Wells leads UMD back to .500 in ACC play; What did we see?

The University of Maryland improved to 12-9 overall, and 4-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play with a 74-71 victory over the Miami Hurricanes.

The Terps will next head to Blacksburg to face the Hokies of Virginia Tech (1-7 in ACC play, after being blasted at Boston College tonight) Saturday afternoon.

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

What did we see?

1) The Terps were up 48-40 with roughly 14 minutes left in the game. Miami would come back to have the game tied at 56 with 7:30 left. Down the stretch, Dez Wells sparked MD to a 10 point lead (71-61) with 1:34 left. The Hurricanes would again rally, tying the game at 71 with 19 seconds left. Miami”s come-back aided by Nick Faust fouling Rion Brown on a 3 point attempt, and Seth Allen missing the front-end of two 1&1’s. After his teammates attempted to give away the game, Wells buried a 3 with 3.5 seconds left for the lead – and ultimately the win.
1a) Wells picked up his 2nd foul with under 4 minutes gone by, and spent the rest of the 1st half chained on the bench. Wells would finish the game with 21 points, 4 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals. He was 7 of 7 from the floor, and 6 of 6 from the line. All of that production coming in the last 20 minutes of play.

2) Maryland went to half-time, leading 30-29. The Terps were 12 of 27 (44%) from the floor. Nearly half of their attempts had been from 3, as MD again struggled to gain penetration against an opposing zone defense.
2a) The Terps were able to better attack the Miami zone in the 2nd half, and hurt the Hurricanes when Miami turned to man defense. MD finished the game shooting 56% (28 of 50), including 10 of 21 from 3.

3) In addition to Wells, three other MD players – Allen, Smotrycz, and Graham – had 2 fouls each in the 1st half.

4) The Terps and Hurricanes each had 15 boards in the 1st half. Maryland lost the battle on the boards 30-24. (Layman and Wells both led the Terps with 4 boards each.)

5) It was good to see Layman aggressively looking for his shot in the 1st half, but he was just 3 of 9 from the floor. For the game, he finished 6 of 15, including 3 of 8 from 3. I won’t complain about the shooting percentage too much. 15 points, the aforementioned 4 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. MD is a better team when Layman is less passive. He was looking to assert himself tonight, and that was a positive.

6) Graham started the game, and was his usual active self on the defensive end when on the court. He finished with 4 fouls though, and his PT in the 2nd half was sporadic. Dodd got some time of the bench, and again had some positive moments. Dodd is unquestionably raw, but good things seem to happen when he is on the court.
6a) Mitchell and Cleare combined for 2 points (2 shots) and 3 boards.

7) Peters did pretty much nothing in the 2nd half, but his 1st half was one of his better stretches of play in recent weeks. In the 1st half he had 4 points, 3 boards, an assist, and a steal. One of his baskets was an athletic layup while being fouled. The other was a short jumper in the lane. He is often times left unguarded by opposing teams out on the wing, as teams do not respect his shooting ability.

8) There were just 10 turnovers for MD tonight, 5 in each half.

9) Maryland managed just 3 foul shots in the 1st half, all misses. In the 2nd half the Ters were 8 of 10.

10) Smotrycz had 8 points in the 1st half, and MD’s first FT’s of the game in the 2nd half. He finished the game an efficient 5 of 7 overall, 3 of 4 from 3 for 15 points. He also had 4 assists, 3 boards, and 2 assists.

11) Faust’s foul on Brown in the last minute of play was pretty brutal. He did finish with 6 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists. He was 2 of 7 from the floor, and 2 of 5 from 3. I’d like to see the Jr. Faust take a page out of his book from his Freshman year. Down the stretch that season, he was able to consistently beat defenders off the dribble, and attack the basket. I’d like to see more of that (and some posting up) and less 3’s chucked-up from outside.

12) It appeared that Turgeon stayed with the pressing a bit more tonight, and I think MD was able to create some offense from that defense. I’d like to see the Terps stay with the press and trapping; even if it is beat. Increase the tempo, and transition looks for the MD guards and wings capable of excelling in that type of game.

13) Allen was 4 of 7 from the floor, showing some explosion on a couple of drives to the basket. We also liked one basket in particular where he made sure he finished by slowing down. Missing both of the 1&1’s in the final minute were what gave Miami a chance to steal a win. This was Allen’s first game this year where he made at-least 1/2 of his shots. It was also his first game without at-least four 3 point attempts.