Instant takeaways from BU men's basketball's blowout 87-50 loss at Colgate
Colgate, the four-time defending league champions, outclassed the Terriers, making its first nine 3s to take a commanding lead.
Colgate outclassed the Boston University men’s basketball team, 87-50, at Coterrell Court in Hamilton N.Y. on Saturday afternoon. The Raiders (6-11, 3-1 Patriot League) scorched the nets for 53 first-half points, their most in a half since Dec. 30, 2022 (55 in the first half at Loyola Maryland). BU looked like it barely belonged on the same court.
Here are three takeaways from the blowout loss…
Despite nonconference struggles, Colgate is still the Patriot League’s best
Following BU’s 60-54 victory over American, picked to finish second in the Patriot League preseason poll, on Wednesday, there was reason to think that the Terriers (8-9, 2-2 PL) could matchup with Colgate. Colgate, the four-time defending Patriot League champions, has been the standard. The Raiders, however, lost their three leading scorers from last season’s team, including the 2024 Patriot League Player of the Year Braeden Smith (transferred to Gonzaga) and Keegan Records, a two-time All-Patriot League first-team selection. Colgate then went 3-10 in non-conference play and had yet to win consecutive games this season until Saturday’s blowout win over BU. But any doubts about Colgate’s strength in the Patriot League were silenced on Saturday afternoon. BU still has a long way to go to compete with the Patriot League’s best.
Led by a 3-point barrage, Colgate schooled BU on the offensive end
Colgate simply could not miss from deep. The Raiders made their first nine 3-pointers to take a commanding 46-20 lead with 3:33 remaining in the first half.
Early on BU tried to double-team Jeff Woodward, Colgate’s 6-foot-11, 270-pound fifth-year forward. It did not work. Woodward assisted Colgate’s first three 3s. He effectively saw the oncoming double teams and kicked out to wide-open shooters.
From there, drilling 3s became contagious for the Raiders. Colgate’s first missed 3 came with under three minutes left in the first half. Stepback 3s, contested 3s, drive-and-kick 3s, open looks in transition. They all fell through the net.
And when BU wasn’t giving up 3s, it was allowing layups off of backdoor cuts. BU got back-doored three times in under four minutes as Woodward (18 points, seven assists) continued to dice up the Terrier defense.
Colgate shot 63.3 percent in the first half.
BU did itself no favors on offense
The Terriers, who struggled mightily on defense, did themselves no favors on offense. They had six turnovers before the under-12 timeout, allowing Colgate to get out in transition and further grow its lead. BU finished with 19 total turnovers.
BU shot 39.6 percent and 5-for-18 from 3. Leading scorers Kyrone Alexander and Mike McNair were held to a combined one point in the first half, an Alexander free throw 56 seconds before halftime.
The lone bright spot offensively was senior forward Malcolm Chimezie, who scored 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half. McNair finished with a team-high 12, all in the second half, but the game was well out of reach at that point.