 1-2 115 Vermont 1-4 154 Northeastern 1-5 155 Maine 0-3 204 Binghamton 0-3 235 Hartford 0-4 273 New Hampshire 0-5 266 Stony Brook 0-3 299 UMBC 0-2 309 Albany 0-3
TERRIERS AMONG NATION’S BEST ROAD TEAMS The nation’s top current road win streaks through games played March 3 - (2003-04 only): TEAM WINS W/L 1. Saint Joseph’s 13 27-0 2. Boston University 12 23-4
TERRIERS 15TH, REPRESENT AMERICA EAST IN MID-MAJOR TOP 25 The Terriers rank 15th in this week’s CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. The Terriers were as high as 11th in the poll (last week) before stumbling against Stony Brook in the first round of the America East Tournament.
TERRIERS END 2003 WITH ONE OF THE BIGGEST WINS IN B.U. HISTORY B. U. went into the den of the University of Michigan Wolverines and pulled out a 61-60 victory in one of the biggest wins in the program’s history before 10,419 at Crisler Arena on Dec. 30. “Since I’ve been the coach at B.U., this is the most significant win for our program,” Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff said. “To be able to come in and beat a good Big 10 team on its home court is a great thing for our kids.” A 21-4 run near the end of the first half, matched by a stingy B.U. defense and turnover-prone Michigan play down the stretch, led to the win. Ryan Butt (14 points) and Chaz Carr (13 points) led the Terriers’ offensive charge.
GROCHOWALSKI TOPS IN AMERICA EAST AND EIGHTH IN THE NATION IN FT SHOOTING This season, Jason Grochowalski led America East in free throw shooting at 88.1 percent. That also is good for 13th in the country as of games played March 8.
GROCHOWALSKI SOLIDIFIES HIS HOLD AS TERRIERS’ TOP ALL-TIME FT SHOOTER Jason Grochowalski, the league’s best free throw shooter this season, is 59-of-67 (.881) from the stripe. Including this season’s games, the senior is 255-of-306 from the line (.833), which places him .010 ahead of second-place Steven Key (1986-90) at .823 on the Terriers’ all-time free-throw shooting list.
GROCHOWALSKI EARNS SECOND PLAYER OF THE WEEK AWARD Senior Jason Grochowalski has faced Northeastern twice this season and both times he has led the Terriers to victory and earned America East’s Player of the Week honors because of his performance. His latest award came on Feb. 23 after scoring a season-high 21 points in an 82-68 win over the Huskies on Feb. 22. He also won the award on Jan. 25 after torching NU for 20 points and 11 rebounds in a 76-74 Terrier win at NU on Jan. 24.
FITZGERALD’S 57 ASSISTS, 18 TURNOVERS IN LEAGUE GAMES LED B.U. Senior Kevin Fitzgerald, never a powerhouse offensively, has been heating up in the categories that matter most to him and to head coach Dennis Wolff. In conference play this season, “Fitz” has 57 assists and only 18 turnovers, a 3.2-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Overall, he has a team-leading 84 assists, 38 turnovers, and 48 steals this season.
BUTT AS CONSISTENT AS THEY COME In his first three seasons at B. U., senior Ryan Butt has been remarkably consistent statistically speaking. Below is how he’s done, scoring and rebounding, in those first three seasons and so far this year: PPG RPG 2000-01 (FR) 9.0 5.2 2001-02 (SO) 8.1 4.8 2002-03 (JR) 8.0 4.9 2003-04 (SR) 9.1 4.6
WYNN TIES COSTELLO’S TEAM RECORD FOR STEALS IN A GAME Shaun Wynn’s stat line in the Terriers’ 79-62 win at Albany on Jan. 4 was impressive. The sophomore had 10 points, career-highs of six assists and eight steals, and no turnovers. He tied current Terrier assistant coach Mike Costello’s team record for steals in a game with eight. Costello (1997-2000) himself tied the team record of Brett Brown (1980-83), who had eight steals in a 1981 game against CW Post.
Three-Point Streak At 242 B. U. has made at least one three-point field goal in 242 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 threes in 292 of the 295 games under Dennis Wolff.
FIVE SIGN NATIONAL LETTERS OF INTENT TO PLAY AT B. U. The Terrier men’s basketball program has received National Letters of Intent from Ben Coblyn, a 6-foot-8 forward from Amherst, Mass., Tony Gaffney, a 6-foot-7 forward from Northfield, Mass., Bryan Geffen, a 5-foot-10 guard from Fresh Meadow, N. Y., Omari Peterkin, a 6-foot-8 transfer forward from the Virgin Islands via the University of Notre Dame, and Matt Wolff, a 6-foot-5 guard from Walpole, Mass. and Terrier head coach Dennis Wolff’s son. The Terriers will graduate five seniors after this season, including four captains who have played a large part in the team’s recent success.
TERRIERS EXHIBIT SUPREME DEPTH This season, the Terriers returned six players who averaged near the 20-minutes-played-per-game mark last year. Moreover, each of those players has accumulated over 2,000 minutes played in his career. A list of those players: 02-03 03-04 MP Kevin Fitzgerald 22.0 28.5 3,188 Ryan Butt 24.2 23.5 2,636 Chaz Carr 24.7 32.4 2,600 J. Grochowalski 19.5 17.9 2,347 Matt Turner 20.5 20.5 2,353 Rashad Bell 25.4 25.0 2,022
Terriers Selected To Finish TIED FOR Second In 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
Senior Foursome CaptainS Terriers B. U. seniors Ryan Butt, Kevin Fitzgerald, Jason Grochowalski, and Matt Turner are captains of 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.
Rashad Bell Named To America East Pre-season 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. NAME YR POS SCHOOL Nick Billings Jr. C Binghamton RASHAD BELL Jr. F BOSTON U. Jerrell Parker Sr. G Hartford Jose Juan Barea So. G Northeastern T. Coppenrath Jr. F Vermont T. J. Sorrentine Jr. G Vermont
B. U. Makes Back-To-Back-TO-BACK Post-Season TRIPS 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. This year’s NIT trip only adds to that record. Overall, including this season’s NIT trip, the Terriers have made six NCAA and four NIT appearances, but never in consecutive seasons before 2001-02, 2002-03, and 2003-04. 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.
B. U. BASKETBALL IN 95th SEASON The B. U. men’s basketball program began its 95th season of competition with the start of the 2003-04 season. The Terriers have compiled a 923-911 all-time record. The team has a 222-136 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 men’s basketball squad. The Terriers’ first year of competition was during 1901-02. Since 1980, there have been 17 winning seasons, nine 20-win campaigns (counting this year’s), five NCAA Tournament appearances, and three NIT trips.
AE Commissioner’s Cup Belongs To B.U. For Second Straight Year In 2002-03, 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. Last year, Terrier athletic teams won five of the 18 conference championships and finished second five times. 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
Wolff All-Time Leader in 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, who was 101-51 in five seasons at B.U. Wolff has an overall mark at B.U. of 172-123 (.583). BOSTON UNIV. ALL-TIME COACHING WINS ## COACH W-L YEARS 1. Dennis Wolff 172-123 94- 2. Mike Jarvis 101-51 85-90 3. Matt Zunic 96-58 52-59 4. Rick Pitino 91-51 78-83
WOlff’s DAUGHTER, nicole, IN SEcond season at UCONN Dennis Wolff’s daughter, Nicole, is a sophomore on the Connecticut basketball team. She averaged 3.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in three games this season before tearing the ACL in her left knee, forcing her to the sideline for the rest of the season. Nicole missed the final 28 games of last season due to stress fractures in her foot. Wolff himself was a player at Connecticut during the 1976-77 and 77-78 seasons. Wolff’s older son, Matt, who is a senior at Walpole, has signed to play at B.U.
