Men’s Basketball: Terriers Face Binghamton On Road
By: Chris Lynch
After a difficult loss in Lexington, and then enjoying Turkey Day as a unit, the Boston University Terriers now travel to upstate New York to take on another former American East foe in the Binghamton Bearcats.
The participants come in with different tracks to the game. BU lost its last game, 82-62, against the #1 ranked Kentucky Wildcats. While they did play well for much of the game, the Kentucky Wildcats overwhelmed the Terriers with interior post defense and smothering defense.
BU has alternated wins and losses to this point on the season and they will look to bounce back at the Events Center in Vestal, New York. Meanwhile, the Bearcats have gotten off to a poor start, losing their first three games of the season before getting their first win of the year on Tuesday over Central Connecticut State.
Behind Willie Rodriguez’s career high 27 points, the Bearcats defeated Central 81-75 in New Britain, Connecticut. Binghamton shot a season high 53% from the field and dished out a season-high 18 assists. The Bearcats finally got their offense to work in the last game and will look to repeat their success on Saturday afternoon.
BU holds a big advantage in the all-time series against the Bearcats, going 21-5 in the series and winning five consecutive games by 12 or more points. The Terriers defeated the Bearcats 78-65 last season at Case, with BU making 14 three point shots as a team. The Bearcats did give the Terriers a fight for that match up, especially Dusan Perovic, who scored a game high and school record 34 points. The Terriers did have a balanced attack, with four players scoring in double figures as they withstood a late Bearcat run.
BU has ridden its backcourt to success early in the season. Freshman point guard Kyle Foreman is averaging 13.2 points and a team high 5.2 assists on the season. Foreman, John Papale, and Cheddi Mosely are leading the team’s offense from the three point line, hitting 45 of BU’s 53 three pointers. The Terriers are ranked 14th in the NCAA in made three pointers this season.
One thing the Terriers need to improve is their interior play and their chances from the free throw line. When the team has lost this season, they have been out rebounded by nine rebounds and opponents have outshot the Terriers with 9.2 more free throws. In fact, the only game in which a Terrier got a double-double, or got double digit rebounding totals, was when Nathan Dieudonne picked up 10 points and 10 boards on opening night against Northeastern. If BU is to win more games, they will need more rebounds and more firepower coming from their forwards and from the free throw line.
BU can win the game game against the Bearcats, but Binghamton is dangerous. They figured out how to get a win and are returning home with momentum. The Terriers have more to go on the road trip and will have to keep their energy high for this game and one more road game after this, but hey cannot look past the Bearcats.