The University of Maryland won their first ‘must win’ game of the season, beating Clemson 79-77 to improve to 12-7 overall, and 2-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Good:
1) Mosley came off the bench today, with Hawk Palsson starting. In the first-half it appeared to be a mostly symbolic benching with Mosley back in the game before the first TV timeout. In the second-half though, Mosley did not enter until under the 10 minute mark . Mosley looked more aggressive on the offensive end when he was in the game in the 1st half. It was good to see him step-up and knock down his 2 foul shots at the end. He had 9 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists for the game.
2) Nobody will confused MD with being a great outside shooting team, but they did knock down some shots today, finishing 8 for 14 from the 3 point line.
2a) Stoglin had been in a shooting slump, so it was good to see him drop in 3 three’s of his own. He finished with 12 points, and 2 assists.
3) Williams set the school record with his 13th consecutive double-double. He finished with 16 points, 11 boards, 2 steals. Ho hum. The Raycom announcers were right, he should probably start with 10 points and 10 boards and you judge his game from there.
4) Bowie is obviously not a true PG, but he did a good job of setting up his teammates today. He also got to the line and converted 7 of 9 (though his miss at the end could have hurt). Overall Bowie had 13 points, 5 assists, 4 boards, and 1 steal.
5) Maryland’s guards were able to get regular dribble penetration against Clemson.
6) The Terps had just 10 turnovers.
7) Gregory came back from a down game against the Hokies, to contribute with 9 points and 6 boards today.
8) Tucker had 15 points, 3 boards, and 2 assists.
The Bad:
1) Howard had his pocket picked easy as he looked back to the bench, trying to see what play Coach Williams wanted to run.
2) Another poor FT shooting game for Williams, as he went 4 for 9 from the line. He continues to leave points at the charity stripe.
3) Maryland lost on the boards 35-30.
4) There were a number of times Maryland started to separate from Clemson, only to see the Tigers close the gap. You have to put your throat on the opposition when you have the opportunity, especially at home. The Terps should not have been in position to have to knock down foul shots at the end, and hope the Tigers did not hit a desperation 3.
The Ugly:
1) Maryland played pretty hard, but they failed to play with desperation for the entire 40 minutes. This Terrapin team needs to adopt the mentality that every possession matters on both ends of the court.
Up-Next:
Maryland travels to Virginia to face the Cavaliers on Thursday. Virginia is 11-8 overall, and also 2-3 in the ACC. The Cavs beat Georgia Tech today after losing 3 consecutive ACC games (UNC, at Duke, at BC). Earlier this year Virginia beat Oklahoma, Minnesota, Oregon, and LSU; while getting rocked by Standford, and Washington.
Just like today, it really is imperative for Maryland to find ways to win at Virginia, and next Sunday at Georgia Tech.
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.