Feb. 16, 2010
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BOSTON - Looking for its fifth sweep of the season against an America East opponent, the Boston University men's basketball team hosts Binghamton Wednesday night at Agganis Arena with tip-off slated for the 7:30 p.m. The Terriers (14-12, 9-5 AE) have won three of their last four games, while the Bearcats (11-16, 6-6 AE) are looking to end their four-game road trip with a win after dropping the last three contests.
After being held below 60 points for the sixth time this season during Saturday's 58-55 victory over Hartford, the Terriers rank second in the conference for scoring at 68.9 ppg. They feature the second worst shooting percentage (.391) and have hit better than 40 percent in just one of the last six games. Looking to help get the offense back on track will be junior John Holland and senior Carlos Strong.
The AE's leading scorer at 18.9 ppg, Holland is just nine points away from becoming the first player since Tunji Awojobi ('97) to score at least 500 points in back-to-back seasons. He ranks 10th in the BU record books with 1,376 points and ranks eighth this season in field goal percentage at 45.3. Strong is sixth in the same category (.462) and also leads the conference in 3-point percentage (.472).
Corey Lowe and Jake O'Brien are the other two Terriers in double-figure scoring at 14.7 and 13.2 ppg, respectively. However, with the return of senior Tyler Morris to the lineup, Lowe has become more of a facilitator in the last four contests, averaging 7.3 ppg while dishing out 12 assists against just three turnovers. O'Brien has only shot 34.7 percent from the field in the last four games but has stepped up when needed. Trailing by one with 5.6 seconds remaining against Hartford on Saturday, he hit a 3-pointer at the top of the key to lead BU to a 58-55 victory.
Defensively, BU has continued to step up the pressure, holding conference opponents to 38.4 percent shooting, while averaging 6.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game. Strong had three steals and a personal-best three blocks against the Hawks. He ranks fourth in the league at 1.5 spg with Holland in third at 1.6 spg. O'Brien posted a career-high 14 rebounds in the same contest and ranks seventh in rebounding at 6.5 rpg, while Holland is only 22 boards away from 500 career.
The Terriers lead the all-time series against Binghamton, 13-5, after earning a 63-55 victory back on Jan. 14. BU trailed at the half, 30-26, after committing 11 turnovers. In the second, the team only lost the ball two times, as Lowe finished with a game-high 22 points and six assists. Junior Greer Wright posted a team-high 17 points in the loss.
He's been on a tear in conference action, averaging a league-best 19.3 ppg along with 7.0 rpg. He tallied 28 points in his last game at Stony Brook, while Moussa Camara averaged 15.5 ppg against SBU and New Hampshire. The 6-7 forward Mahamoud Jabbi ranks third in league play at 8.7 rpg and first for blocks at 2.3 per game. His main responsibility will be to prevent O'Brien from recording his sixth career double double and second of the season against the Bearcats.
The two teams will be meeting in Agganis for the first time since the Terriers defeated Binghamton, 62-58, in the quarterfinals of the AE tournament. BU trailed 44-32 with 14:46 remaining before rallying back for the victory. Valdas Sirutis scored a career-high 11 points in the game.
After concluding the three-game homestand, BU will travel to Delaware for its final road trip of the season as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters. The contest is slated for 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 20.
