The Maryland Terrapins let-up 48 first-half points to the Clemson Tigers tonight, and were down as many as 15 points; before rallying in the second-half and pulling away for the 88-79 win.
With the victory, the Terps moved to 20-7 overall, and 10-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Maryland has moved to two games ahead of Virginia Tech for 2nd-place in league play.
The Good:
1) Clemson was extremely hot to start the game, hitting 8 three-pointers in the first-half. Down as many as 15 points, a younger and inexperienced Maryland team might have panicked. The Terps just dug-in, played better defense, and worked their way back into the game.
2) After averaging just 3.5 points a game during the previous 4 games, it was great to see Sean Mosley come alive tonight. He started the game with two-quick jumpers and parlayed that into a 20 point outing. 6 for 8 from the floor, 6 of 7 from the line, 4 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals. If Mosley’s offensive game comes alive down the stretch here, the Terps are going to pose problems in any bracket they are assigned.
3) Jordan Williams was tasked with dealing with All-Conference PF Trevor Booker on defense, and performed admirably. When the Terps needed a bucket (and frankly needed boosts of intensity) it was Williams who consistently stepped-up. 18 points, 5 boards, 1 steal, 1 block for Williams tonight. His hands, his positioning, his 2nd-effort are all superb. Offensively, he showed a quick spin, and drop-step tonight.
4) Hayes hit all three of his 3 point attempts, finished with 15 points, and made a point of attempting to drive on Clemson. While he uncharacteristically missed two-foul shots; he came right back and hit a crucial 3 when needed.
5) After 26 Maryland turnovers at Littlejohn, the Terps only had 10 turnovers tonight. Initially, there was some confused looks from the Terps about handling the Clemson pressure defense, but adjustments were made.
6) Vasquez was having a tough-time getting past his defender, and getting to the rim. Vasquez understood this, and was smart enough to get his team involved. The General finished the game with 13 assists to just 4 turnovers, and also added 3 steals. While he struggled scoring early, Vasquez still finished with 15 points. Some of those decisive points included an important 3 pointer, hitting his 4 free-throws, and an emphatic dunk to punctuate a Maryland run.
7) The Terps finished the game with 10 less shots than Clemson from the floor, but won because they made 54% of their field-goal attempts, and were able to get to the foul-line 24 times.
8) When Williams, and Gregory faced early foul-trouble, Padgett was able to enter the game and help. In his 6 important minutes, he had a follow-up slam, a block, and 3 rebounds.
9) Tucker flashed his varied offensive game, and added 8 valuable points off the bench.
10) While their success might have been partly due to the foul-out of Jerai Grant, Williams and Gregory combined for a number of minutes on the floor at the same time. This combination eliminated some of the 2nd-chance rebounds/points Clemson was obtaining.
11) 20 Assists for Maryland tonight, ahead of the per-game average the Terps already had to lead the conference with.
The Bad:
1) In the ACC, and NCAA Tournaments, Maryland will be in danger of quick exit if they go 16 of 24 from the foul-line.
2) After averaging 16 minutes, and 7 points a game the last two games; Bowie played just 5 minutes of scoreless ball tonight. Our guess is that Coach Williams had reservations of Bowie and his ball-handling being on the court for sustained minutes against the aggressive Clemson defense.
The Ugly:
1) I got the impression that the results of tonight could have been very different, had Grant not fouled-out with only 10 minutes of playing-time.
Up-Next:
Maryland moved two-games ahead of Virgina Tech tonight, because the Hokies lost (and lost big) to Boston College.
This is an important development, as the Terps prepare to head to Blacksburg Saturday. With the win over Clemson, there will be no pressure on Maryland. The Hokies will be expected to defend their home-floor. This represents another opportunity for the Terps to obtain a valued road-victory, over a quality opponent.
For Maryland to win, the Terps are going to need to neutralize weapons such as Malcolm Delaney (Baltimore, Towson Catholic) and Jeff Allen (DC, DeMatha).
The Hokies had won 5 conference games in a row, before their loss at Duke this past weekend, and the 20 point loss in Boston tonight. I imagine Seth Greenberg will have them motivated to atone for those road losses, with a better effort on their home-court.
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.