The Day After: Boston University 88, Marist College 72

Before the current season started, BU was pegged as the favorite to win the America East conference primarily because of its several dangerous scoring threats. Yet throughout the first nine games of the Terriers' campaign, the single most glaring issue facing the team was the issue least expected prior to November 13th's season opener at Iona. BU could not score the basketball.

So after Sunday's comfortable victory over Marist, the point of emphasis isn't BU's two-game winning streak -- its first winning streak of the season -- or the Terriers' excellent defensive rebounding or its first road win (the Indiana win was technically a neutral-court victory). It's the Terriers' shooting performance that merits close attention.

GAMEDAY: Boston University vs. Marist College

It's not the home stretch for the regular season by any means, but mid-December means finals for college students. We're not at that stage yet for BU Basketball. There's still three games left before conference play begins. Consider this final portion of pre-America East action the Terriers' midterms. There's a chance to evaluate, but success or failure here isn't going to make or break BU's season -- just set the team on a positive or negative trajectory entering conference play.

By all accounts, Marist is the easy part of the test. The Red Foxes have played six games. The Red Foxes have lost six games. There's a trend. If an 0-6 record isn't convincing enough, consider the opponents and the individual results. Marist lost to Hartford, now 2-9, by 37 points. Also included in that record is a loss to 2-8 Holy Cross. This is the easiest game on BU's non-conference schedule, and expectations should be adjusted accordingly.

That being said, this is also the Red Foxes' home opener. Nobody has seen Marist play on its home court. It's important for BU to come out early and put its foot down. If the Red Foxes get out to an early lead, the crowd gets into the game, and Marist is allowed to believe it has a serious chance of winning its first game of the season, this could be harder for BU than anticipated.