Men's Basketball Travels to Bucknell Saturday
December 3, 2010 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 3, 2010
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BOSTON - Competing in its final non-conference game of the season outside the state of Massachusetts, the Boston University men's basketball team travels to Bucknell for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Saturday at Sojka Pavilion. The Terriers (4-4) will be playing their seventh game away from home, the most through nine contests to open a season since 2000-01.
Holding a 2-0 record at Case Gym and 2-1 mark in a neutral setting during the NIT Season Tip-Off, BU has yet to win a true road game, falling at Northeastern (66-64), then-No. 6 Villanova (82-66) and No. 10 Kentucky (91-57). The Terriers will try to stop the three game skid against Patriot League member Bucknell in the programs' fourth-ever contest.
They first met in 2005-06 at Santa Clara's Cable Car Classic with the Bison pulling out a 63-57 victory. Coincidentally, junior Matt Griffin's older brother, John, played 16 minutes for the Bison in the win. The two squads would start a series in 2008-09 with the Terriers traveling to Lewisburg, Pa. Bucknell had a 16-point lead late in the first half, but the Terriers rallied in the second to send the game to overtime. John Holland tallied seven points in the extra session for the 71-68 win.
Last year, entering the game with a 2-6 record, BU started a three-game winning streak with a 63-53 victory over the Bison at Agganis Arena. Led by Jake O'Brien's 17 points, the Terriers held their opponent to just five field goals in the first half to come away with the wire-to-wire win.
Key contributors in the two victories, 2010 preseason all-conference honorees Holland and O'Brien will try to get the Terriers out of their current shooting funk and above .500 on the season. BU is averaging 37.5 percent from the field and has yet to hit at least 40 percent during the last five games. The senior Holland is third in the America East at 18.1 ppg after scoring 20 points against the Wildcats, while the junior O'Brien is only 66 away from becoming the 31st Terrier to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
Still missing junior Jeff Pelage, who is out with an ankle sprain after averaging 5.6 rebounds per game last season, BU's defense only has a negative 1.4 rebounding margin because of a consolidated effort from the Terriers. O'Brien leads the team at 5.6 rpg, while junior Patrick Hazel is second at 5.4. Holland and freshman Dom Morris are close behind at 5.3 and 4.8 rpg, respectively.
Holding opponents to 40.9 percent shooting, they will try to contain a Bison squad that is shooting 43.9 percent from the field. Leading Bucknell is 6-foot-11 center Mike Muscala, who is averaging 13.7 ppg and 5.4 rpg. Scoring 17 points in last year's game after going 5-for-12 from beyond the arc, guard G.W. Boon is second on the team at 11.3 ppg. Classmate Darryl Shazier serves as the initializer for the offense, averaging 5.3 assists per game and 8.1 ppg.
Bucknell snapped a three-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 73-68 victory at home against Columbia. The program holds a 72-29 (.713) record at Sojka Pavilion and will look to improve to 17-11 all-time against the America East.
Following the contest, the Terriers will play their first of six games at Agganis Arena on Thursday (Dec. 9) against La Salle with tip off set for 7 p.m. The Explorers will mark the second of four Atlantic 10 opponents for BU.
