Men’s Basketball: Terriers Set to Head West in Search of Their First Win
Featured image by Spirit Veron
By James Noyes
The Boston University Terriers (0-1, 0-0 PL) will embark on their first west coast road trip in over 10 years this weekend, as they hope to pick up their first win of the season in California. This Friday, Nov. 8th, the Terriers are set to take on the University of San Diego Toreros (0-0, 0-0 WCC) at 10 p.m. ET. Three days later, they’ll take the trip north up the coast to Los Angeles to play the UCLA Bruins (1-0, 0-0 B1G), also at 10 p.m. ET.
Friday’s matchup marks the first-ever game played between the BU and USD men’s basketball teams. The Terriers, who lost their season opener at home to Northeastern University, are undermanned as junior forwards Nico Nobili and Otto Landrum did not dress for the season opener, and a potential return date for the two Terrier paint stalwarts remains uncertain.
Much of the frontcourt load will fall onto the shoulders of 7-foot freshman forward Ben Defty and sophomore wing Matai Baptiste. Baptiste played 17 minutes in the Terriers’ season opener, logging two points, three rebounds, a block and an assist along with two turnovers. Defty was on the floor for 12 minutes during his Boston University debut, and scored five points, notching four rebounds, a block, and two turnovers as well.
Sophomore forward Quinn Nielson only played three minutes against Northeastern, but made his only shot to secure two points of his own. Nielson is also expected to get additional minutes in the absences of Landrum and Nobili.
On the flipside, the USD Toreros are only returning two starters from last season–senior center Steven Jamerson II and senior guard Dominic Muncy. None of the top four Toreros in total minutes played last season are members of this year’s roster.
To make up for their losses, the Toreros added nine new players. Graduate guard Cody Klouet, a native of San Diego County who scored over 17 points-per-game on efficient shooting at Southeastern Oklahoma State University last year, headlines the team’s additions. Two freshmen, center Kean Webb and forward Gavin Ripp, are projected to make the biggest impact of the first-year Toreros.
The game, this Friday at 10 p.m ET, will be broadcast on ESPN+. The injured Terriers will have to lean on the strength of their guards, like standout sophomore Kyrone Alexander and team captain Miles Brewster, and their forwards, like 6-foot-8-inch senior Malcolm Chimezie and Ben Defty, to power past USD’s revamped roster. But before returning to Boston, the Terriers will weather their toughest challenge yet by way of the UCLA Bruins.
The Bruins, a newly minted member of the Big Ten Conference, are coming off of an underwhelming 2023-24 campaign by their standards; in 2022-23, the team made the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight season.
Last year, they finished 5th in the Pac-12 with a 10-10 conference record, and went 16-17 overall, their first time finishing below .500 since the 2015-16 season. They beat Oregon State in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament before losing to Oregon 68-66 in the quarterfinals, ending head coach Mick Cronin’s streak of 12 consecutive NCAA tournament berths.
UCLA is returning four starters from last year’s team, as they lost last season’s second-leading scorer on the team in Adem Bona of the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Bruins are also welcoming nine new players – six transfers and three freshmen. Two of the transfers, senior guard Kobe Johnson and junior forward Tyler Bilodeau, played in the Pac-12 last year and are familiar with UCLA’s game.
All three of the freshmen hail from California. Trent Perry, a guard who was named a McDonald’s All-American last year, played high school basketball with guard Christian Horry at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. Eric Freeny, the Bruins third freshman, is a guard out of Centennial High School in Compton, California.
If UCLA wants to restore its reputation as the greatest college basketball program of all time, beating Boston University is a necessary step. The Terriers, on the other hand, will use the game as an opportunity to form a new identity. How they play under the bright lights of Pauley Pavilion will dictate just what kind of team BU has this year; the Bruins will attempt to suffocate the Terriers in all facets, but a competitive showing from BU would be a breath of fresh air for the entire program.
In the two previous games BU has played UCLA, they lost by a combined 45 points. But those games were both played in the 1980’s. 40 years later, the Terriers are looking to change the tune. The game is at 10 p.m ET on Monday night, and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.