Terps lose at NCST; What did we see?

Maryland’s 9 point half-time lead evaporated into disappointment, as the Wolfpack of North Carolina State came back to defeat the Terps 65-56. With the loss, the Terrapins fell to 11-8 overall, and 3-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

(Discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

What did we see?

1) It was certainly a missed opportunity for Maryland. After the Terps 9 point half-time lead was pushed out to 11 early in the 2nd half; the rest of the game was controlled by the Wolfpack. It is always tough on the road, and in-conference games – but with the half-time lead, and NCST forced to play without their best player (Sophomore Forward TJ Warren (22.2 ppg, 7.3 boards) missed tonight with a sprained ankle) this was a game that MD needed to win. It should also be mentioned that NCST was coming off a game Saturday, while MD had 5 days to prepare for tonight.

1a) We wondered before the game if MD was going to be able to build off of their 2nd half against Notre Dame. The ND game was an example of MD’s season as whole. The first half they were horrible, chucking up 3’s, as they struggled against the Irish zone. In the second half, the effort was increased, and MD got back into the game on the defensive end. MD found ways to get penetration, and get to the foul line. We said it was an important 20 minutes of play; but less so if the Terps don’t back that up with a win tonight. We were interested by tonight, to see where MD was at. Was Turgeon really able to finally connect with this group? His half-time philosophical adjustment vs. ND, was really the first time in his tenure where I felt Turgeon changed the play. I had hope going into tonight that MD was going to collectively play looser, and be more attacking.

With the results of tonight now known, you have to say the 2nd half vs. ND meant little. Maryland is still a Jekyll-and-Hyde type team, where you don’t know what you are going to get possession-by-possession, half-by-half, and game-by-game.

1b) It was a great opportunity for MD to get to 4-2 in Conference play, with back-to-back home games vs. Pittsburgh and Miami coming. MD did not take advantage, and I don’t think anyone can now expect more than a .500 season in ACC play for the year.

1c) It was an ugly start for MD, as the Terps began the game 0-10 from the floor during the first 5+ minutes of the game. After falling behind 7-0, MD would finish the half on a 29-13 run. The Wolfpack shot 22% (6 of 27) in the 1st half. Maryland finished the 1st half 11 for 33 (33%). For the game, MD finished 22 of 70 (31%) from the floor. NCST finished the game 23 of 57 (40%) from the floor.

1d) You couldn’t expect NCST to shoot 22% for the game, but 17 of 30 from the floor in the 2nd half? That’s partly a credit to the Wolfpack, and partly an indictment on MD’s 2nd half defense.

2) The Terps had a 26-19 edge on the boards in the 1st half.  10 of those 26 rebounds in the 1st half were offensive. For the game, MD won the battle on the glass 50-41.

3) Mitchell helped end MD’s early drought with some energy off the bench, and work on the offensive glass. In the 1st half, he had 4 points and 7 boards. Mitchell kept up the intensity in the 2nd half. A couple of great follows from Mitchell. It’s fair to criticize Mitchell for going 0 for 4 from the line (all ugly looking attempts), and just 4 of 11 from the floor; but you have to appreciate his 8 points, and 18 boards. That’s a great effort.

4) Dodd had some quality time in the 1st half, providing 6 points (3 of 3 from the field), 4 boards, and a block. That line did not change in the 2nd half.

5) Wells, Allen, and Layman were a combined 4 of 14 in the 1st half. They finished the game 7 of 31.

5a) It was a slow offensive start for Wells (1 of 4 in the 1st half), but he was 6 of 6 from the line. As he has repeatedly done lately, he bullied a defender to earn a trip to the charity stripe. Great job at the end of the 1st half, of pushing the ball up-court and finding Layman for an open shot.  With MD’s lead down to 3 (31-28), Wells ended an NCST run with a 3 from the corner. For the game, Wells was 2 of 11. He finished with 10 points, 2 boards, 1 assist, and 3 turnovers.

5b) MD had 4 assists in the 1st half, 3 of them were from Allen. A 3rd foul early in the 2nd half sent Allen to the bench. Creating some room for himself, Allen hit a short jumper from the baseline. That was followed by a 3 to make it 44-40 MD. Allen was 3 of 12 from the floor, 2 of 6 from 3. He had 5 assists vs. 2 turnovers.

5c) After Wells pushed the ball up-court and found an open Layman; Layman hit a 3 to end the 1st half. This extended the MD lead to 9. Layman did not score in the 2nd half, and finished 2 of 8 from the floor.

6) Maryland had 7 turnovers in the 1st half. They finished the game with 12.

7) Smotrycz picked up 2 early fouls and was a non-factor in the 1st half. A tip-in with 14:59 left in the 2nd half, got Smotrycz on the board. An open 3 from the corner put MD up 3, with 13 minutes left. Another 3 from Smotrycz pulled MD within 1 (52-51). Smotrycz finished the game with 10 points, and 5 boards.

8) Graham had 3 boards in the 1st half. He finished with 4 points, and 4 boards. His effort is noticeable when he is in the game.

9) Following Cleare’s basket early in the 2nd half, MD was leading 31-20. That was immediately followed by an 8-0 Wolfpack run. During that run, MD had 4 turnovers.

10) It was a poor offensive game for Faust, as he was 1 of 7 from the floor (including 1 of 6 from 3). With 8:30 left, he missed 2 FT’s.

11) Maryland was 5 of 13 from the foul line. NCST was 14 of 22.

12) Peters has good ability at getting penetration, and is a good passer. His ability to run the offense in the 1/2 court has to improve. You would also like to see him use his length to become more disruptive defensively. Most importantly he has to improve his shooting ability. Right now he is a offensive liability when on the floor.