Terps lose at BC; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The University of Maryland dropped to 16-9, and 5-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 76-72 road loss at Boston College. The Terps were not able to avenge a home lost to the Eagles in December.

After scoring 40 points in the first-half, the Maryland offense wilted over the last 20 minutes. This was a very disappointing result for the Terps who blew a golden chance to move into a tie for 4th place in the ACC. I said going into this two game road stretch at Boston College and at Virginia Tech that the Terps needed to split the two games. I had Maryland winning today, and losing vs. the Hokies.  With this loss today, I think Maryland faces an absolute must win situation in Blacksburg Tuesday night.

The Good:

1) Some good interior passing today, particularly liked the early pass from Williams to Gregory. In the first half the Terps were moving well without the ball, and looking to make the extra pass.

2) As the year is progressing, the Terps are looking more confident in their shooting beyond the arc. Today they hit 6 of their 17 attempts. I’ve talked about wanting them to take less 3’s, but I like that they are not passing up shots when they have open opportunities.

3) Stoglin’s defenders were coming out to the perimeter to guard him, and he was attacking them off the dribble. Several times this season Stoglin has had the ball in his hands during the last possession of a half, and failed to create. He did an excellent job of delivering a pass under control to Mosley, who was able to convert. He had 14 points, 7 assists, 2 boards, 1 block.

4) Howard had a great game, and the Freshman is obviously feeling more confident. He had back to back 3’s from Howard to tie the game at 31 in the 1st half.  On the 2nd 3ball, he made the pass which allowed him extra space and the ability to get his feet set. In the 2nd half he knocked down a couple of shots to get MD back into the game. He finished with 14 points, 3 assists, and 0 turnovers.

5) Strong block from Gregory on Raji to deny a sure basket. The Senior finished with 15 points, 7 boards, 1 steal, and a block.

6) Mosley had 10 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists. While not credited with the steals, he twice ripped the ball away from the Eagles.

The Bad:

1) A couple of plays after missing two FT’s, Stoglin threw a lazy pass back to the center of the court which was easily intercepted and converted into a BC slam. In the 2nd half, Gregory’s block on Raji created a fast break and Stoglin was completely out of control picking-up the charge. You do not want to take away Stoglin’s aggressiveness, but the Freshman needs to start showing some maturation with his court awareness. He is giving away possessions and points every game.

2) Tucker got lost on in-bounds pass to Reggie Jackson, and compounded the error with a foul on the Jackson slam.

2a) Poor game for Tucker overall. He had a couple of traveling charges, missed all three of his FG attempts (all 3’s), and had some defensive lapses. I like Tucker, and he has been consistently ‘good’ this year. However, the disappointment in watching him is that he appears to have the physical skill to be better.

3) Boston College’s offense inside the paint was poor. As such, the Terps should have been out on the Eagles shooters and allowing less wide-open looks. What was with all the help-defense? When you have a physical advantage at most positions, play man-to-man and stay on your guy.

3a) If you were going to provide help defense on anyone on the BC roster, it would obviously be Jackson. It makes no sense that Maryland allowed him to go off, and also did not take away the rest of the team. It has to be one or the other. Jackson finished with 31 points, (including 5 of 7 from 3) and 8 boards. Great individual effort, but horrible that MD let him beat them.

3b) I know that Cahill came into today having not played the last 4 games and averaging 4.3 minutes per game. However, he knocked down three 3’s today. Did he have a defender in his face once?

4) Williams got to the line for 6 attempts, but had just 7 shots from the floor. He had some trouble with Southern’s size, and the double teaming he saw. However, the Raycom announcer was correct that on possessions where BC was playing man defense, the Terps were failing to exploit that and get the ball into Williams. When Williams did have the ball and defense collapsed, he was sometimes forcing the action.

The Ugly:

1) Maryland missed all 8 of their FG attempts during the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half. Too many possessions and time off the clock to come away with nothing. (Know that Williams made a pair of FT’s)

2) The Terps had a 3 point lead at the half, and were down 1 (52-53) at the 9:39 mark. Two and a half minutes later the Eagles had completed a 10 point run to give BC  the 63-52 lead. 8 of those points were by Jackson. The defense was pathetic and Maryland did not look like a team that was scared to lose. I said earlier in the season that the Terps needed to learn to value every possession (offensively and defensively). I’m still waiting for the Maryland game where they give a consistent effort for 40 minutes.

3) After a couple of games of improved foul-shooting, the Terps were just 12 of 18 today. In close games, you get killed when you fail to make your shots at the line.

Up-Next:

If Maryland wants the opportunity to advance to the NCAA Tournament, it probably is not hyperbole to say they need to win at Virgina Tech Tuesday night. Going into today, I had Maryland finishing the year at 10-6 in the ACC with losses at VaTech, and UNC. With the loss today, Maryland has to win back a game where you expect them to lose. Virginia Tech is that first opportunity.