Terps celebrate Xmas early; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

In their first game in 10 days, and the last game before the Christmas holiday; the University of Maryland Terrapins rolled to a 43 point win over Winston Salem State.

There are a lot of things to enjoy about the win tonight, perhaps none more than the 22 combined points from Adrian Bowie, and Cliff Tucker.

The Good:

1) I keep saying it, because I believe it. For the Terps to be a factor in the ACC, and to win games that matter in March; they need regular production from Bowie and Tucker. Bowie came into tonight shooting 7% (1 for 14) from 3 point land. While I would prefer to see him just focus on attacking the rim, he has to feel good about hitting 3 of 5 three-point shots tonight. Tucker had not played against Indiana, and played a total of 13 minutes against Villanova, and Eastern Kentucky. Tonight, he took and made all five of his shots; including 3 three-point shots of his own during 17 minutes of play. This was an important game for the confidence of both players, and you hope they can build on tonight.

2) While keeping the opposition in-mind, Vasquez had a dominating night. Finishing 9 of 16 from the floor, for 27 points is strong. Combining that with 11 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 steals, with just 1 turnover is the type of game that makes him one of the elite in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He did an excellent job tonight of finding his teammates. Like Bowie, I would prefer that he simply take less 3 pointers, but credit him for knocking down all four three-pointers he took tonight. Each of those three-pointers were shots in the flow of the offense which was important.

3) Jordan Williams does so many things well. He has good hands, gets good positioning, does not waist movement, typically keeps the ball high. Playing off the bench behind Gregory, Williams had 12 points, 8 boards, and 2 blocks. When Maryland again takes the court 12/27, I would be surprised if he is not back in the starting lineup.

3a) James Padgett did not play at-all against Eastern Kentucky, in Dino Gregory’s first game back with the Terps. Tonight, Gary Williams was able to get Padgett on the floor for 13 minutes. While he is not overly polished on the offensive side, he did have two nice moves in the post tonight. He finished with 7 points, 2 boards, and a steal. His efforts on the glass, and ability to get up and off the floor quickly, is going to help in ACC play.

4) Wake Forest had played Winston-Salem earlier this season, and out-rebounded them 36-31. The Demon Deacons also held Winston-Salem to 4 for 26 from 3 point land, which producing 10 steals, 9 blocks, and forcing 18 turnovers. Maryland beat Winston-Salem on the boards 37-30. The Terps held Winston-Salem to 4 for 18 from 3 point land, while producing 12 steals, 6 blocks, and forcing 20 turnovers. It is not a direct apples-to-apples comparison, but Maryland can feel good about their effort tonight.

5) Mosley only had 6 Field Goal attempts, but managed to get to the foul-line 6 times. He also added 4 rebounds, 3 assists (0 turnovers), and had 2 blocks. Even when he does not get shots, he still makes his presence known.

6) Maryland shot an impressive 57% from the floor, while holding Winston-Salem to 35%.

The Bad:

1) Milbourne, Hayes, and Mosley each came into tonight shooting above 50% from the floor. I had hoped that each of the three would receive 10 Field Goal attempts, but only Milbourne did. Maybe I am looking at this wrong, and this is not a negative. Maybe the Terps will be the type of team, that game-to-game will adjust to the opponent and ride the hot-hand.

2) The Terps were hot from 3 point land tonight, making 12 of the 18 attempts. In games Maryland has their shot working, they will be extremely tough to beat. I think more often than not, this is a team that will still have problems from the outside. I want to see them limit their 3 point attempts, and attack the glass.

3) Maryland was only 20 of 28 from the foul-line tonight. Terp big-men Gregory, Wiliams, and Padgett were just 7 of 12 from the charity-stripe. Credit them for getting to the foul-line, but they have to convert when they get there.

4) Only 3 minutes of garbage time tonight for Choi. During the remainder of these out-of-conference games, I would like to see his minutes increase. I would be looking for ways to add to his confidence.

The Ugly:

1) Gregory did not accomplish much in his 19 minutes of play, besides picking up 4 fouls. While he had 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal; he also had zero field-goal attempts. It is one thing to be a non-factor scoring, but he has to have a greedy mentality on the boards.

Up-Next:

On Sunday, the Terps will face the 5-5 Florida Atlantic Owls of the Sun Belt Conference. The Owls Head Coach is former George Washington Head Coach Mike Jarvis. The most interesting result so far for Florida Atlantic is their 18 point loss to ACC foe Miami, this past Saturday night. Miami completely dominated on the boards, and it will be interesting to see how Maryland compares.