The University of Maryland beat Wake Forest to grab their first Atlantic Coast Conference win of the year. With the win, the Terps move to 11-5 overall and 1-2 in ACC play.
The Good:
1) Tucker might be coming off the bench, but he is clearly the 2nd most important player in Maryland’s offense. The Senior Guard celebrated his birthday with a great night as he finished with 21 points, 8 boards, 4 assists, and 2 steals.
2) At one point MD was playing with Howard, Mosley, Tucker, Palsson, and Gregory. That smaller lineup had some success with turning Wake over and increasing the tempo.
2a) Good things happen with Palsson on the court. If he starts knocking down outside shots like he is advertised as being capable of, his minutes will only increase further. As it is he played a good amount tonight, finishing with 4 points, 5 boars, and 2 assists.
3) With just 5 points (and 1 FG) from Williams, Maryland still had a 14 point half-time lead on the road.
4) When MD started slowly, Mosley was able to help get the offense going with all 8 of his points coming early.
5) Williams was just 2 of 13 from the floor, but bulldozed his way to yet another double-double. Williams was 9 of 14 from the foul-line, and finished with 13 points, 15 boards, and 2 blocks.
6) Gregory is consistently providing a valuable contribution at the PF position. The Senior had 8 points, 3 boards, and a block. His athleticism running the floor, weak-side help defense, and his ability to hit a jumper from 10 to 12 feet works very well with Williams.
7) After being held to 1 point at Duke, Bowie finished with 12 tonight.
8) Padgett had 4 points, 5 boards, and a block off the bench.
9) Howard had 4 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals and 0 turnovers.
10) Terps won on the boards 45-37, and had just 10 turnovers to Wake’s 18.
The Bad:
1) The Terps again went through a prolonged stretch (in this case the 1st half) where they struggled with getting the ball inside to Williams.
2) Wake’s zone-defense caused the MD to not only struggle getting the ball to Williams, but also had the Terps forcing shots from the outside. The Terrapin guards are going to have to a better job with dribble penetration in future games against zone-defense.
3) Up 22-13, the Terps missed four consecutive free-throws followed by a Wake 3. MD had a chance to really push the game open, and failed to take advantage of the opportunity.
4) In what is becoming a common occurrence, MD again struggled with a possession to end the half.
5) Stoglin followed up a 1 for 10 night at Duke with a 1 for 9 effort tonight at Wake. Maryland needs the offense he showed earlier this year. You wonder if the transition to starting as the lead guard is hurting his offense? I won’t be surprised if Howard starts over Stoglin Saturday.
6) MD was just 5 of 18 from 3 point land, and 17 of 33 from the foul-line. (Padgett’s 0-4, including his airball could easily have been listed as ‘Ugly’)
The Ugly:
None. This Demon Deacons team is one of the most limited ACC teams I can remember, but a 19 point victory in league play on the road is always something to enjoy.
Up-Next:
Maryland plays Villanova (currently 7th in the country) on Saturday in Philadelphia. After beating Louisville tonight, the Wildcats are now 15-1 overall, and 4-1 in Big East 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.