Men’s Basketball: Terriers Seek First Conference Win

By: Chris Lynch

The Boston University men’s basketball team is struggling right now. They’ve lost their last three games, all of them in conference. They’ve got a depleted roster, a struggling rotation, and doubt after an up and down loss to Navy. They need a victory to get them going in the right direction, and they might be getting the best chance to turn it around when the Lafayette Leopards come to town.

Last year’s Patriot League champions are not having a great season, at only 4-10 on the year, and 2-7 on the road. Lafayette has not performed that well this season on the whole, and their issues can be traced back to one major thing; their defense. The Leopards are averaging 84.7 points allowed per game on defense, worst in the Patriot League. They are second worst in defensive field goal percentage, and are last place in rebounding defense. The Leopards have struggled on the defensive side of the ball, and that can be a problem against a BU team that’s averaging 72.6 points a game, and is averaging 36.7% from three point range, good for fourth in the conference.

However, Lafayette can score the basketball. They have four players averaging double digit totals, led by Nick Lindler at 17.9 points a game. The other Leopards in double digits are Matt Klinewski and Scott Bryce, at 13.5 points a game, and Monty Boykins at 10.5 points a game. They are averaging 74.6 points a game this season, third in the Patriot League.

Also, Lafayette will be looking for its second consecutive road conference victory. Its first came against a 10 win Army team at West Point. Their struggling defense managed to contain the top scoring offense in the conference to only 73 points, 11 points lower than their average. They got 8 steals, and defeated Army 76-73. They have momentum on their side and can give BU trouble. They won two out of three match ups with the Terriers last season.

BU will have to score on a team that has struggled defensively, and will have to get healthy. Cheddi Mosely sat out the last game with a stress fracture in his foot, and the team is looking for him to be a factor if he can play on Saturday, hoping to give another shooter in the backcourt. BU needs this game to get some momentum on their side.