The University of Maryland Terrapins moved to 22-7 overall, and 12-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with a 79-72 victory over Duke. With the victory, the Terps pulled even with Duke at the top of the ACC standings.
As I said in the preview of this game, there were numerous secondary issues that were understandably getting a lot of attention. Yes, you always want to beat Duke. Yes, you wanted to end that 6 game losing streak to the Devils. Yes, you wanted to see Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne perform well on their Senior night. Yes, you wanted Vasquez to elevate his chances at the ACC Player of the Year.
While I understand the importance of each of those issues, they were secondary concerns. This game was about putting the Terps in the best position possible to do the most damage possible in the ACC, and NCAA Tournaments. With that in-mind, the result tonight is very exciting.
I said after tonight we would have an even clearer idea of where the Terps were as a team. Well, Maryland is a team that has won 12 of their last 14 games, and won 12 conference games in a league expected to take 7 teams to the National tournament. They have shown they can compete against bigger, stronger teams. They have shown they can handle adversity. They have shown an ability to make clutch plays when the game is on the line.
The bottom-line is that Maryland is a very dangerous team.
The Good:
1) The Terps (and their crowd) held the Devils to 39% from the floor. Considering the size-advantage of Duke, Maryland deserves credit for not allowing more baskets in the paint.
1a) Maryland was even with Duke on the boards, which is just as impressive.
2) Hayes came-out with great intensity, eager to make a Senior Night statement of his own. He quickly had 4 baskets, and 5 rebounds which allowed the Terps to get off to the strong-start they needed. Jay Bilas made constant mention of the cuts that Hayes makes.
3) Jordan Williams did not have one of his best games, but he always plays hard. He was rewarded for running the court, and had that huge finish. 15 points, 11 boards, 3 blocks for the Freshman. In a game with a ton of emotion; Williams was able to focus at the line, and hit 7 of his 9 attempts. I think Jay Bilas made a great-point about Williams having the presence of mind to find Williams with an outlet pass, after getting the late-rebound. His put-back over Zoubek was just an example of the positioning Williams gets every-game.
4) The Terps do not win tonight, without the contributions of Bowie. His 9 points, 4 boards, 2 assists and the defense he provided made a difference.
4a) Gregory also helped off the bench with 5 boards in his 20 minutes of play.
5) Mosley did not have a good-shooting night, but I was still happy to see his 10 attempts. Maryland is a much better team, when Mosley looks for his shot.
6) 17 of 19 from the foul-line for Maryland tonight.
7) Maryland showed tremendous poise. Some teams would have folded after relinquishing a large early-lead; the Terps continued to battle.
8) Great-players step-up and make great-plays when their team needs them. Smith made a number of big plays for Duke, and Scheyer came-alive late. At the 5 minute 40 second mark, Scheyer hit a 3 to give Duke the 63-60 lead. Vasquez went right down the court, and answered. Vasquez makes runners/floating-jumpers in every-game, but his shot to give Maryland the 4 point-lead with under 1 minute to play, receives high-marks for the degree of difficulty. Years from now, when Terp fans think of Vasquez, you will remember the gold-uniforms and that shot.
The Bad:
1) I was happy to see Milbourne get that big-dunk, because out-side of that; it was another rough-game for the Senior. Milbourne only played 18 minutes tonight, had zero-rebounds, and just 5 points (5 shots). That is 5 consecutive-games where Milbourne has made under 10 points. He is missing jumpers that he has consistently hit over the past two-seasons. I hope he can find a second-wind, and some confidence against UVA.
2) Padgett was given an opportunity to contribute tonight, but quickly made a turnover in his 5 minutes of action. He also missed a Vasquez pass, where he was all alone under the basket. While I appreciated seeing his effort, as he got floor-burns going for a loose-ball; the careless turnover will not earn him additional minutes.
3) After getting-up by as many as 14 points in the 1st-half, the Terps did not keep their foot on the Devils throat. Coach K moved to a zone-defense, and the Maryland offense stalled.
The Ugly:
None. The Terps pulled-even with the Devils in ACC play, and the Seniors got the chance to celebrate on their home-court.
Up-Next:
Maryland heads to Virginia Saturday, with a chance to end the year at 13-3 in the ACC. Maryland beat UVA by 19 points in College Park, and that game was not really even that close. After tonight, it would be a normal human-reaction, to experience an emotional let-down against the Cavaliers. I think it would say a lot for the Terps, if they put tonight behind them, and were ready to make another statement on the road.
The Terps should be helped by the large-amount of Maryland fans that are making the trip to UVA.
If Maryland wins, and Duke were to lose to UNC; the Terps would finish in sole-possession of 1st-place. If both the Terps, and Devils win as expected, they will share the regular-season title; but Duke will be the number 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
ESPN showed a graphic tonight, which illustrated how if the season ended tonight, the Terps at the 2 seed, would wind-up playing the winner of Georgia Tech and UNC. If Maryland beats UVA, and wins their 1st-round ACC game; I see the Terps as a likely 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament. If the Terps beat UVA, but lose their 1st-round ACC game; a 5 or 6 seed might be more likely.
Myself, I will be rooting for Duke / Maryland Round 3 in the Conference Finals. Not because of an obsession with the Devils, but because A) It would be good to see the conference leaders get to play each-other on a neutral court, and B) Either way, it would be the best preparation for Maryland going into the NCAA Tournament.
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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.