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Northeastern, Boston University prepped for postseason
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Northeastern and Boston University both earned the No. 3 seed in their respective league tournaments, but the fashion in which those teams are entering the postseason is a tad different.
Sure, the Huskies did enough to gain a first-round bye in the CAA tournament and the Terriers have only been beating up on the dregs of the America East of late, but there’s something to be said for momentum.
Essentially, one team has it. The other does not.
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Northeastern’s 57-54 loss at home to Old Dominion on Saturday was its fifth setback in seven league games to end the season and its third straight at home. And while the Huskies will be able to wait for the Drexel-Towson winner to emerge for a Saturday night quarterfinal matchup, they may need that time to get Matt Janning going again.
If NU has any chance to run the table and earn its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1991, Janning (right) will have to right the ship.
While it sounds simplistic to imply that a team needs its leading scorer playing well to win, the proof is in the pudding:
- In the Huskies’ 18 wins Janning has averaged 15.2 points on 45.9 percent shooting.
- In their 11 losses he scored 11.9 per game on a dismal 32.3 percent.
- In the final three games of the regular season the junior has scored a total of just 21 points on 7-of-28 shooting.
With your best all-around player shooting nearly 14 percentage points higher in wins, it’s clear that getting him untracked is critical.
Northeastern won its only meeting with Towson this season behind 24 points and 12 rebounds from Manny Adako. The Huskies split with Drexel, each team winning on the others’ home court. Baptiste Bataille scored 19 points for NU in the loss and hit the game-winner with 1.2 seconds left in the win.
Northeastern vs. Drexel-Towson winner
Saturday, March 7 @ 8:30 p.m.
Richmond Coliseum
Richmond, VA
Media: Comcast SportsNet (TV), 104.9 FM (radio)
BU, meanwhile, has won three straight and gets a great draw for its quarterfinal game, pulling one of the few teams in the league in UMBC with less manpower than the Terriers. UMBC dresses only eight players due to injuries and defections and was swept by BU this season.
Much has been made of the Terriers’ limited bench this season and an injury to senior forward Matt Wolff on Sunday may make things even tougher in the tournament, but lately some of the reserves have given Matt’s father and coach reason to smile.
Freshman big man Jeff Pelage had his first career double-double in a win over Maine on Thursday and junior Sherrod Smith took up a lot of Wolff’s minutes in Sunday’s defeat of Hartford, recording five points and two steals.
Just a few contributions from such role players will help the John Hollands and Corey Lowes of the world lead BU past the Retrievers. Getting by a likely semifinal matchup with Vermont is another thing. The Catamounts superior depth took its toll on the Terriers in both meetings this season as they won the second halves by a collective margin of 81-39.
Boston University vs. Maryland-Baltimore County
Saturday, March 7 @ 2:30 p.m.
SEFCU Arena
Albany, NY
Media: Time Warner Cable (TV), 1510 AM (radio)
More About:
College basketball ·
Northeastern ·
Boston University ·
Matt Janning ·
America East ·
Dennis Wolff ·
John Holland ·
Corey Lowe ·
Matt Wolff ·
Vermont ·
Manny Adako ·
UMBC ·
Drexel ·
Baptiste Bataille ·
Jeff Pelage ·
Sherrod Smith
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