Men’s Basketball: Terriers Look to Take Down Loyola In Game with Playoff Implications
Featured image by Matthew Wuschke
By Austin Rayamajhi
Boston University Men’s Basketball (13-14, 7-7 PL) are set to take on the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds (10-15, 5-9 PL) in their penultimate regular season home game.
BU landed a huge victory in their last game against the reigning Patriot League champions, Colgate. This win pushed the Terriers home win streak up to nine games, their first time doing this since 2011. The last time BU won ten straight home games was back in 1997.
A win for the Terriers also has big implications for the Patriot League tournament. BU currently sits two games ahead of Lafayette and Loyola Maryland for the sixth spot in the conference, meaning they would get a bye in the opening round of postseason play.
A win against the Greyhounds virtually guarantees the Greyhounds play in the opening round while BU moves closer to securing a bye and a potential home game in their first round of play.
While the Terriers are coming off a big win, Loyola has stumbled in recent weeks. Loyola has lost six of their last eight games, albeit one of those wins coming against BU. They are currently on a three game losing streak, with their last loss being a blowout against American, losing 51-72.
Historically, the Terriers have dominated this matchup, leading the head to head series at 19 wins to 8 losses. The Greyhounds had lost six straight games against BU before earning a nail biting two point victory at home against the Terriers earlier this year. The two squads have played consistently close games, with their last four matchups all being won by one possession.
Loyola are led by three prolific scorers. Senior center Milos Ilic, is averaging 14 points as well as 7.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, leading the team in all three figures. Sophomore guard Jacob Theodosiou and Sophomore wing Jordan Stiemke are also over double figures on points, averaging 12.4 and 11.9 points per game respectively.
The Terriers leading scorer, Sophomore guard Kyrone Alexander, is coming off a huge performance at home. Alexander scored 21 points and hit the game winner in double overtime against Colgate to help lead the big win. Freshman forward Ben Defty also had his best performance of his career, adding 15 points and 7 rebounds in the win.
Other Terriers have contributed big time to their recent home success. Sophomore guard Michael McNair has brought his season average to 10.7 points per game. McNair, Alexander, and Graduate guard Miles Brewster are the only Terriers to average over 10 points per game, with Brewster averaging 10.1.
The Terriers hope they can avenge their tough road loss against Loyola Maryland and keep their home momentum rolling. The two face off on Wednesday, February 19th, at 7 P.M. with the game available to stream on ESPN+.