Terps fall again in Maui; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

MD lost 78-69 to Wisconsin in the 3rd-place game of the Maui Invitational. The game and tournament were a disappointment for the Terps, but could prove to be a good learning experience.

The Good:

1) The Terps shot much better against Wisconsin, then they had against Cincinnati, finishing at 48% from the field. I believe this number was helped by the fact MD only took 13 3 point shots.

2) Milbourne and Hayes were looking for their shots and were more consistently aggressive. Overall, Hayes had 13 points, 5 boards, 3 steals, and a block. The Terps started to get back into the game when he went looking for his shot.

3) Vasquez had was somewhat efficient day from the field (6 for 13), was 2 of 4 from 3 point land, and hit all four from the charity stripe.

4) Williams and Padgett combined for 10pts, and 10 boards. Padgett plays very aggressively, and goes after missed shots from his teammates. I think the more experienced MD guards need to be more comfortable with throwing the ball inside to Williams. If Williams gets the ball, he is going to score his share. He gets strong positioning, and has the skills necessary. The mindset of the inside game being after-thought, and that these guys just need to rebound is wrong. Start going inside, let the defense collapse, and let them kick it out to open shooters if necessary.

5) Terps again had 10 steals, and only 9 turnovers.

6) After a rough-outing against Cincinnati, Mosley was 4 of 5 from the floor. With his made 3, he is now 3 of 6 from outside. Overall, he is shooting 61.7% from the field, and 75% from the foul-line.

The Bad:

1) MD played a lot of zone defense, to give help to Williams and Padgett against Leuer, and Nankivil. Due to this, this allowed a lot of open looks from outside for Wisconsin, and the Badgers hit 10 three-pointers.

This is one game you can point at, and say Gregory would have made a difference.

1a) Chris Knocke made the point several times that Hayes left his made to double a big, but there was not rotation from the other guards. That lack of recognition from experienced guards can not happen.

2) Vasquez, and Milbourne were 8 for 9 from the FT line, but MD overall was just 10 for 17. The main culprit was Williams who was 0 for 4. He seems to have decent form, but is now shooting just 45%.

The Ugly:

1) I really believe this is a capable MD team, that has the opportunity for a good year, but they were exposed a bit in Maui. This team has some good athletes (Milbourne, Tucker, Padgett, Bowie, Gregory) but is not going to wow anyone with their overall athletic talent. Even when Gregory returns, and if you are able to get a few minutes per game from Goins; there are still going to be some limitations inside. It is clear after these last two-games that teams will use a lot of zone against MD, and dare the Terps to shoot. Outside shooting is still a concern.

What MD has is a lot of good transition scoring guards, and wings; even if they lack shooters. MD is going to win games by forcing turnovers, filling the lane in transition, scoring points in the paint with their guards, and getting to the foul-line.

If the Terps do not knock down their foul-shots (or even get there) those will be the games they lose.

The margin for error is thin for this team, but the recipe for success also exists.

2) The Terps had two opportunities in Maui to obtain a neutral court win of significance for their post-season resume. If they take care of business in conference (10 wins) then losing these games will not impact them making the NCAA tournament. What it could impact is their potential seeding.

As MD did not get a win of note here, it makes next week @Indiana, and against Villanova all the more important.

MD will need at-least 1 victory, and ideally both.