Feb. 23, 2011
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Boston Herald: Holland's Tunnel Vision
BOSTON - Looking to secure the No. 2 seed for the upcoming America East tournament, the Boston University men's basketball team travels to Binghamton Thursday with tip-off set for 7 p.m. Currently on a season-high six-game winning streak with two regular season games remaining, the Terriers (16-13, 10-4 AE) need one more win for their highest finish in the league since the 2003-04 season.
Through the first nine conference games, BU found itself at 5-4 and in need of a spark. Over the last three weeks, senior John Holland has provided just that by averaging 22.7 ppg and 7.2 rpg while shooting 47.8 percent from the field. Recipient of the last three America East Player of the Week awards, he currently leads the league in scoring at 19.5 ppg and is on pace to become just the fourth in league history to lead the conference in back-to-back seasons.
However, he is not the only one who has stepped up his game over the last six contests. Junior Darryl Partin has averaged 19.7 ppg during the stretch while shooting 50.6 percent from the field. Freshman D.J. Irving has directed the offense with 22 assists against just eight turnovers for a 2.75 assist-to-turnover ratio, and junior Matt Griffin can be found doing any task required of him, whether that's recording five assists in a game or hitting three 3-pointers while others are being double-teamed.
The defense too has played a key role by holding four of the teams below 37 percent shooting. Junior Patrick Hazel has led the charge by averaging 6.9 rpg in conference play while posting 30 blocks for an average of 2.1 bpg. He currently has 50 blocks total, the fifth-most ever in a season by a Terrier. With preseason all-conference honoree Jake O'Brien out for the season due to injury, junior Jeff Pelage and freshman Dom Morris have provided support under the basket by averaging a combined 6.8 rpg and recording 14 blocks in league play.
They will face a tough task Thursday in trying to defend 6-foot-7 forward Mahamoud Jabbi, who is averaging 10.3 ppg and 7.7 rpg. A unanimous preseason all-conference honoree, 6-foot-8 Greer Wright has battled injuries during the season but has been explosive at times, averaging a team-high 12.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 3.4 apg.
The Bearcats are 7-20 and 4-10 in league play but five of the conference losses were by six points or less, including the 71-66 defeat at Agganis Arena back on January 26. Binghamton led by six with seven minutes remaining before the Terriers went on a 11-0 run to take the lead for good. The game though went down to the final seconds, as BU needed to make its free throws to avoid going to overtime.
Following the trip to Binghamton, the Terriers will remain on the road and face regular season champion Vermont on Sunday (Feb. 27) at 1 p.m. with Comcast SportsNet televising the contest. BU won the earlier meeting, 74-65, at Case Gym back on Jan. 9.
