Terps lose to UNC; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

For the 3rd time this season, the University of Maryland lost to North Carolina, this time 79-76. With the loss, the Terrapins do not advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship, and will be sweating things out tomorrow when bids are handed out to the NCAA Tournament.

The Good:

1) MD started the game with a dump-off to Len, who finished with a slam. Len made it 6-4 UNC with a reverse slam. At 8-4 Carolina, Len earned a trip to the line. The Terps were down 20-9, when Len earned another trip to the line. Len was able to come up with a miss from Aronhalt, and get to the line. Hitting his 2 foul shots, it was a 7 point game with 10 minutes left. Following a missed Aronhalt 3, Len made it 59-53. Demanding the ball in the post, Len got to the line again. His makes made it 60-57. McAdoo picked up his 4th foul, when Len went at him again. Finishing a no-look pass from Faust, Len’s slam made it 71-66 Carolina with 4:09 left. A layup inside, made it a 1 point game with 3 minutes left. Len finished with 20 points (10 of 12 from the line), and 7 boards.

2) With UNC up 8-4, Layman extended a possession with a rebound on a missed Faust 3. Layman stepped up to take a charge from Paige, with Carolina up 13-9.

3) Allen hit a 3, pulling MD within 4 at 13-9. Going to the rim, Allen got to the line. Knocking down his shots, he made it 27-24 UNC.

4) Down 20-11, MD dug in with a good defensive set.

5) Howard split the defense, and got to the line in the middle of the 1st half. The Tar Heels had pushed the lead to 12 early in the 2nd half, when Howard drove the lane and scored. Fouled on the play, he hit his FT to make it 47-38. Good hustle from Howard to keep alive a possession, following his own miss late.

6) Faust hit back-to-back 3’s to make it 24-18 UNC. Faust’s third 3 ended a 6-0 UNC run, and got MD back within 6. Faust hit Maryland’s first shot of the 2nd half, his fourth 3 of the game to make it 41-35 UNC. Driving the lane, Faust pulled up for a short jumper to make it 50-40. Faust’s 5th triple of the day made it 68-63 UNC. Nice no look pass to Len, for a slam. Faust finished with 17 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists.

7) Scoring his first basket of the game, Wells pulled MD within 4 at 24-20 UNC. Driving and slashing again, Wells got the Terps within a basket. Wells hit a 3 with 10:30 left to make it a 9 point game. He was charged with an offensive foul on the play, but his basket counted, as Wells made it a 4 point game at 59-55. Finishing a UNC turnover, Wells made it a 3 point game with 3:30 or so left. Fantastic drive to make it a 3 point game with 67 seconds remaining. With 33 seconds left, Wells pushed the ball following a UNC make, and got to the line. His 2 FT’s made it a 1 possession game. Wells finished with 15 points, 9 boards, and 4 assists.

8) Mitchell cleaned up an air-ball from Faust, scoring in the post to make it 35-29 UNC. Grabbing another Faust miss in the closing seconds of the 1st half, Mitchell scored again, and went to the line. The 3 point play made it 37-32 UNC at the half. Mitchell had 6 boards off the bench.

9) MD was 8 of 11 from the foul line in the 1st half.

10) The Terps limited UNC to just 4 FT’s in the 1st half.

11) Just 6 turnovers for MD in the initial 20 minutes, and only 10 for the game.

12) Hitting a needed 3, Aronhalt made it a 9 point game at 52-43. Aronhalt had 7 boards. He followed a miss from Allen, and scored a layup with 16 seconds left.

13) Padgett did not play yesterday, nor in the 1st half today. In the middle of the 2nd half, he came off the bench and scored a basket to make it 54-45 UNC.

14) Coach Turgeon had a nice tournament. He pushed the right buttons, and seemed to connect with the team in a way that had often been missing during the year.

15) Multiple times today it appeared that UNC was on the verge of extending out their lead, and effectively ending the game. Numerous times the Terps responded. They continued to battle, and give themselves a chance to win.

The Bad:

1) Carolina answered MD’s initial basket, with back-to-back 3’s.

2) Faust was called for an early charge, where he had the opportunity to pull-up. He also missed two early 3’s.

3) Hitting their third 3 of the game, UNC took an early 13-6 lead. Carolina started the game, by hitting 5 of their first 8 shots. At the 12 minute mark of the 1st half, the Tar Heels had pushed the lead to 20-9.

4) At 10-6, MD came out of a time out, and immediately turned it over.

5) Given an open look, Aronhalt missed his 3 with MD down 15-9. After hitting a 3, Aronhalt was not able to come up with a defensive board on the other end. Aronhalt dropped an easy rebound with MD down 7 at 71-64. The game ended with an Aronhalt air-ball. He attempted to get off a quick shot prior to being fouled, but had time to get a better look.

6) Howard turned it over, when he went looking for the highlight pass. Early in the 2nd half Howard had a great drive, but could not finish.

7) Trailing 20-11, Wells missed 2 FT attempts. That was followed with him missing a layup. Wells did not score until there was 6 minutes left in the 1st half. Driving to the rim, Wells missed a layup in the 2nd half. Down 8 points with under 8 minutes left, Wells missed a rather wild layup attempt. With 2:20 left, Wells attempted to find Len in the post, and turned it over.

8) Down 22-12, Mitchell did not recognize the double team and turned the ball over in the lane. Mitchell picked up his 3rd foul with 17+ left in the 2nd half. Mitchell picked up his 4th foul with 11:28 left.

9) Having closed the deficit to 3 at 27-24, MD allowed a 6-0 run.

10) Allen was just 1 for 5 in the 1st half. At 50-38, Allen missed a layup. A minute later, he put Hairston on the line for 3 shots. Allen finished 1 for 7 from the floor.

11) After coming out aggressive in the opening minutes of the game, Len faded away for the rest of the 1st half, and the first 10 or so minutes of the 2nd half.

12) Cleare turned the ball over in the lane, as he attempted to back down down his defender. Going down the other-end, McAdoo got to the line when Cleare fouled him.

13) Aronhalt’s 3 with 13:47 left made it 52-43 UNC. The Tar Heels missed their next shot (a 3 from McDonald) but were able to get 3 offensive boards before Hubert scored. Padgett had his chance on that series, but the Heels were just jumping over him. At 56-45 UNC, Aronhalt had an open 3, but Padgett was called for a foul, eliminating the shot attempt from Aronhalt. With 11:28 left in the 2nd half, Padgett got to the line, but missed both of his shots.

14) A 12-2 MD run made it 60-57 UNC. The Tar Heels responded with a 8-1 run of their own to make it 68-58.

15) Maryland was just 18 of 26 from the line.

16) Layman was held scoreless, taking just 1 shot for the game.

The Ugly:

1) In the middle of the 1st half, MD was held scoreless for 7 minutes.