By Brian Willwerth
It’s time for our weekly look at the men’s basketball teams at Harvard University, Boston University and Northeastern University.
16-2. That’s what Tommy Amaker’s record is at Harvard this season.
The Crimson beat Dartmouth last Saturday to extend their winning streak to four games. They’re tied atop the Ivy League standings with Yale and Penn, with a big road test against the Bulldogs coming up on Friday night. The stats don’t lie for Harvard. The Crimson are ranked either 1st or 2nd in the Ivy League in just about every team category: points per game, team defense, free throw percentage, field goal percentage, 3-point percentage, the list goes on and on. As long as Harvard doesn’t stumble, I think they deserve to be in the NCAA tournament.
Moving to Commonwealth Ave., the Terriers are red-hot right now. They’ve won seven in a row to move into a tie for first place atop the America East. The latest victory: a 35-point blowout victory over UMBC Tuesday night at The Roof.
It’s easy to look at the 83 points and say the offense is clicking, which it is. But the defense is the reason BU is on a roll. During their seven-game streak, the Terriers have allowed more than 60 points only once, (against Maine on 1/11). Offensively, senior Darryl Partin continues to impress. After his 17-point performance Tuesday night against the Retrievers, he’s moved into the top-20 in scoring in the country as of Thursday. He’s ranked #16, and averaging just under 20 ppg.
Next up for BU: a big, nationally-televised game Friday night against Stony Brook. The Terriers won the first meeting at home; can they do it again on the Seawolves’ home court?
After dropping back-to-back road games to Drexel and Old Dominion, Northeastern appeared to be heading to its third straight defeat Wednesday night. But the Huskies came back from a five-point deficit in the final 30 seconds against Delaware, and won it on Joel Smith’s bucket with one second left on the clock.
It’s the second time this season Smith has beaten the Buzzer; his last-second shot sank Vermont on December 30th. NU is now 6-4 in the CAA. Still, the Huskies have fallen off the pace a bit in the conference because of the previous two losses. They’re now in the middle of the pack. Their next game is against Hofstra on Saturday afternoon at Matthews Arena.
