Motivated Boston University is on a roll in the final weeks

BOSTON – Likely in part because they are departing the conference after this season and thus not eligible for the America East tournament, Boston University has been flying under the radar. But make no mistake: the Terriers are a factor in the conference race, and look very much like a team motivated to win on their way out as they have won seven of eight after Sunday’s 68-56 win over New Hampshire.

“Every game from here on out, since conference play started, has been personal for us,” said freshman guard Maurice Watson, Jr. “We just feel like we’re getting the short end of the stick because we’re making a change. We want to leave them with a sour taste in their mouth when they play against the Terriers.”

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Boston University needs to grow by finishing games better

BOSTON – As the season has gone along, Boston University’s young team has grown.  They have grown past the disappointment of losing several games in the final seconds early on and past the season-opening five-game losing streak.  Now, as the Terriers go two games above .500 in conference play after a 79-72 win over Maine on Tuesday night, it is clear that the tougher part of their growth is what lies ahead.

The Terriers have plenty of talent, and that was one reason to believe this team would start winning games at some point.  It was just a question of when that would happen.  The Terriers bounced back from the tough start to the season to win six non-conference games, and before losing at Hartford on Saturday they had won five of six and made it a game above .500 overall on the season.  They also got themselves on the other side of some tough games, as they were able to win games late or with the odds very much against them.

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New Hampshire is searching desperately for answers

DURHAM, N.H. – Bill Herrion summed it up rather succinctly in the middle of his post-game press conference.

“We’re rock bottom,” said the subdued New Hampshire head coach.  “I’m not going to lie to you, we’re rock bottom right now.”

Thursday night’s 51-40 loss to Hartford was the Wildcats’ ninth in a row.  It was another game where the offense struggled to get going, and once the defense had some trouble, the game was over.  In past years the Wildcats would defend well enough to stay in the game, and the offense had enough to win some games.  That’s not the case with this team, and that’s before we get to the fact that they don’t seem to play well together at the offensive end.

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Nwakamma carries Hartford out of losing streak

DURHAM, N.H. – After an ugly first half for both teams, Hartford woke up in the second half.  In particular, Mark Nwakamma woke up, and he carried the Hawks to a 51-40 win at New Hampshire that stopped a three-game losing streak and also showed why he is this team’s most important player.

Hartford has been a streaky team since the calendar turned over, which isn’t entirely surprising given that this is still a young team.  They started by winning their first three America East games before dropping three straight.  A year after opening up 0-13, the Hawks have managed to make that three-game losing streak their longest of the season, evidence of the strides this team is making.  A lot of that starts with the clear star of Thursday night’s game.

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Once again, UNH starts off conference play in alarming fashion

DURHAM, N.H. – You can’t blame Bill Herrion for being concerned. A couple of post-game comments in summing up what he sees as a major issue for his team tells the whole story.

“We’ve lost something,” said the Wildcat mentor. “What I’m trying to explain to you as a coach is scary.”

Wednesday night provided New Hampshire with an opportunity to get a jump on the competition in hosting the America East opener. It was against Vermont, a tough opponent to be sure, but it’s better to be at home than on the road. They have also played Vermont tough at home in recent years. After a 64-51 loss to the Catamounts that wasn’t even as close as the final score, though, one might wonder if there will be a case of deja vu in more ways than one.

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How the conferences shake out as 2013 approaches

Non-conference play is almost over, and it has been quite a stretch. We’ve learned a good deal about a lot of teams, while some are still a mystery for various reasons – injuries, suspensions, ineligibility and a light schedule are all possible reasons. In addition, a few conferences have already seen a game or two mixed in with the non-conference schedule.

Conference play is right around the corner, and while a non-conference resume doesn’t tell the whole story, it does shed some light on teams and conferences. In conference play, there is more familiarity since teams play each other every year, although the changing landscape is starting to diminish that factor a bit. That’s one reason why we see some teams put forth a very good non-conference showing, including some good wins, then go on to have a mediocre showing in conference play.

With that in mind, here’s a look at how every conference in America shapes up.

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Boston University isn’t the defensive team they have been for years

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – For years, you could bank on one thing about Boston University: they would be a defensive-oriented team. That was the identity of this team from Dennis Wolff’s days, continuing on with Pat Chambers and last year as Joe Jones took over. This season, that doesn’t appear to be the case at first glance, although for a while on Tuesday the Terriers looked like they were ready to turn a corner before the second half of their 65-64 loss at Harvard. In the end, though, a familiar item came back to haunt them: an inability to get a stop when they need it most.

“We’ve lost three games now at the buzzer,” said Jones after a short jumper by Harvard’s Siyani Chambers with four seconds left gave Harvard the victory. “We just haven’t been able to get the last stop of the game. It’s been unfortunate.”

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Vermont’s continued success, including on the road, makes sense after all

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – You could be forgiven if you had some basic information on Vermont’s success in recent years and their 4-1 start this season and asked, “How do they do that?”  By almost any conventional measure or appearance, what this team is doing and has done appears to be lacking a clear answer at first glance.

First, take a look at the team.  There isn’t a natural point guard on the roster; Sandro Carissimo is the closest to it, and while he’s grown in that role since arriving in Burlington, his scoring instinct is never far away.  They have at times run the offense through his prep teammate, Brian Voelkel, over the last two-plus seasons from the wing.  Voelkel, by the way, doesn’t exactly pass the “look” test of a Division I basketball player at all, let alone one of the best players in his conference and his conference’s leading rebounder the past two years.  The Catamounts aren’t very athletic as a whole.

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New Hampshire tries to survive a tough road stretch

WORCESTER, Mass. – New Hampshire is almost done with a five-game road stretch, and it won’t come a moment too soon. Saturday’s 60-50 loss at Holy Cross was in part a repeat of earlier games in terms of where they played well and where the problems were. It also might mean some lineup changes could be in store if current trends persist.

New Hampshire had to play from behind basically the entire afternoon, as they trailed 7-2 before the first media timeout and by as many as 11 in the first half. They were down by 10 at intermission largely because Holy Cross had a big possession advantage due to 10 offensive rebounds. Although they would rally in the second half and eventually take the lead, it was short-lived and they never got it again, especially once Holy Cross went to a zone defense.

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Albany is surely thankful to be home for a change

UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Surely no one was happier to get home from the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament than Albany. And yet, the Great Danes couldn’t get comfortable there for long. So goes the November portion of their non-conference schedule, which has been more than a grind and included a tough 67-64 loss to Loyola (Md.) in the Springfield Bracket championship game on Sunday.

The Great Danes opened the season at home against Duquesne on November 9. Two days later, they lost at Ohio State, and went right from Columbus to Seattle, where two days later they beat Washington. They were barely home when they headed to Connecticut for two games this weekend, and had to fly to South Carolina on Monday for a Tuesday night matchup at South Carolina State, which they won in a romp 83-55.

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