I'll take BU plus the points

Is there a greater ignominy in the history of collegiate athletics than the Boston University fighting Terriers basketball squad being picked to finish second to the University of Albany in the America East preseason coaches poll? Has the whole world gone mad?

I'll spare you the joke about it being a dogfight in the conference this year and instead lambast the curs in the America East who could possibly imagine BU finishing second to a team whose mascot is the Great Dane. ("Kettle, this is pot. You're black.")

Of course, BU did finish third last year behind Vermont and Northeastern, but that was before UVM lost its one-man wrecking machine Taylor Coppenrath, and before Northeastern bolted for the Colonial Athletic Conference. NU guard Jose Juan Barea, last seen stomping an opponent's head during a game at the Agganis Arena, we hardly knew ye.

Fearless of bold predictions, I say BU and its two returning starters will finish first the conference, but wash out of their tournament in the first round, just like each of the last three years. Hello, NIT, and another blowout by the University of Rhode Island.

But tonight hope springs eternal. BU (0-0, 0-0 America East) looks to shock the world against the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Why open the season with a game you're sure to lose by a couple dozen? Unclear. Hopefully, Joey Beard will be sober enough somewhere to enjoy it. Witness the carnage at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN-2.