WASHINGTON - The postseason run for American University men's basketball begins in Boston, as the No. 5 seeded Eagles travel to No. 4 seeded BU for a 7 p.m. Patriot League quarterfinal on Thursday, March 5. The game is a rematch from the regular season finale that saw the Terriers win by three after a huge comeback by American.

Quick Info

• Date/Time: Thursday, March 5; 7 pm
• Site: Boston, Mass. (Case Gym)
• Series History: BU leads, 17-11
• TV: ESPN+
• Talent: Brian Maurer, John Papale

Series History

• BU and American are meeting for the 29th time, with the Terriers holding a 17-11 lead in the all-time series.
• The Eagles won at home at the end of the 2024-25 season and edged BU on the road earlier this year in Boston, 64-62 on January 3. Most recently, BU surged ahead early and held on late for a 68-65 win at AU on Feb. 28 in the regular season finale.
• AU had lost five straight in Case Gym prior to this season's win.
• American and Boston University have not played a postseason game against each other in 10 years, since AU won a quarterfinal at BU in 2016. In the only other postseason meeting between the teams, the Eagles beat BU in Boston for the 2014 PL title.

What to Know About American

• The Eagles and Terriers will meet for the second time in five days after an unexpected nail-biter in Bender on Feb. 28 that saw BU escape with a 68-65 win after leading by 22 points in the first half.
• Thursday's game marks the first Patriot League Tournament road game for third-year head coach Duane Simpkins after a 3-1 record at home over the last two years.
• AU remains the only Patriot League team to have beaten Navy this season, winning 65-51 behind a career-high 23 points from Greg Jones. Lehigh is the only PL team to defeat the Eagles twice this season.
• Jones and freshman Madden Collins were both named to the All-Patriot League Third Team. Jones also earned All-PL Defensive Team recognition, while Collins was named to the All-PL Rookie Team.
• Collins has led the Eagles in scoring in 10 games including in the first two games of their recent three-game win streak. He scored 22 points against Army and 16 at Bucknell.
• Seven players—Collins, Jones, Julen Iturbe, Wyatt Nausadis, Kade Sebastian, Geoff Sprouse, and Dean Hogans—have all been leading scorers for AU this season.
• American is forcing an average of 13.2 turnovers per game while committing just 10.6 per game. The Eagles' turnover margin of 2.55 leads the PL by 1.7 turnovers per game, and ranks 50th in NCAA Division I. Out of the Eagles' 31 games, they have only had more turnovers than their opponent in eight.

What to Know About Boston University

• Boston University is on a hot streak with wins in seven of its last eight games, falling only at Lehigh by three points on Feb. 22. Last week, the Terriers beat Holy Cross 78-63 to put them in a tie with AU for fourth place in the Patriot League, and then earned fourth place outright with a win in D.C.
• Michael McNair, a junior guard who has started 62 games for the Terriers in his career, leads the team with 17.0 points per game.
• Ben Defty, a 7-0 sophomore, adds 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a contest, the latter number ranking fifth in the Patriot League.
• Now in his 15th season, Joe Jones has won a program-record 249 games as the head coach at BU, where he won the Patriot League title in 2020. Last year's team tallied a 16-16 record and a 10-8 mark in the PL, tied for third in the regular season.

Keep Up With Us

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