By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
The high-flying Boston College offense came through in the clutch yet again, and they’ll be rewarded with a number one seed when the opening round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament kicks off this Saturday in Worcester.
In last weekend’s Hockey East Championship game, the Eagles pulled through with a thrilling 7-6 overtime victory against a relentless and physical Maine squad. The Black Bears seemingly had an answer for every puck BC put in the net, setting the tone by responding just 24 seconds after the Eagles opened the scoring in the first period. All in all, Maine battled back to tie the game on three different occasions–including a goal from Joey Diamond to knot it up at 6-all with just 27 seconds remaining.
But destiny, as it has been in so many seasons past, was on the Eagles side in the end. Matt Lombardi potted his third of the game 5:26 into the extra fame, and Boston College became the rightful owner of the 2010 Hockey East trophy, stealing it back from Boston University after having last won it in 2008, just like they stole the Beanpot from the Terriers this year too.
Just two years removed from their last national title, Jerry York’s squad enters tournament play with high expectations. The [...]
By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Define madness. It could be third seeded Georgetown, after a promising run to the Big East conference championship game, losing to Ohio University in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. Maybe it’s Villanova being overmatched by St. Mary’s big center, Omar Samhan, and losing in the second round. The craziest of all could be the top overall seed in the tournament, Kansas, losing to ninth seeded Northern Iowa in the second round. The first time a number one seed has lost before the sweet 16 since 2004.
In a year where almost anything goes in college basketball, the NCAA tournament has been everything that has defined the term March Madness. Take this on for size; the Big East has widely been considered the best conference in college basketball for about two years running. They sent eight teams to the tournament. By the end of the weekend, only two were left standing and five of the six were beaten by lower seeds.
So much for any kind of harmony, especially when all four number one seeds made the final four for the first time in the history of the tournament two years ago, and the fact that [...]
By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It was certainly a different year for college basketball this season. When people think of the NCAA tournament, powerhouses such as UCLA, North Carolina, Indiana, UConn and Arizona come to mind. This year, all five will leave their dancing shoes at home, and rightfully so as each team finished near the bottom of their respective conferences. The first four, UCLA, UNC, Uconn and Indiana account for a total of 23 national titles. Arizona adds another, along with a record of 25 straight tournament appearances that ended last night after being left out of March madness. It will mark the first time since 1966 that all five of these big-name schools failed to make the tournament.
The more things change, however, the more they stay the same. The Big East, arguably the strongest conference college basketball has to offer over the past few seasons, ended up with eight at large bids. One of these teams include number one seed Syracuse out west, who earned a top billing for the first time in 30 years. The team is also reporting that their star big man Arinze Onuaku will be ready to play come tournament time. On paper, their [...]
By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It was a long year for the Boston College Eagles. Nobody in their right mind predicted the men’s basketball team to do well, and the team finished exactly where they were expected to; closer to the bottom of the ACC standings than the top.
The only hope the Eagles had of making the NCAA tournament was taking home the ACC title, a feat they fell well short of after losing to the University of Virginia on Thursday. Just like that, the season is over.
Of course, there’s still hope for an NIT bid, but that’s a lowly consolation prize compared to playing in the big dance.
The Eagles began the year with such promise, winning six of their first eight games, but the team’s true colors showed after the loss to Harvard. It proved that they were a good team, and could beat the ‘inferior’ teams on their schedule. Anybody worthwhile, however, would be a test of the team’s character. A test the team too often failed this year.
The team would eventually end up with a 10-5 record before entering conference play, beating teams from mid-majors like South Dakota State and Northern Iowa, to name a few. They [...]
By: Dave Cheng, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
It’s been over a month since the mini craze over Asian basketball player, Jeremy Lin. After being featured in Time and Slam magazines and on ESPN, the 6′3 senior point guard from Harvard has receded to the back of most people’s minds, if he hasn’t disappeared completely. However, for others like me, his name will remain prominent in my consciousness, well beyond his playing days.
Though not a Harvard supporter myself, I’ve become a huge Jeremy Lin fan. In case you’ve been living under a rock, Lin, from Palo Alto, California, is the star point guard and leading scorer on the Harvard basketball team. No, that was not a misprint and yes, I said Harvard and star in the same sentence. He’s the player that has led the Crimson to wins over Boston College two years in a row, scoring 25 against the Eagles this season. Lin followed that performance, with an even better one against an even tougher opponent; he put up 30 points against the University of Connecticut. It was just another day at the office for him, so to speak. As of February 3, he was averaging over 17 points per game, and [...]
By: Joe Ballway, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
When it comes to the Beanpot, Boston University is a different animal.
Year after year, the Terriers seemingly find a way to win–regardless of
personnel, and regardless of how well they’ve played all season.
So when BU scored two late goals to cut Boston College’s lead to 4-3 in
Monday’s championship game, I don’t think anyone doubted that the
Terriers still had a chance to capture their 13th Beanpot in 16
attempts.
No one, perhaps, except for John Muse.
The BC netminder continued his recent string of stellar play, stopping
31 of 34 shots, including a flurry of desperation attempts by BU in the
closing minutes of the game. Muse finished the tournament with a .955
save percentage–a performance worthy of both the Eberly Award (top
goaltender) and tournament MVP.
Of course, that isn’t to take anything away from the BC offense, which
provided Muse with 10 goals of support over two games. Down 1-0 after
the first period on Monday, the Eagles responded with three
second-period strikes, wearing down the BU defense with their trademark
speed and relentless forechecking.
Steven Whitney got it started with a power-play tally from the slot just
one minute into the period; Carl Sneep and Chris Kreider (more on him
later) put BC ahead 3-1 with even-strength goals late [...]
Loading ...