In a battle of two of the hottest teams in the country, the Terriers take on Holy Cross at Hart Recreation Center in Worcester. BU is a favorite to win this game.
Holy Cross is a very successful school with a good network of alumni and a hefty endowment. They have many star athletes in their program who have made it to the National Basketball Association and have a number of championships to their credit.
Boston University
The Boston University Terriers will travel to Worcester on Wednesday evening to face the Holy Cross Crusaders in a Patriot League game. This is a game that has great potential to be a competitive battle and gives the city of Worcester the chance to claim bragging rights.
This will be the fourth time that the two teams have met this season and is set to be an interesting game between these two rivals. Boston U won the first meeting 66-59 in Worcester and then defeated Holy Cross 57-53 on March 1.
In this matchup, the Terriers will be going off as a 2-point favorite. The Terriers are coming off a 69-65 win over the Lafayette Leopards and will be looking to build on their success in their last outing against Lafayette.
The Terriers are also playing well in the league, having won six of their last seven games and holding a +366 scoring differential on the season. They have a +71.5 margin in the paint and a +72.4 mark on defense to put them on top of the Patriot League standings by a significant margin.
On the other side of the court, Holy Cross is currently in the middle of a four-game losing streak and has won just one out of its last five games. Their record is 9-18 overall and they are 6-8 in the Patriot League.
While the team has been struggling on the defensive side of the ball this season, they have been able to find ways to score on offense. They have been able to get double-digit points from three different players this year, including junior Caitlin Weimar and senior Sydney Johnson who have both averaged more than 14 points per game.
Holy Cross
The Holy Cross Crusaders (24-8) defeated top-seeded Boston University Terriers, 66-61, to win the Patriot League Championship on Sunday at Case Gym in Worcester. It was the team’s first Patriot League title since 2007.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 15-3 lead in the first quarter, thanks in part to junior guard Bronagh Power-Cassidy and sophomore forward Lindsay Berger. After BU’s Sydney Johnson hit two free throws to tie the score at 15 with 5:33 left in the first, Allen and McCormack each scored three points on triples, and Power-Cassidy added a hoop, to open a 22-15 lead after 10 minutes of play.
A BU basket cut the deficit to six, 26-22, with 7:17 left in the half. The Crusaders, however, re-doubled their efforts with five straight points by Allen, four from Berger, and another three by Power-Cassidy, and extended the lead to 58-36 with 2:54 remaining in the third.
BU trimmed the margin to four, 60-52, with 5:43 left in the fourth. A Johnson 3-pointer at the 2:13 mark put the Terriers within one point at 62-61, but Power-Cassidy iced the game with late free throws to give the Crusaders their 50th conference tournament win.
In all, Power-Cassidy, Allen, and Berger combined to score 41 of the team’s 66 points. It was a strong performance for the Crusaders, who were also led by freshman guard Will Batchelder’s 22 points.
With the win, HC advances to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007. They will be the 15th seed in the Greenville I region and face second-seeded Maryland on Friday in the opening round of the tournament.
This was the third instant-classic matchup between BU and Holy Cross this season, after the Terriers beat the Crusaders 66-59 in Worcester on February 15 and 57-53 in Worcester on March 1.
Schedule
The Boston University Terriers are set to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders in an NCAA Men’s Basketball game on Feb 16, 2023. The Crusaders are a mid-major conference team who compete in the Patriot League.
The Crusaders have an impressive basketball history. They won a national championship in 1947 and have made it to the Elite Eight on two occasions. They have also won the NIT Tournament on multiple occasions. In addition, they have produced many notable alumni, including future NBA Hall of Famers Bob Cousy and Tom Heinsohn.
In addition to its basketball teams, the College of the Holy Cross fields a number of other athletic teams. Some are quite successful, such as the men’s rowing and women’s hockey teams.
As a result, the college has received a lot of press for its athletics program. In fact, the college has won a total of twenty-four major sports titles.
Despite their success, however, the college has had to battle with a few major problems. For example, the college had to veto the idea of joining the Big East Conference when it first formed in 1980 due to academic issues. The school also had to deal with a Covid pandemic that lowered attendance at games.
While the college did manage to get back into some of their previous levels of attendance in the 2022-23 season, they have still fallen below pre-pandemic averages. In fact, they have not reached their historic averages of around 1,500 fans per game since the pandemic occurred.
Predictions
Boston University looks to win its fifth straight game on Wednesday when it travels to Qubein Arena to take on the Holy Cross Crusaders. Neither side has any players listed on the injury report, but both teams are expected to be full strength.
The Terriers are favored by 2.5 points in this one and have a ML price of -150. The total for this matchup is set at 134.5 points.
BU has covered the spread in seven of its last nine games and is averaging 135.8 points per game across its past 10 contests. The Crusaders have also covered the spread in four of their last 10 games and have averaged 136.5 points per game during that stretch.
Both teams will need to have a balanced attack in both halves of this game to have any chance at winning this matchup. The Crusaders will need to be able to keep the ball moving and avoid the traps that have plagued them so far this season.
On the other hand, BU will need to be able to make more shots than it has in recent weeks and get into a rhythm early. Both teams will need to keep the defense on their toes as well if they want any hope of making this one a close affair.