In a game the University of Maryland needed to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume, the Terrapins lost 80-69 to the Cavaliers of Virginia in College Park.

With the loss, the Terps fall to 17-7 overall, and 5-6 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Good:

1) Layman started the game with a jumper off a curl. Great movement off the ball from him. With anticipation, Layman gained an early steal. Layman led Len to the rim for a basket. Good help block from Layman, with UVA up 40-32. Passing up on a 3, Layman got the line with 4 minutes left.

2) Padgett followed his own miss, and scored through a UVA foul, putting MD up 4-2 and getting to the line.

3) Len had an early block, and then got to the foul line on the other end. With the Cavs leading 20-15, Len delivered a nice pass to Layman underneath. Len was able to finish a pass from Layman, making it 22-17 UVA. After spending an extended time on the bench in the 2nd half, Len returned with more energy on the defensive end. With the Terps down 63-53, Len had a block, and a good outlet pass to Aronhalt.  Len found Faust for a basket to make it a 9 point game with 3 minutes left. Len had 5 blocks.

4) Cleare finished on a good pass from Allen, pulling MD within 1 at 10-9. Cleare scored back-to-back baskets for MD off assists from Howard in the 2nd half.

5) Nice pass from Allen to Cleare for an early basket. A layup from Allen made it 20-13 UVA. He hustled to get a ball out of bounds, and retain possession for the Terps. Good lead pass from Allen to Faust on a breakaway. Good job from Allen creating something on his own, and scoring on a short jumper. This made it 44-34. A steal from Allen, led to a 3 from Aronhalt. An Allen steal and layup made it an 8 point game with 7 minutes left. Allen had 4 steals, thriving with the press used in the 2nd half.

6) Using a screen from the top of the lane, Faust got on the board with a floater off the backboard. This pulled MD within 5 at 16-11. Breaking down the court, Faust got off the floor in a hurry for a dunk. That made it 20-15 UVA. Nice explosion from Faust getting to the rim, and tying the game at 28.

7) Good rebound from Wells at 20-15 UVA. Wells got out in transition, and scored to make it 22-19 UVA. Virginia had stretched their lead to 11, 2 minutes into the 2nd half, when Wells hit an important 3. A Wells FT with 12 minutes left, made it a 9 point game. Using his strength, he scored on a layup with an aggressive move, making it 56-46 UVA. Cutting down the lane, Wells scored again to make it 59-48 Cavs. Driving and dishing, Wells found Howard for an open 3. Wells knocked down a 3 with 2 minutes left, giving MD a chance.

8) Aronhalt made it a 1 point game (25-24), when he hit MD’s 1st 3 with 5 minutes left in the 1st half. With a minute left in the 1st half, he got fouled on his dunk attempt. He made the right decision attacking the rim. Down 13 (47-34), Aronhalt hit an important 3 for the Terps.

9) Claiming position in the post, Mitchell got a put-back on miss from Faust.

10) The Terps had just 4 turnovers in the 1st half.

11) Down 51-37, Howard chased down a missed 3 from Allen, and found a cutting Cleare. Cleare would miss his foul shot, and MD got the ball back. Howard drew the defense, and again found Cleare for a basket. Howard hit a wide open 3, to make it 59-51 UVA. Driving and scoring, Howard pulled MD back within 8 (61-53) on a layup.

12) As UVA’s lead ballooned in the 2nd half, MD used a press with some effectiveness to get back into the game.

13) MD had 13 turnovers, which for this Terps team, is pretty good.

The Bad:

1) With UVA up 6-5, Faust threw a pass out of bounds, as he attempted to find the open Len inside. The Terps were down 20-11, when Faust missed a wide-open 3 early in the shot-clock. Down 10 (47-37), MD appeared to be on the verge of a run, when Faust turned it over. The next time down, another pass went through Faust’s hands.

2) Howard had a shot attempt, immediately upon entering the game. MD was down 35-29, with MD going for the last shot of the 1st half. Howard’s went streaking down the lane and missed a layup. MD should have been able to get a better shot off.

3) Mitchell’s first shot attempt was pretty wild, when he failed to secure position in the post. Mitchell missed an open lay-up with MD down 42-32. At 47-34, Mitchell was charged with a walk. Mitchell finished with 4 turnovers.

4) Aronhalt missed 2 shots on the same trip down the floor, when he missed a 3 from the corner, and a runner from the baseline. Aronhalt missed badly from outside, with MD down 59-46. Aronhalt just gave the ball away with MD down 63-53.

5) Back-to-back 3’s from Joe Harris made it 16-9 UVA with 11:45 left in the 1st half.

6) It was good to see Len get a few early shots, but those shots had Len falling away from the rim. Len fouled Anderson on a 3 point attempt, with 2:08 left in the 1st half. Anderson made all 3 to make it 33-28 UVA. Len found himself glued to the MD bench for roughly 6 minutes in the 2nd half. Howard delivered a good pass to Len, which Len could not handle.

7) MD went to half-time down 35-29. The Cavs won the 1st half battle on the boards 19-12. The Terps were 11 of 31 from the floor (35%), with only Faust making multiple FG’s for MD over the first 20 minutes of play. Virginia was 5 of 11 from 3 point land in the 1st.

8) UVA’s first basket to start the 2nd half, came on short pass underneath the MD basket, with Len’s head turned. Just should not have happened. MD’s first possession, had Faust shooting a 3 with time winding down on the shot clock. UVA would go back down the court and hit a 3. Just like that, the Cavs were up 11 points.

9) Layman missed several open looks, including one with MD down 63-55. His shot from the corner was off badly. Layman was 0 for 4 from 3, and 1 for 7 from the floor.

10) Down 66-55 with 5 minutes left, Wells missed 2 foul shots, and followed that with a foul.

11) Against a team with limited size and depth, it was disappointing that Maryland lost on the boards.

12) Maryland was 10 of 18 from the foul line.

13) Allen had a bad turnover with 2:30 left.

14) UVA shot 54% from the floor, and got to the foul line for 23 attempts.

The Ugly:

1) Several times in the 1st half, UVA went to a smaller lineup without a post player, but MD was not able to take advantage. Multiple times in those scenarios, MD was throwing-up 3 point attempts early on those trips down the floor, as opposed to finding a way to work the ball inside.

2) The Cavaliers were 11 of 19 from outside the arc. Or put another way, UVA was better from 3, than MD was at the foul line.

3) Maryland failed to defend their home court, and get over .500 in ACC play. Not good, with Duke coming into College Park next.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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