The Day After: Cornell 89, BU 59

One lineup shuffle, one embarrassing loss and one powerful quote later and this is where the Boston University men's basketball team stands.

[For those of you who haven't yet read the quote, here it is: "I don't have a lot of answers right now," BU coach Dennis Wolff said after Monday's 89-59 loss to Cornell. "We are at a crossroads and we are going to either fight our way out of it or we're going to be exposed as somewhat of a phony team. And that's going to be determined by the way we handle the next few days."]

To begin the game, Carlos Strong started for the first time this season in the place of a fully healthy John Holland, who started all 10 games prior to Monday's loss. Wolff said the shuffle was due to terrible practices the team had for a week following its loss to the University of Delaware (70-68), and given Holland's practice history, it's not unfathomable to expect Wolff to have made this move at some point this year. Holland will no doubt need to prove himself in practice (as well as games, now, as he's had two pretty bad ones in a row) before he regains his starting spot.

But Holland wasn't the problem Monday night. At least not the only problem, as the entire team appeared flat from the start and got literally flattened as a result as Cornell had four dunks before the first media timeout. Again, we find ourselves talking about why this team lacks the grit, hustle and determination Wolff was searching for following a loss to Marshall University (84-80). It's become an all-too common theme when discussing a veteran team picked to win the conference for a second-straight year. It shouldn't be an issue. But it is, and it's unclear who's to blame.

Are the players truly void of a strong passion to win? With leaders like Tyler Morris and Matt Wolff on the team, that's very hard to believe, especially after the effort the entire team gave against Notre Dame, which was one of its best in three years. Does the coaching staff not know how to properly excite (for lack of a better word) the team prior to games? Or are the Terriers simply an anomaly -- a team that can look fabulous one night (like they did in wins against Northeastern and Harvard) and terrible the next (like they did against Cornell and Delaware). If that's the case, it's going to make conference play quite interesting.

Part of being a veteran group, however, is knowing how to fight through these types of losses and to respond to Wolff's words. If the players want to prove that they're not a "phony" team, then they must come to practice with the proper attitude. When a coach says after a game he "kind of expected" the beating was coming, things aren't going well internally. Wolff presented the challenge to his players and coaching staff and the result will become clear as winter turns to spring.

All that being said, the loss to Cornell doesn't mark the end of the world, and certainly not the end of the season. Before you condemn the Terriers, just remember how awful things appeared to be last season before BU made a prolific push to the postseason, winning nine of its last 12 games. It's early. It's very early. And while the defeat is certainly a low point through 11 games thus far, problems have plenty of time to be solved. It does mean that, perhaps, there are more problems with this team than was initially thought, but that's going to be the case with any team that's on a three-game losing streak.

What's important for the Terriers right now is to keep a level head and not let this loss (and Wolff's comments) impact them negatively if they wish to remain a conference power. Every team in the conference is going to experience a loss where nothing goes right and where it's not prepared. The key is how well that team rebounds from the blowout and how well it keeps mentally focused on achieving its preseason goals (which were set very high).

No doubt, practice prior to BU's final non-conference game on Jan. 2 is going to be brutal, and if the Terriers answer the call, it's all but guaranteed (due to a bevy of extremely talented players) things won't look or feel as gloomy as they do right now.

Pros:
-- Jeff Pelage's play: The freshman forward logged a career-high 19 minutes and recorded career highs in points (8) and rebounds (8). It also appeared he wasn't coughing nearly as much as he usually does in practice (albeit that was on observed on a grainy Internet feed), but if Pelage can continue to give BU those kinds of minutes it will change the look of the Terriers' interior defense for the better.
-- Timing: Far better to have this type of loss occur in non-conference play than during the America East schedule, or even worse, the America East tournament.

Cons:
-- Defensive rebounding: The Terriers were killed on the defensive glass by a margin of 31-13. Matt Wolff didn't have a defensive rebound as Cornell's Jeff Foote simply had free range of the interior.
-- John Holland's shooting: For the second-consecutive game (after lighting it up against Notre Dame), Holland struggled from the field. He shot just 2-of-11 and, combined with the loss to Delaware, is 5-of-19 in his last two contests. Not only that, but he was bounced from the staring lineup for the first time this year. BU will need him to get his act together quickly if it hopes to end its losing streak.

Links:
Cornell sends reeling Terriers to third-straight loss
Ithaca Journal story & live updates
Big Red's big men stand tall
Photo gallery (Ithaca Journal)

GAMEDAY: Boston University vs. Cornell University

Following an eight-day layoff, the Terriers will play their final game of 2008 against a team they've never faced before -- Cornell University. The Big Red will be the third Ivy League team BU's faced this this year, but Cornell's markedly better than both Yale and Harvard (two teams the Terriers beat earlier in the season). After a disappointing loss to the University of Delaware before Christmas, tonight's matchup at the Newman Arena -- a place where the Big Red have won 10 consecutive games and is 4-0 this season -- marks a chance for both teams to turn it around.

Picked to win the Ivy league, the Big Red have struggled recently, dropping four of their last five contests -- though those four were against quality opponents: Indiana, Syracuse, Minnesota and St. Joseph's. All four of those losses were also on the road, as Cornell has been a very difficult team to play at home all season.

BU, on the other hand, is coming off what was arguably its worst loss of the season after such an encouraging loss against the University of Notre Dame in South Bend. Following the game, BU coach Dennis Wolff mentioned it was the first time he was disappointed in his team, so keep an eye on how much intensity and desire the Terriers begin the game with. As much as Cornell's been floundering, the Terriers have lost lost three of their last four games. This contest and one more non-conference game (against Holy Cross) remain before BU beings to take on America East foes, so it's now or never if the Terriers hope to establish a rhythm that will carry them through conference play.

First, however, they'll need to deal with a prolific scorer in Ryan Wittman, who's averaging 21.4 points per game, 4.0 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game. His season low in points is 11 as he's reached double digits in scoring in every game this season, with a season-high 33 on Dec. 3 against Syracuse. Sure, he's no Luke Harangody, but he's still, the 6-foot-6 forward extremely dangerous player who will present a tough matchup for whoever BU puts on him. John Holland and Matt Wolff will most likely spend the bulk of the time guarding Wittman, as forward Jake O'Brien will be busy with 7-foot center Jeff Foote, who's averaging 13.5 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game. If, however, Cornell decides to keep Foote on O'Brien on the defensive end, it could work in BU's favor, as the freshman forward may draw Foote away from the interior and help the Terriers' rebounding cause.

That said, Cornell isn't particularly strong at rebounding, despite Foote's size, so if BU can hold its own on the boards, the game should be close. In addition, the Terriers will need to convert 3-pointers at more than a 23.3 percent rate as they did against the Blue Hens. BU is actually fifth in the nation in regard to 3-point shots taken to total shots taken -- 47.5 percent of all the BU's shots are from beyond the arc. Thankfully, for the Terriers, they've been a much better 3-point shooting team on the road than at home. At Case, BU's shooting 28 percent from beyond the arc. At Agganis, they're converting 39 percent of all 3-point shots, while on the road the Terriers are knocking down 41 percent of their shots from beyond the arc. If the Terriers hope to topple their toughest Ivy League foe to date and continue Wolff's 12-game winning streak against the Ivy's, the 3-point shot will no doubt hold the key to success.

Probable starting lineups: