Maryland falls in 2OT; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The University of Maryland gamely overcame the ejection of their Coach, a 16 point deficit, and forced double Overtime; but they were unable to come away with the win. With the 90-86 loss, the Terrapins fall to 13-8 overall, and 3-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This is the Terps 6th consecutive loss in Miami.

The Good:

1) Two of MD’s first four baskets came from Padgett inside. Starting the 2nd half, down 11, MD went back to Padgett inside once again. He finished with 9 points, and 5 boards.

2) Parker’s athleticism was on full display, with his fellow Sophomore Howard twice finding him on a lob. Down 48-38, Parker took the ball hard to the rim, which earned him a trip to the line when fouled.

3) The Terps went up 13-11, when Weijs stepped-out and hit a jumper. Weijs also had a block.

4) Len played his best game since the NCST game, with 11 points, 7 boards, and 4 blocks. He earned the 2nd half start, and in those 2nd 20 minutes he started to find his offense.

5) Faust is a strong open-court player. His length and quickness allows him to jump into passing lanes and get steals. Outstanding offensive board on Len’s FT miss. Faust had 9 points, 4 boards, and 3 steals.

6) Pankey bailed the Terps out of a Stoglin air-ball, getting the offensive board, and scoring. He finished with 7 boards.

7) Mosley had 7 points, and 9 boards.

8) For the first time all season, Maryland looked like Maryland, with the Terps forcing the action with their press. They got desperate, the put the press on, and they attacked. Give Maryland credit for not folding after being down by as many as 16 points.

9) Stoglin’s scoring came alive in the 2nd half once again. By any measure this was not a great game for the Sophomore, but he kept firing. He capped a 9-0 run to tie the game with a 3 just over a minute remaining. He would give MD the 72-71 lead in OT, when he hit another. In 2OT, he gave the Terps a chance when he got Miami to foul him on a 3. He finished with 33 points, a new career high. He made all 9 of his FT’s.

10) Howard had 8 assists, and 2 steals. He calmly hit his 2 FT’s at the end of the 1st OT.

11) Maryland had a good night at the line, making 26 of their 35 attempts.

The Bad:

1) Faust blew an early fast-break, when he lost possession of the ball. He also picked up two fouls in the initial 3 1/2 minutes of play. With just over 2 minutes remaining in the game, he picked up another charge.

2) Pankey was stripped on a double-team, when he put the ball on the ground.

3) Coming off the bench, Len traveled on his first offensive play.

4) Miami was able to steal the ball twice from Howard, because Howard attempted a bit too much dribbling and was not strong with the ball. Howard would pick up another turnover on a charge. He had taken a pick outside on the perimeter, and went too far down the lane.

5) Grant came into this game averaging 35% from 3, on 6.9 attempts per game. Why was he getting uncontested looks? Maryland was lucky that Grant was just missing shots.

6) Stoglin had a poor first 20 minutes, going 2 for 9 from the floor, while missing all 4 of his 3 point attempts. He had no assists during that time, and also did not get to the foul-line. If his shot is not falling, he has to do a better job of facilitating. He always draws attention, so there are always opportunities to find open teammates. Instead of settling for tough shots from outside, he needed to attack the rim (looking to find others, or draw contact).
6a) Stoglin would show why shooters keep firing, but he took and missed too many 3’s tonight. (6 of 20 from 3.)

7) Down 10 points at 48-38, Parker earned a trip to the foul line, and Miami also picked up a technical foul. MD was only able to convert 2 of their 4 foul shots here, with Mosley and Parker both missing one.

8) Miami switched to a zone defense after two different timeouts, both times seeming to catch MD by surprise.

9) Poor turnover from Padgett, when he failed to properly in-bound the ball.

10) The Terps had 19 turnovers, with Howard having 5, and Parker having 3.

11) With Miami playing without Kadji, and losing Johnson during the game; Maryland should have had more success on the boards, especially in the two OT’s.

12) Down 4 in the 2nd OT, Maryland blew a fast-break, when Mosley picked-up a charge.

13) Howard ran poor plays to end the half, regulation, and 2OT.

The Ugly:

1) Miami would go on a 14-1 stretch over the last 4 and 1/2 minutes of the 1st half, erasing MD’s 22-20 lead, and putting the Terps down 11 (34-23) going into the last 20 minutes. During that stretch, Pankey missed a dunk, a layup, and a FT. Mosley, Stoglin, and Howard all missed 3’s.

2) In the 2nd half, MD closed to within 4 at 48-44, only to allow the Hurricanes to go on a 7-0 run and push the lead back into double-figures.

3) Maryland was down 11 points when Coach Turgeon picked up a double-technical. I do think Turgeon was right to be irritated with the call, but you have to keep your composure. Not only as an example to your kids, but because the technical fouls cost the Terps 5 points.