Sept. 17, 2013
2013-14 Schedule: HTML | PDF
BOSTON - Highlighted by a meeting against Northeastern at the TD Garden and a trip to ACC member Maryland, the Boston University men's basketball team's 2013-14 schedule has been announced by third-year head coach Joe Jones. In total, the Terriers will play 31 games with 13 taking place on campus, including all nine Patriot League contests at Agganis Arena.
As part of the new era in BU Athletics with the change in conference affiliation, a premium limited number of courtside seats will be sold to fans for the first time at Agganis Arena. Standard regular season ticket pricing will begin at $104 for the general public with BU faculty/staff and young alumni receiving discounts. Fans are encouraged to call the Agganis Arena ticket office at 617-353-GOBU (4628) or visit the site http://www.AgganisArena.com for more information.
Returning all five starters and the top seven scorers from last year's CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament squad, BU will again face a challenging schedule. The Terriers will compete in 20 games against opponents that ended last season with 15 or more wins and a total of 13 that participated in postseason play.
For the fourth consecutive year, BU will open its season with crosstown rival Northeastern on Sunday, Nov. 10 at the home of the Boston Celtics, TD Garden. The Terriers hold a 71-69 edge against the defending CAA regular season champions in the all-time series dating back to 1920. In the last four years, the total differential in points scored through the end of regulation is a combined three points with two of the games requiring overtime. During the previous match-up, the Huskies hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer for the win en route to the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Three days later, the Terriers will host UMass Lowell in the home opener at Case Gym on Wednesday, Nov. 11 for the first time since 1985. The River Hawks are currently transitioning to Division I and replaced BU this past summer as the ninth member of the America East.
The following four games will be part of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting the Wounded Warriors Project. As previously announced, BU will first visit UConn's Gampel Pavilion for an ESPNU national broadcast on Sunday, Nov. 17. The team will then head to Big West runner-up UC Irvine for contests against Eastern Washington (Nov. 22), the host Anteaters (Nov. 23) and defending NEC champion Long Island University Brooklyn (Nov. 24).
The next four contests will be rematches from the previous season. The Terriers will host St. Peter's on Nov. 30 after claiming a 74-66 road win last year. Led by BU alum Tom Moore ('87), Quinnipiac will also try to avenge a 69-62 overtime defeat by welcoming the Terriers on Dec. 2.
Marking the third in-state foe of the season, Harvard will pay a visit to Case Gym on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Crimson has won the last two Ivy League titles and is coming off an appearance in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Like Northeastern in 2012, Harvard needed a late jumper to top the Terriers, 65-64, and improve to 36-27 in the all-time series.
The schedule continues at George Washington on Dec. 11, as the Colonials face BU for the eighth time in nine years and seek a second consecutive win. The Terriers will then host defending MEAC regular season champion Norfolk State (Dec. 15) for the first time ever. At the 2012 NCAA tournament, the Spartans made a big splash by upsetting No. 2 seed Missouri.
BU concludes the non-conference portion of the schedule with two roads games, beginning at Maryland on Dec. 21 in its first visit to the ACC school since 1991. The Terriers will see a familiar face on the Terrapins' sideline with former player Scott Spinelli ('89) working as an assistant coach. Last season, Maryland went 25-13 and advanced to the final four of the NIT.
A member of the Atlantic 10, Saint Joseph's (Dec. 29) also participated in the NIT but was eliminated in the first round. In the previous two meetings, BU pulled out a six-point victory in 2010 with the Hawks avenging the loss at Hagan Arena in 2011 by seven points.
The new year and Patriot League schedule starts at Agganis Arena on Thursday, Jan. 2 against rival Holy Cross in the first meeting between the programs since 2009. The contest also marks the first time since 1983 that both programs are facing off as members of the same conference. That season, BU pulled out a thrilling 63-62 victory to claim the ECAC North title against the Crusaders and reach the NCAA tournament under then head coach Rick Pitino.
The first PL road trip takes place at Lehigh on Jan. 5 with the teams meeting for the first time since 1969, a game won by BU at a tournament in Scranton, Pa. Finishing last season at 21-10, the Mountain Hawks earned a berth to the College Basketball Invitational. In 2012 like Norfolk State, they shocked the No. 2 seed (Duke) at the NCAA tournament.
The Terriers made history of their own at the NCAAs in 1959 when they upset Navy to reach the Elite Eight. Now a fellow Patriot League member with the Midshipmen, BU will welcome them to Agganis for the first time ever on Jan. 7.
After visiting 2013 Patriot League runner-up Lafayette (Jan. 11), the Terriers host a two-game homestand with Colgate (Jan. 15) and Loyola Maryland (Jan. 20). BU has faced the Leopards a total of six times with the last game occurring in 1990. Sitting at 15-22 in the all-time series, the Red Raiders are a more familiar opponent due to them being a member of the America East from 1979-90. Last season, the Terriers dropped a hard-fought 70-63 decision to the Greyhounds on the road in the first round of the CIT when Loyola was still a member of the MAAC.
BU next returns to the D.C. area to visit American (Jan. 22) in the third-ever meeting between the two programs after the Terriers won the first two in 1997-98. The Eagles are the third opponent this season with a BU alum on staff after promoting Matt Wolff ('09) to assistant coach this past summer. The Terriers will then visit defending PL champion Bucknell (Jan. 25), who went 28-6 last year and reached the second round of the NCAAs. The Bison holds a slight 3-2 edge in the series dating back to 2005.
Following the two-game road trip, BU welcomes Army to Agganis Arena on Jan. 29 in the first meeting since 1994. The Terriers then begin the second go-around in the conference by hosting Lehigh on Feb. 1.
Three of the following four games come on the road at Navy (Feb. 5), Colgate (Feb. 12) and Loyola (Feb. 15). Lafayette pays a visit to Agganis on Feb. 8.
American (Feb. 19) and Bucknell (Feb. 23) mark the final two home opponents of the regular season. Before the tip-off against the Bison, the Terriers will honor their three seniors, D.J. Irving, Dom Morris and Travis Robinson.
They will conclude the regular season by heading to Army (Feb. 26) and Holy Cross (March 1) before kicking off the PL conference tournament.
All 10 programs will compete in the tournament with the higher seed hosting each game. The top six seeds will receive a first-round bye on March 3 with the quarterfinals taking place on March 5. The semifinals follow on March 8, and the two remaining squads will clash for the automatic NCAA bid on March 12.
BU last reached the Big Dance in 2011 when it topped Stony Brook at Agganis Arena in front of a national television audience on ESPN2. Irving, Morris and Robinson are the only remaining participants from that game for the Terriers and will look to punch their ticket again before graduation. The 2013-14 edition features 14 total players.
A 2013 Mid-Major All-American, Irving is the team's top returning scorer at 14.2 ppg, while Morris (11.2 ppg) was the top rebounder at 6.4 rpg. Named to the Mid-Major Freshman All-America team, Maurice Watson Jr. directed the offense last season, averaging a team-high 5.4 assists per game while also averaging 11.2 ppg. John Papale (9.2 ppg) will look to build upon his 2013 All-Rookie campaign. Newcomers Cedric Hankerson and Dylan Haines both turned down opportunities with higher profile programs to join the Terriers in their inaugural year as members of the Patriot Leauge.
