Yesterday, we asked, “Where is the MD program with 15 ACC Regular Season games remaining?”  That question rings that much louder after tonight’s 85-61 beating at Florida State.

With the loss, the Terrapins fall to 10-7 overall, 2-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maryland will next face Notre Dame at home Wednesday night.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

What did we see?

1)The first half was a total disaster for Maryland, from beginning to end. At the under 16 minute timeout, Maryland had zero FG’s. With 15 minutes left, MD was down 10-2. After two made FT’s from Wells with 7:29 left, the Terps trailed 20-17. Florida State would out-score MD 22-5 to end the half.
1a) During that 22-5 FSU run to end the half, there was one MD timeout, and one TV timeout.
1b) MD was 6 of 21 from the floor in the 1st half, including 1 of 7 from 3.
1c) Conversely, FSU made 1/2 of their attempts (16 of 32), including 10 of their 15 3 point attempts.

2) While MD came out with more intensity to begin the 2nd half, things did not improve. You can also ask, “Why did not MD need to be down 20 points, for MD’s effort to noticeably improve?” ESPN’s Jay Williams said, “When you look at this MD team, they have the talent. It starts with effort.”
2a) MD finished 17 of 51 from the floor, 3 of 17 from 3.
2b) Florida State finished 27 of 54, 16 of 24 from 3. The 3 point barrage was crazy, but it should also be noted that it was the 2nd straight opponent that shot 50%+ overall against the Terps.

3) Maryland had 11 turnovers in the 1st half.  The Terps finished with 15. Smotrycz had 4. Wells and Peters each had 3.

4) The only thing which can be referred to as slightly positive for MD in the 1st half, was Wells getting to the line for 8 attempts. He also had a nice mid-range jumper you would like to see more of.  Wells finished with 15 points, going 9 of 10 from the line.
4a) MD was 24 of 34 from the foul line. Without getting to the line as often as they did, this game would have been even uglier.

5) Faust was 3 of 4 from the floor in the 1st half, and scored MD’s first FG of the game, throwing down an alley-oop. Faust finished with 14 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists. He was 5 of 7 from the floor.

6) Prior to FSU’s run to end the 1st half, one adjustment we liked from Coach Turgeon was MD pushing the ball up-court after misses from the Seminoles. This briefly helped, as MD’s offense had looked completely inept in 1/2 court sets.

7) Florida State should get credit for knocking down as many shots as they did; but part of Florida State shooting performance by them this year has to be attributed to MD’s defensive deficiencies out on the perimeter.

8) Layman and Allen did not score in the 1st half. Smotrycz had 2 points. They were a combined 1 of 9.
8a) Layman finished with 11 points, 2 boards, and 3 steals. He was 3 of 8 from the floor, 5 of 6 from the line. In the 2nd half, he was trying to go to the basket.
8b) Smotrycz finished with 9 points, and 8 boards. He was 3 of 11 overall, 1 for 5 from 3.
8c) Allen’s lone point came at the foul line with 5:17 left. He was 0 for 8 from the floor, including 0 for 6 from 3.

9) Mitchell fouled out with 7 minutes remaining in the game. He finished with 2 points (1 of 4 from the floor), 6 boards, and a block.
9a) Cleare had 1 point and 2 boards. Dodd and Graham only got off the bench late.

10) ESPN’s Williams late in the game. “I had the opportunity to call a lot of MD games last year. Their players appear to be a bit tight offensively. If they played a bit looser, they would be a better basketball team.”

11) After getting blasted at Pittsburgh Monday night, it is disappointing that MD was not able to answer with a better effort tonight.

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.

X