Maryland travels south to UNC Greensboro tomorrow, to face the 2-10 Spartans. Clearly the game is designed to give the Terps some familiarity with the Greensboro Coliseum, which is the site of the ACC Tournament.
Going into the William & Mary game, you knew it had the potential to be a trap game. W&M had already won 8 in a row. Had already played at UConn (losing by just 9), and winning at Wake Forest. With that experience, and the MD students on vacation; you knew W&M would not be intimidated.
The Terps have zero excuses for a loss tomorrow, but there are a couple of things to at-least be aware of.
UNCG has played Duke, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest, and NCST already this year. Seeing ACC on the Maryland jersey is not going to mean anything to them.
This week in the home-games against Wake, and NCST; they were in both games at half-time, as they trailed the Demon Deacons by 7, and the Wolfpack by just 4. Both games eventually got away from them, as they succumbed to athleticism, talent, and depth of those ACC foes. Still, if you have the ability to stay close for a 1/2, you have the potential to stay close throughout.
Maryland needs to play with the mindset of blowing UNCG out early, and just attacking. Going to the rim hard, and repeatedly, and playing suffocating defense. The desperation the Terps showed in the waning minutes against W&M, is the mentality that Maryland needs to play every-game with.
Against NCST, UNCG won on the boards 34-22, and had 4 players reach double-figures in scoring. UNCG lost because NCST got to the foul-line 22 times, and forced 21 Spartan turnovers. In a game within a game, this gives the Terps some benchmark numbers to try and beat.
After tomorrow, the next game on the Maryland schedule is the currently 12-2 (1-0) #22 Nationally ranked Florida State Seminoles. It is important not only for the Terps to obviously win tomorrow, but in how they win, as they prepare for the start of ACC play.
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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.