Despite being selected as the preseason favorite, the Boston
University men's basketball team knew it had plenty of questions marks to
address this season. While the return of senior guard John Holland gave the
Terriers a great piece to the puzzle, Boston U. lost nine seniors from last
year squad, and were banking on the play of talented group of new players,
including seven freshman and three transfers in order to compete for an America
East championship.
As it may have been expected, the Terriers started the
season slowly, as many of the players were still growing accustomed to playing
together. That task grew even more difficult when junior all-conference forward
Jake O'Brien went down for the season with a broken foot against UMass on New
Year's Eve.
After a difficult non-conference slate, Boston U. entered
America East play with a 5-9 record and despite starting 3-1 in conference
play, stood at just 5-4 in the league and 10-13 overall as the calendar turned
to February following a loss to New Hampshire on Jan. 29. That loss turned out
to be the turning point of the season as the Terriers have not lost since and
ride a 10-game win streak into Saturday's title contest. Boston U, which is
seeking its first league title since 2002, has turned up the defense during
this stretch and is allowing just 56 points per game during the win streak.
Leading the way for Boston University is America East Player
of the Year John Holland. The explosive senior guard, who cracked the
2,000-point mark earlier this season, gives the Terriers an elite scoring
option. He is complimented by America East All-Conference first-team selection
Darryl Partin. After battling through such a tough start to the season, Boston
U. knows that a great effort is needed to see all the hard work come to
fruition. Head coach Pat Chambers and
Director of Athletics Mike Lynch discuss what it will take to win the title in
the video.