With just horrific shooting, the University of Maryland lost 69-57 tonight to Cincinnati in the semi-finals of the Maui Invitational.
Count me as one that believes you learn more from a loss then you do from a win. When Maryland reviews the game-film from tonight, they will note plenty of missed opportunities and poor decisions.
The Good:
1) MD actually out-scored the Bearcats in the 2nd-half, and continued to play defense of their own.
2) Jordan Williams was limited to 4 points, but had 9 boards. James Padgett had 9 points, and 5 boards. It was great to see that combined production against a Major conference team, and a player as talented as Yancy Gates.
3) Vasquez was just 5 of 17 from the floor, but was able to force the action and get to the foul line 12 times. He also had 5 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals. It was a rather forgettable night for Vasquez and the Terps, but he still found a way to contribute.
4) JSC had 3 rebounds in 11 minutes of action. I thought he also played some solid defense, with his long-arms causing problems.
5) Against a strong defensive team, MD only had 9 turnovers.
6) Tucker played some good defense off the bench against Stephenson.
The Bad:
1) Hayes and Milbourne came into this averaging a combined 18 shots per game, and 28 points. Tonight they combined for 9 shots, and 12 points. The 7 personal fouls they collected were part of this, but they needed to be more involved.
2) The MD offense works best when it works inside out. In each of the 4 previous games, the Terps had success throwing it inside to Williams. Tonight, it seemed like the Terps bigs only touched the ball when a shot was coming off the rim from one of the guards.
3) Terps were limited to only 10 assists.
4) Maryland lost on the boards 45-31.
5) Mosley regressed back to some of his play last year, where he failed to go up strong, and missed baskets at point blank range.
6) Bowie took 4 shots, and missed three 3’s. To be fair, one of the 3’s was a last-second 40 foot heave. Still, that is now 1 for 12 from 3 for the year for Bowie. He can not just come into the game and chuck jump shots. Drive to the rack, and work to get to the foul-line.
Vasquez was 0 for 5 from, making him 4 for 19 from 3 for the year.
7) JSC knocked down 3’s at South Kent Prep, he knocked down 3’s for the Korean National Team in the FIBA U19 World Championships, he knocks down 3’s in practice. If teams are going to leave their defenders around the paint; JSC is the player that can make a difference by hitting some shots. I picture JSC as a scorer. He certainly comes into games with that mentality. If he misses a shot or two, I would like to see him maintain the confidence to shoot the next time he is open.
The Ugly:
1) While you have to give some credit to Cincinnati for their defense; the reality is the Terps had a miserable shooting night. 36% from the floor, 2 of 14 from the 3 point line, and just 17 of 31 from the foul-line. Missing 14 foul-shots is inexcusable.
2) Tonight was one of the limited opportunities for the Terps to obtain an out of conference win of note. Tomorrow the Terps will have another against the loser of Gonzaga and Wisconsin. After that, there will be the games at Indiana, and against Villanova on a neutral court. It would have been nice to have had the win against Cincinnati in their back-pocket. Winning tomorrow now goes from a luxury, to more of an imperative.
Up-Next:
If Maryland has to play Wisconsin, it will be a difficult match-up, because the slow methodical style of Bo Ryan, takes away easy transition points.
For MD to beat the Badgers, the Terps would have to prove they could operate regularly in a 1/2 court-set, and knock down some shots.
If Maryland has to play Gonzaga, it will be a style of play the Terps are more comfortable with. That does not mean it would be an easy match-up. Gonzaga has already played at Michigan State and competed against a hostile crowd.
It would be an opportunity for the Terps to try and extract some revenge for the beating they took at the hands of the Zags last-year in Florida.
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.