The saying is close only counts in horseshoes and hand-grenades, so it is hard to feel great about Maryland’s second consecutive close loss at Madison Square Garden.
After losing to #4 Pittsburgh last-night, Maryland lost 80-76 today against #16 Illinois. Just like yesterday there were positives to take from the loss. Ultimately though what matters in sports is wins and losses. With that in-mind, you do not want to get into the habit of feeling ‘good’ about things when you lose.
The Terps had an opportunity to win yesterday, and they had an opportunity to win today. Instead they are coming home with a 3-2 record, and the out-of-conference games against Penn State, Temple, and Villanova carry even greater significance.
There is no reason for doom-and-gloom though. Maryland just played two very experienced and talented teams on a neutral court and showed plenty. You take the lessons (both positive, and negative) from these two days and you move-forward.
The Good:
1) Maryland had 5 players in double-figures, including Stoglin’s Terrapin high 17 points.
1a) Stoglin has played five collegiate games and has scored at-least 14 points three-times. Over the last two-days Bobby Knight pointed out a lot of the things Stoglin will need to work on, but his scoring ability is impressive.
2) I liked Mosley’s aggression against Pittsburgh, and thought he played better again today.
3) Jordan Williams picked-up his second foul with 12:23 left in the 1st-half, and only played about 9 of the first 20 minutes. Padgett, and Weijs played better than they did against Pitt, and helped keep Maryland in the game.
4) Gregory had one of his best games as a Terrapin. 10 points, 10 boards (6 offensive), 2 blocks, 1 steal.
5) Williams came back in the 2nd-half and delivered. 15 points, 13 boards in just over 26 minutes of action.
6) Maryland won the battle on the glass 39-26.
7) The foul-shooting was not an issue tonight, with the Terps going 13 for 18 from the line.
8) While the press was broken several times, Maryland is having more success with the press and traps than they have had in recent years.
The Bad:
1) Illinois was 10 for 19 from 3. Too often the Terps would leave their man to provide help-defense elsewhere. The Illini would reverse the ball back for open-shots.
2) Howard had a rough game, 0 for 5 from the floor and 3 turnovers.
3) After scoring 9 points in each of the first-four games Bowie was limited to just 4 today. The biggest difference was that Bowie was not able to get to the line (in 3 of the 4 previous games he had at-least 4 foul-shots).
4) Williams played in the 2nd-half and produced. Him getting into foul-trouble again early, and missing most of the 1st obviously hurt.
5) Tucker didn’t have a bad game (10 pts, 6 rebounds, 1 assist) but he only hit 3 of his 11 shots. As defenses start to key on him further, it will be interesting to see how he responds.
The Ugly:
1) Maryland was 5 for 18 from 3 point land. Several of those misses came in the waning minutes, but that is too many shots from outside for this team.
2) We mentioned the Terps were better at the line tonight, but a key all season will be being active enough inside to get extended foul-shots.
Up-Next:
1) Maryland will get the chance to work some kinks out next week against Delaware State (on the 23rd) and Elon (on the 26th) before heading to Penn State for the ACC/Big10 Challenge on December 1st.
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.