Snap Judgments: 1/24 vs. UMBC

By Shep Hayes/DFP Staff

BU dominated the glass
The final rebounding numbers were 45-28 in favor of the Terriers. BU had 31 defensive boards while UMBC had a mere 17. BU had 21 second-chance points, which seems absolutely insane for this team. Rebounding has come up in every one of the press conferences I’ve attended over the past few games, and Joe Jones has consistently said it is something he did not focus on at the beginning of the season, but has begun to place more of an emphasis on now. The Terriers haven’t rebounded insanely well the past few games, but UMBC was different. If anything, Tuesday was a chance for BU to see just how well it can rebound.

Darryl Partin had a consistent game
The senior shot 40 percent in the first half and 50 percent in the second, which sounds consistent, right? Except he took 10 shots in the first and only four in the second. Still, tonight was one of Partin’s better first-half performances as of late and it can only help the Terriers when he finds his stride (or rhythm, in the language of the team) earlier. Partin takes such a high amount of the Terriers' shots – 37.1 percent of all BU shots when he is on the floor, according to Ken Pomeroy – that for more of them to fall can only help.

Randy Monroe is insane
Before Tuesday night, I had never seen the UMBC coach in action. My first real experience with him came in the first half when I saw him screaming at his players as they tried to break down the BU starting five. Over the next hour-and-a-half of real time, I had the pleasure of witnessing Monroe yell, jump, stomp, get called for a technical foul and lead the weirdest timeouts I have ever seen. The man is mad, and rightfully so. His team is now 3-17 this season, and his squads the past few years have come nowhere near the number of wins the 2008 America East championship squad hit. He has watched his team fall from heights, but there is one saving grace: Binghamton.

Mat Piotrowski had his first career points
The redshirt freshman isn’t getting as much playing time as his counterpart, Malik Thomas, so it was nice to see him get into the total points column of the stat sheet for the first time in his career. Piotrowksi didn’t officially attempt a shot, but he had a number of looks that kept getting blocked off by UMBC defenders. By virtue of UMBC’s relentless, if ineffective defense, Piotrowksi was fouled. He sank both of his free throws and became the eleventh Terrier to score Tuesday.

BU should partner more with Greek Life
It’s kind of a thing with Daily Free Press writers to talk about the low attendance at BU sporting events. There is some truth to our argument, even if we may push it a little too much. No one really does go to events besides men's hockey, and men's basketball is certainly not an exception. The student sections are usually full of a few diehards and casual fans.

But Tuesday night, BU partnered with Pi Kappa Alpha for a breast cancer awareness event and a rough estimate suggests the most students were in Case Gymnasium since the season opener against Northeastern University. My suggestion: BU Athletics should partner more with Greek Life. Don’t saturate the market, certainly, but if you can get the student sections mostly full for a game against UMBC, anything should be possible for contests with the best teams in the conference.

Malik Thomas was:
Lethal off the bench. 3-for-5 in 15 minutes off action, two of which were from beyond the arc (one of which got the crowd going). 1-for-2 at the free throw line, four defensive rebounds, three personal fouls, two turnovers, two blocks and zero offensive boards.