the Informer

At the America East Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon last October, the Boston University men were the unanimous pick among the conference’s coaches to win the league. However, at the end of the regular season, the Terriers find themselves as the No. 4 seed entering the America East conference tournament.

However, in just his first year as coach of the Terriers, Patrick Chambers has his club moving in the right direction as March rolls around.

The Terriers (17-12, 11-5 AE) enter the postseason on a hot streak, winning their last four games and six of their last seven. The latest of those victories was a 76-56 rout of third-place Maine on Feb. 27.

The lone stumble came in a 76-75 loss against Vermont in which the Catamounts’ Evan Fjeld hit the winning lay up with 9.4 seconds remaining.

Over that seven-game stretch, BU has been led by the hot hand of junior guard/forward John Holland. In that span, Holland has averaged 23.9 points per game, including a career-high 43-point barrage in a non-conference win at Delaware Feb. 20. He is shooting 52.5 percent from the field, including 43.2 percent from long distance, and 90 percent from the free-throw line during his late-season burst.

Holland, a preseason America East All-Conference selection, has been as good as advertised. He leads the conference in scoring at just under 20 points per game for the season and has also appeared in the top 10 in the conference for most statistical categories.

He is not, however, a one-man show. He has had a good amount of help from his teammates, including senior guard Corey Lowe. Lowe is second in the conference in assists, with 4.3 per game. Lowe also ranks ninth in the conference, second on the team in scoring, with 14.1 per game. Sophomore forward Jake O’Brien, and senior Carlos Strong also average double figures in scoring.

With such a balanced scoring attack, the Terriers have averaged 70.3 points per game for the season, second in the conference behind Vermont.

Not only can this team score, they also defend. In conference play, Boston has held its opponents to 61.9 points per game. This is due largely to the team’s conference-best field goal percentage defense. The Terriers force their opponents to shoot 38 percent from the field and just 28.9 percent from behind the arc.

Though they may have finished fourth in the conference during the regular season, they will be a tough out in the America East tournament.

They have nine seniors on the roster and that experience, along with solid free-throw shooting, may come in handy down the stretch in a close game.

Coach Chambers told the media after that win against Maine that his team would be playing each game in the conference tournament as if it were its last. With a veteran club playing well at the right time and a win-or-go-home mentality the Terriers could prove the preseason polls to be true when the championship trophy is handed out.