Men’s Basketball: Terriers Travel to Northwestern After Thrilling Overtime Win

Featured Image by Matthew Wuschke

By Matthew Wuschke

Boston University Men’s Basketball (1-0, 0-0 PL) is gearing up to hit the road and face Northwestern (1-0, 0-0 B1G) on Friday, Nov 7th,. The Terriers are looking to continue their success after a thrilling overtime victory at Northeastern, winning 76-75. 

The Terriers were led to victory by sophomore forward Ben Defty and freshman forward Sam Hughes. Defty notched 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 steals, while Hughes had 21 points and 5 rebounds, shooting 55% from 3-point range. Both played pivotal roles throughout the game and hopefully can continue to contribute as BU rolls into Illinois. 

Other players to keep an eye out for are graduate guard Ethan Okwuosa, who notched 8 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists, along with freshman guard Chance Gladden, who had 8 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists last game. The Terriers have shown that they have depth throughout the lineup, with 7 players playing over 20 minutes in the first contest.

BU will look to continue getting the hot hands going, but also will have to work on warming up some cold hands. Junior guard Michael McNair shot 2 of 9 from the field, and sophomore guard Azmar Abdullah shot 2 of 10 from the field, against Northeastern. They will each be looking to turn it around Friday night.

Northwestern is coming off a dominant 70-47 win against Mercyhurst on Monday, Nov. 3rd. The Wildcats bode to be a difficult matchup for BU, with Northwestern reaching the NCAA Tournament in two of the past three seasons. This matchup marks the first time in over 65 years that the two universities are facing off.

Northwestern is led by junior forward Arrinten Page and senior forward Nick Martinelli. Page had 18 points, 12 rebounds and 2 assists and Martinelli had 17 points and 5 rebounds last game.

The Wildcats have shown they have some holes in their team, especially when it comes to shooting. Northwestern shot 36.5% overall from the field last game, which looks promising to a BU team who just shot 45% overall. The Terriers will have to be cautious rebounding though, as the Wildcats are an aggressive rebounding team who led Mercyhurst 49-32 in that tally on Monday.

The game will be tipping off from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL at 6 p.m. and will be available to watch on Peacock.