Game 13 · American vs. Boston

Date/Time: Sunday, Jan. 5 - 3 p.m.
Site: Washington, D.C. (Bender Arena)
All-Time Record: 8-9
TV: Stadium
Talent: Jason Knapp (pxp), Mo Cassara (color)

WASHINGTON - American University men's basketball will return home for the first time in two weeks when they take on Boston University on Sunday, Jan. 5 in its home conference opener inside Bender Arena. 

SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• AU has lost three straight heading into its Patriot League home opener vs. Boston University, and is coming off a 65-51 defeat at Colgate in the PL opener.
• Sa'eed Nelson, who is fifth all-time at AU with 1,759 points and leads the Eagles with 16.3 points per game, is also ranked fifth in NCAA Division I with three steals per game.
• Mark Gasperini led AU with 14 points at Colgate, marking his third straight double-digit scoring performance and his fourth in five games. He also led the team with eight rebounds. 
• The Eagles are among the PL leaders in several categories, including scoring (4th, 70.7), 3-point FG PCT (3rd, 34.8), and steals (1st, 7.3).

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS

• BU had lost five straight games until turning things around in the last three weeks. The Terriers have now won four straight including an exciting, 73-72 victory in their PL opener vs. Lafayette.
• The Terriers were down by as many as 14 points in the first half vs. Lafayette, and later nine points with under to seven minutes left to play.
• Two-time All-PL honoree Max Mahoney leads BU in both scoring and rebounding with 15.9 ppg to go with 7.4 rpg. He also shoots 61.5 percent from the field.
• Four players reached double digits in scoring for BU vs. Lafayette, led by Mahoney with 20 points and nine rebounds. He hit 8-of-9 field goals in the victory

ALL-TIME SERIES

• Boston holds a slight 9-8 advantage in the series and have won four of the seven battles in Washington, D.C.
• American has won four straight games against the Terriers. 
• The most recent meeting was a 70-66 victory for the Eagles in Boston on Jan. 23, 2019. 

OTHER GAME NOTES

• AU assistant coach Matt Wolff, who is in his 10th season with the Eagles, is a 2009 graduate of Boston University. He was a two-time team captain during his time playing at BU under his father, Deniss Wolff. He started 54 of 94 games for the Terriers from 2005-09 and was named the America East Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete during his senior year. He was also named to the America East All-Defensive Team in his final season.
• Sa'eed Nelson became the fifth player to start 100 career games for American University when he took the floor against Colgate on Thursday. Nelson is the first player since Derrick Mercer did it from 2005-09 to reach the milestone.
• With four more steals, Nelson would move into third place on the career steals list for AU and pass Mark Nickens, who had 228 steals from 1980-83. 
• The matinee match-up will be the first time American will play on a Sunday in the 2019-20 season.

INDIVIDUAL GAME TICKET INFO

• Great seats remain for all nine home Patriot League games beginning with Jan. 5 vs. Boston University in Bender Arena.  Secure your seats today by visiting AUeagles.com/Tickets or by calling (202) 885-TIXX (8499).  Group Tickets are available starting at just $5 each.
• AU students are admitted free of charge to home basketball games with a valid AU ID.

For the latest on American University Men's Basketball, stay tuned to AUEagles.com and follow the team on Twitter (@AU_MBasketball), Facebook (AU.MBasketball) and Instagram (@au_mbasketball).