Boston University men’s basketball will conclude its regular season on Saturday with a road game against American University. The matchup, scheduled for noon at Bender Arena in Washington, D.C., will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Both teams have identical records in the Patriot League, standing at 9-8 and tied for fourth place. The outcome of this game will determine which team hosts the other in the upcoming Patriot League quarterfinals set for Thursday evening.
Junior Michael McNair of Boston University has set a program record for made three-pointers in a season and is two away from becoming only the fourth player in Patriot League history to reach 100 threes. He leads the Terriers with an average of 16.9 points per game and 1.1 steals per game.
Sophomore Ben Defty averages 14.8 points and leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game, also contributing 1.7 blocks per contest. Freshman Chance Gladden runs the offense, averaging 13.8 points and leading with 4.8 assists per game. Gladden’s total of 139 assists ranks him tenth among NCAA Division I freshmen nationally.
Freshman Sam Hughes has contributed significantly from beyond the arc, ranking tied-for-eighth among rookies with 65 three-pointers and averaging 9.6 points per game.
Boston University holds a road record of four wins and eleven losses this season, including three wins out of eight conference games played away from home. Their notable victories include games at Army and Holy Cross.
The Terriers are shooting efficiently, ranking twenty-sixth nationally at 49.2 percent from the field and fifth at 39.5 percent from three-point range, averaging 76.3 points while allowing opponents an average of 74.3 points per game.
American University has performed better at home (11-5) than on the road (5-9). The Eagles have recorded non-conference wins over Penn, Maine, and Drexel this season.
Freshman guard Madden Collins leads American with an average of 13.4 points per game and adds 1.2 steals per contest. Junior forward Greg Jones averages 12.5 points while sophomore forward Julian Iturbe contributes another ten points; all three top scorers collect between approximately five rebounds each per game.
American averages seventy-five points on forty-five percent shooting while holding opponents to just over seventy-one points on nearly forty-six percent shooting.
Looking ahead to postseason play, Boston University will face American again in the Patriot League tournament quarterfinals, with Saturday’s winner hosting that matchup as either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed.
Historically, Boston University has not advanced past American in postseason meetings or as either a No. 4 or No. 5 seed in previous tournaments.
