Across the country, many teams who had byes in their respective conference tournaments came out slow in their first games. Not so for the University of Maryland Terrapins who hit their first seven 3 pointers tonight against Nebraska.
The Terps pushed their lead out to as much as 25, before holding on to beat the Cornhuskers 97-86.
With the victory, Maryland improves to 25-7 on the year, and moves into Big Ten Tournament semi-finals with a date against Michigan State tomorrow (3:30PM, CBS).
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
Three Thoughts On Tonight:
1) That was fun. Any team is going to look when that many shots are falling, but there were encouraging signs no matter what. The players were looking to make the extra pass. (20 assists on their 35 FG’s.) As the Big Ten announcers relayed, Coach Turgeon had told them he just wanted to see MD leave Indianapolis having played well. The Terps played their best 20 minutes of the season in the 1st half tonight.
– The offense really opens up, with better spreading across the floor when Layman is knocking down shots. I usually prefer seeing him attacking the rim early, before stepping out; but he set the early tone with his shooting. He finished with 26 points, (8 of 13 from the floor, 6 of 9 from 3), 5 boards, 2 steals, and a block.
– Trimble and Sulaimon combined for 14 assists against 3 turnovers.
– Nickens hit two 3’s, giving him at-least two 3’s in 5 of his last 6 games. Shooting slump he was in seems over at this point.
– No Cekovsky tonight. Surprised a bit, considering the lead which existed, and having to play again tomorrow.
– Maryland had 22 FT attempts, making 14.
– Trimble was 6 of 12 from the floor, 4 of 7 from 3, 9 boards, and 8 assists.
– Stone had 23 points, and 7 boards, going 11 of 15 from the floor.
2) We again saw Turgeon briefly go with a small ball lineup of Trimble, Brantley, Nickens, Layman, and Stone. MD could of course also use Sulaimon in place of Brantley, or Carter in place of Stone; the overall idea remains the same. Layman back at the 4 like he was utilized at last year, and the Terps having this lineup as an X-Factor that could be used to give opponents a different look.
3) MD’s outside shooting will understandably get the attention tonight. That’s what happens when you go 13 of 21 behind the arc. However, Trimble looking like the Melo Maryland fans anticipated this year, and Stone looking like a force (running the court, being a presence in the post) is what is very encouraging. Aren’t going to shoot like that as a team most nights, but if Melo and Diamond show up each game like they did tonight – Maryland will be a difficult out vs. anyone.
Three Thoughts on Tomorrow:
1) Tomorrow is about opportunity. The opportunity for Maryland to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Final on Sunday. The opportunity to avenge the regular season loss to Michigan State. The opportunity for Maryland to improve their resume. The opportunity for MD to build further confidence. Not just show they can play with anyone, but the opportunity to show they can beat anyone.
Coming into this week, the Spartans were #2 in the AP rankings, 3rd in the Coaches poll. They were #2 overall in the ESPN Power Rankings, 4th in the CBS Sports Top 25+1. Tom Izzo’s bunch is in good position for a number 1 seed when the bracket comes out Sunday night.
As of today, MD was on the 5 line according to the average of 97 tracked brackets at Bracket Matrix. Obviously, beating Michigan State would help the outlook.
2) Despite my comments above, the only focus for Maryland’s coaches and players should be on the Spartans. March in the Big Ten has been about Izzo and Michigan State for years. The disappointment of not winning the regular season conference title can be minimized if MD can win the next two games and hang a banner.
For the performance tonight to matter, you have to follow that up with a quality performance again tomorrow.
3) As of Tuesday, MD was 291st overall this year in Offensive Rebounding. Michigan State was 1st in Defensive Rebounding. Everyone in a Terps uniform has to crash the glass.
Maryland lost at Michigan State (74-65) in late January. That boxscore is found here.
Team stats for the Spartans are found here.
Ken Pomeroy Ratings Entering Tonight:
Overall:
Maryland: 24th
Michigan State: 3rd
Adjusted Offensive Efficiency (points per 100 possessions):
Maryland: 36th
Michigan State: 1st
Adjusted Defensive Efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions):
Maryland: 22nd
Michigan State: 21st
Adjusted Tempo (possessions per 40 minutes):
Maryland: 219th
Michigan State: 226th
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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.