On a night where the Terrapins of Maryland honored Vasquez, as well as the 2001 Final Four team; what really mattered was that the current roster took care of business with a 87-80 win over NCST.
With the win, the Terps climbed back to .500 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. (17-10 overall, 6-6 in the ACC) Despite the gloom and doom that has prevailed lately, the door to the NCAA Tournament is still cracked open. If MD can finish 9-7 in the regular-season (wins vs FSU, @Miami, UVA, loss @UNC) the Terps will likely finish the regular-season as the 6th seed for the ACCT. That could mean a 1st round game vs. Georgia Tech, and a possible 3rd game vs. Virgina Tech in the 2nd round. Even in that scenario you can debate the merits of Maryland, but the possibility of dancing would exist.
The Good:
1) It is the 20th of February and Maryland is still tinkering with their starting lineup. Normally I would not consider this a positive, but I liked the decision to insert Stoglin and Tucker into the starting lineup.
2) Maryland used some zone with success tonight.
3) Williams had 15 points (7 of 7 from the floor) in the first-half alone. Even more impressive considering he took a bench early with two fouls. For the game Williams finished with 26 points, and 8 boards on 10 of 12 shooting.
4) Opposing teams still seem to lay-off Gregory, and allow him to take that 12 to 15 foot shot. To Gregory’s credit, he continues to bury that shot with regularity. He finished with 18 points, and 10 rebounds.
5) Stoglin has played ‘fast’ all year, but these past two games have been something to watch. He has been a step quicker than the Hokies and Wolfpack, and constantly looking to push. The Freshman is slightly built, but showed his strength by hitting two jumpers where he was fouled. Stoglin finished with 25 points for the second consecutive game. Just as impressive is that he also had 9 assists against just 1 turnover.
6) Maryland shot a blazing 58% from the field, making 32 of their 55 field-goal attempts.
7) Mosley had a big basket at around the 5 minute mark. He found himself open at the top of the key and had a nice drive to the rim. He also kept a possession going several plays earlier with his hustle. His play down the stretch helped secure the win. Overall he finished with 10 points, 6 boards, and 2 steals.
8) After 10 turnovers in the first-half, Maryland had just 1 in the second-half.
9) Maryland won on the boards 29-24, and had 20 assists on their 32 made FG’s.
10) The Terps improvement at the foul-line continues, with an excellent 23 of 25 performance tonight.
11) Bowie had 5 assists off the bench.
The Bad:
1) During the lats 10 minutes of the first-half the Terps were very sloppy with the ball, and allowed NCST to go from a 10 point deficit to a 5 point lead. This included a stretch of 5 consecutive turnovers.
1a) Another game where Maryland allowed the opposition to go on a significant run. Today it was 14 unanswered by the Wolfpack. Obviously every team is better when they make baskets, but the Terps need to score enough to set up their press and traps. MD relies on their defense to create offense, so when they do not score (and give up positions on turnovers) their problems just multiply.
2) After picking-up two fouls, Williams was forced to head to bench. As CSN’s Tony Massenburg stated, the rebounding from MD fell apart without him.
2a) Palsson did a nice job on the boards against Virgina Tech, but had trouble tonight. CJ Leslie is a future pro, with major athleticism; but if Palsson is going to play-up at the 4 next year he has to block out consistently.
2b) Can not just point out Palsson here, as Gregory had trouble guarding Leslie all game.
3) In a repeat of a negative I pointed out against Virginia Tech (and countless other games this year) the Terps again failed to identify a shooter. Scott Wood came into tonight shooting 42% from 3 point land. That included 13 games where Wood had made at-least three 3’s. It is inexcusable that Wood was able to take multiple shots tonight without a hand in his face.
4) As scorching as MD was from the field, NCST almost equaled the Terps. The Wolfpack shot 49% from the floor, as both Leslie and Smith had success scoring inside.
5) I like Tucker in the starting lineup, but he has to score.
The Ugly:
None. The Terps needed a win, and they got it.
Up-Next:
Maryland hosts Florida State on Wednesday night. The Seminoles have won 3 games in a row, but have lost their best player (Chris Singleton) to a broken foot.
The Terps will need to again take care of business, and use this game to climb over .500 in ACC play.
Owner
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.