Boston University Terriers

Date/Time: Wednesday December 4th @ 7:00 PM at The Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, DC (Good to be back home after being away for over two weeks!)
Record Last Year: 15-18, 7-11 (T-7th in Patriot)
Preseason Ranks: 200th (KenPom), 164th (Bart Torvik), 265th (Sports Illustrated), 172nd (CBS)
Projected Record: 16-15, 10-8 (T-3rd in Patriot)
Postseason Last Year: None.
Coaching Record: Joe Jones, 137-120 in 8 seasons at BU, including 2 CIT appearances and an NIT appearance. Previously went 86-108 in 7 seasons at Columbia with no postseason appearances. Jones strikes me as the kind of coach who will never have a truly bad season, but at the same time not have a season that will enable him to jump ship for a higher job. Maybe this is the year he can break through after winning the league in his first year at BU - the Patriot seems more open than it has been in recent years.

All Time Record: 19-2, with our last loss to them coming at home during the 2010-11 season. We were led by Tony Taylor, Nemanja Mikic, and Joseph Katuka in that one who poured in 18, 12, and 15 points respectively. The previous loss before that came in 1979. Our most recent meeting was in 2013 when we were victorious 70-60. Our backcourt of Kethan (22 points) and JoeMac (20 points) accounted for more than half of our points, with KevLar (11 points) and Mo Creek (10 points) chipping in as well.

Offensive Efficiency: 214th (KenPom), 181st (Bart Torvik)
Defensive Efficiency: 243rd (KenPom), 236th (Bart Torvik)
Tempo: 257th (KenPom), 262nd (Bart Torvik)

Key Returning Players:
Max Mahoney (SR; Basking Ridge, NJ) 16.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.7 apg; 63% FG, 64% FT
Javante McCoy (JR; Frisco, TX) 12.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.3 apg; 43% FG, 39% 3-pt, 81% FT

Key Losses:
Tyler Scanlon (Transferred to Belmont; Centreville, VA) 13.8 ppg, 5 rpg, 3.3 apg; 46% FG, 34% 3-pt, 80% FT (Us not landing him when he transferred this offseason was honestly a key loss for us as well.)

Comments:
As mentioned earlier, Joe Jones has always kept BU relatively competitive in the Patriot, but it's a tad surprising his lack of postseason appearances (in really any tournament) hasn't really cost him his job yet. It is worth noting that looking at the current depth chart for the Terriers, only four total players have transferred in the past few years, which speaks well to the program and internal culture Jones is running.

The Terriers are currently on a three game losing streak. The SC win of course sticks out, and they played a solid Jordan Roland-led Northeastern team close, but otherwise not much is notable about their OOC performance thus far. The Terriers have shown slightly better defense in this young season compared to last year, as the team was all offense and little defense last season. Lacking in size, there was no player with shot-blocking ability, leading to BU getting continuously torched at the rim, and forcing the Terriers to match their opposition offensively shot for shot. They were also very jump-shot heavy - only 20 teams got to the line less frequently than the Terriers. Roster continuity should help BU be better by default this season, but the team is still lacking in athleticism.

Max Mahoney is their undisputed leader who does all his damage down low with his 215 pound frame. Jones has historically preferred to run a perimeter-centric attack (much like JC) but the stellar play of Mahoney has forced him to change things up, making the offense more balanced. Whether it's scoring, rebounding, or passing, nearly everything runs through Mahoney. AT's return would be huge, because I worry Mahoney will have a Kotsar-like game against us without him. He is just a 58% free throw shooter, so maybe we hack-a-'honey.

With Mahoney being the dominant force in the paint, he will be surrounded by a bunch of mobile wings/guards around him to help with floor spacing. Javante McCoy is a guy who can play spots 2-4. He made the "sophomore jump" in year 2, shooting the ball at a fairly efficient rate all over the floor. Unfortunately, McCoy hasn't been able to recapture that magic thus far - he is just 31% from the field, and 3/25 on his threes. Let's keep it that way. That's not to say McCoy hasn't contributed - he has served as the lead ball handler for the Terriers thus far and leads the team in assists. BU received a huge boost this year with the return of 6-6 Walter Whyte. Despite missing all of the 2018-19 season with a bone bruise injury, Whyte hasn't skipped a beat (maybe some meth made him feel better - kidding of course), and has shown great chemistry (yeah I can't help myself) with his teammates pacing the team in scoring thus far and proving to be an above average rebounder. A 3-star prospect out of HS and former all-Patriot rookie member, Whyte leads the team with 17 made threes on the year. He one weakness appears to be the free throw line, much like Mahoney. Alex Vilarino and Jonas Harper are the key supporting guards in the backcourt. Harper, a walk-on, is the better shooter of the two, but pretty much only contributes as a spot-up guy. Vilarino, who comes to Boston from Texas Tech, is a bit more well-rounded - he is a good passer and fights harder on the glass than Harper.

The remainder of the rotation consists of junior guard Andrew Petcash, center Sukhmail Mathon, sophomore forward Jack Hemphill, freshman guard Ethan Britain-Watts, and wing Fletcher Tynen. Petcash hasn't truly had a game where he has exploded yet, but his shooting stats to begin the year are very impressive - he has made 52% of his 21 threes, and is shooting 60% overall. This is not a guy we want to get comfortable in the game, because he screams a guy who could go off without us really paying much attention to him (he averages just 5.4 ppg thus far). Mathon is the tallest player on the team at 6-10, but is not a vertically explosive player. He has posted good scoring and rebounding numbers in limited time. Hemphill hasn't yet shown to be a stretch 4, but has fared better getting to the hoop. Britain-Watts has struggled offensively thus far - he has the look of a freshman still trying to get acclimated to college ball. Tynen will provide insurance as a backup wing, but doesn't strike me as a guy who will probably get much run once Patriot league play comes around. Petcash is the one that scares me the most off the bench after their top 5 players.

That covers pretty much all on BU, although I will mention they have a senior walk-on named Adam Mikula who I hope matches up with Adam Mitola at some point in the game. The commentators are sure to mess that one up as to which guy is on which team.

I feel like we have played quite a few teams that are ranked similarly to us to begin the year: UMKC, Milwaukee, and now BU. If the previous games are any indication, I'd expect this one to be a close game which we definitely have a chance to win, especially being at home. Based on our progression on both ends, if we can hold Mahoney and make some shots at a decent clip, we can win this one.

Predicted Score: GW 68, Boston U 65. 62% chance to win (Bart Torvik). ESPN says we have a 72.6% chance to get back to .500 in home games.
 

Thanks! Don't believe there is a specific GW connection, but Scanlon was down to us, Belmont, and Wisconsin as his final three before ultimately choosing the Bruins. We were clearly the choice from the hometown angle, but I respect the Belmont pick. The Bruins probably have the best chance to make the NCAA tournament with us and the Badgers in transition years, and Scanlon is in his final year. 

dmvpiranha wrote:

BU received a huge boost this year with the return of 6-6 Walter Whyte. Despite missing all of the 2018-19 season with a bone bruise injury, Whyte hasn't skipped a beat (maybe some meth made him feel better - kidding of course), and has shown great chemistry (yeah I can't help myself) with his teammates pacing the team in scoring thus far and proving to be an above average rebounder.
 

If only we played him when we had Skyler White on the team...

15 minutes to tip, I count 17 people in the upper tier and ~50 in the student section. Can’t see “blue seats”, but total cant be more than 200.  Hoping for a late arriving crowd.

OK, JNJr just officially impressed me with making that layup while being on the receiving end of a mugging.

Mazz in attendance tonight. Sitting in the student section but with his hoodie up to avoid the paparazzi

Solid defense sparking comeback.

6 assists, 15 turnovers

Javi should have no trouble getting laid tonight, bails out his point guards for some unwise choices to not pass the ball on either of the last two possessions.

Potter ought to be made to stand under the basket and shoot 200 layups. I was just watching the play by play and Potter showed way too many "Potter layup miss". Amazing win though. Great comeback!