Terrier Notes: BU vs. Iona

by Seth Orensky

Boston University Terriers (0-0) vs. Iona Gaels (0-0)
Friday November 13, 2009
7:00 pm, Hynes Athletics Center - New Rochelle, New York

Boston University Terriers

Probable Starters:

Tyler Morris (Sr) G

Carlos Strong (Sr) G

Corey Lowe (Sr) G

John Holland (Jr ) G/F

Jake O’Brien (So) F

Likely Substitutes:

Jeff Pelage (So) F

Valdas Sirutis (Sr) F

Sherrod Smith (Sr) G

Iona College Gaels

Probable Starters:

Scott Machado (So) G

Milan Prodanovic (Sr) G

Trinity Fields (So) G

Alejo Rodriguez (Jr) F

Jonathan Huffman (Sr) C

Likely Substitutes:

Rashon Dwight (Jr) G

Jermel Jenkins (So) G

Boston University starts its season on the road in New Rochelle, New York against the Iona Gaels in a rematch of last year’s ESPNU Bracketbusters matchup. BU head coach Pat Chambers will make his debut with a veteran squad that returns eight seniors, including its top six scorers. The Terriers look to win their first road season opener since November 13, 2001 - exactly eight years ago when they defeated New Orleans University in the first round of the Hawkeye Challenge.

Iona was selected to finish 9th in the MAAC conference after finishing 12-19 (7-11 MAAC) last year under head coach Kevin Willard. The Gaels lost two of their three leading scorers, but do return four of their starters from last season though including Scott Machado and Milan Prodanovic, two veteran guards from Queens who will have to lead this squad. Last season, the Gaels were above average at rebounding and three-point shooting, but really struggled from the charity stripe, shooting just under 65 percent as a team. Iona is an extremely young squad, as 9 of their 14 players are underclassmen, but last year, the Gaels did manage to go 2-1 in home non-conference games and 6-6 overall at home, markedly better than they fared on the road.

Last year at Case Gymnasium, the Terriers downed the Gaels 63-57 behind 24 points from John Holland ('11). In that game, then freshmen forward Jake O’Brien ('10) chipped in with 17 points and classmate Jeff Pelage ('10) had 9 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. The Gaels defense did a great job of defending shooting guard Corey Lowe who managed just three points on 1-8 shooting from the field. Iona was led by Prodanovic who scored 12 points, going 4-7 from behind the arc. BU leads the all time series between the two teams 3-2 and the Terriers have dominated teams currently in the MAAC all time going 59-37.

BU will be without the services of both senior forward Scott Brittan (’10) and freshmen guard B.J. Bailey (’13) in tonight’s contest due to minor concussions. The timetable on Brittain seems to be week-to-week at this point, as he experienced a concussion last year in the preseason and was held out of the team’s first two games before slowly easing his way back into the lineup the rest of first semester. Bailey, the highly touted freshmen, is more of a question mark, as his concussion happened this week during practice. As far as we know, he does not have the same track record of being prone to concussions and could be back at any point.