MD lost to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill 108-91 on February 3rd.
In that game, both teams made 36 field-goals, but UNC hit 16 three-pointers, and was 20 for 27 at the foul-line.
Roy Williams employs a constant up-tempo style, that is fun to watch.
It is also a style of play, that fits into what MD does best. The Terps are not a good outside shooting team, nor do they have a post-presence.
What MD does have, is a lot of guards and wings that can score effectively in transition.
Examples of that in the past match-up, was Mosley being able to give you 19pts, and Tucker coming off the bench to score 18.
Hayes also had a decent game with 10pts, and 5 assists.
For MD to compete tomorrow – and dream of pulling the upset – a couple of things have to happen.
1) Vasquez, Milbourne, and Bowie had 28 combined points in the previous game… they are going to have score closer to 40-45… Bowie has made only 3 of his last 20 three-point attempts… he is going to have a few open looks tomorrow, and has to bury them.
2) MD has the 7th best Free Throw shooting % in the country… they need to get the line 20-25 times, and hit at 80% and above.
3) Part of the reason UNC went off from the 3 point land, was because the Terps were sagging, and double-teaming Hansbrough, and Davis inside. You can expect that Gary Williams will use the same strategy tomorrow.. If MD is to pull the upset, UNC can probably not hit more than 10 three-pointers.
4) The Terps can simply not allow UNC to have another 27 trips to the charity-stripe.
Obviously, the expectation is that UNC will roll all over the Terps.
While the odds are stacked against MD, I do believe the Terps have an opportunity in this game, along with their other two remaining home-games (Duke, and Wake Forest).
Terps need to feed off the crowd, and get off to a good start… to allow them to believe they can win.
Play the game in 5 minute intervals, with the goal of staying in the game as long as you can.
Bonus thought – Dupree had a good game with 6 points and 2 boards in the previous game vs UNC…. Burney again flashed his athleticism Tuesday vs Clemson. Getting some contribution from them, against the Carolina bigs would help a lot.
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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.