Terrapins get past Wake; What did we see?

The University of Maryland Terrapins ended a 2 game losing streak, beating Wake Forest 71-60. With the win, MD improves to 15-12 overall, and 7-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Maryland will now prepare to face #1 Syracuse at the Comcast Center Monday night.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

What did we see?

1) It was an ugly start for MD, as the Terps fell behind 15-7 with 11:25 left in the 1st half. Once the Terps stopped turning the ball over, and preventing easy transition baskets from Wake; they were able to get back into the game. The Terps went on a 23-10 run to end the half, ending the first 20 minutes with a 5 point (30-25) lead.

1a) Maryland pulled away in the 2nd half, with the lead ballooning to 15 points with under 2 minutes left. It was not a great shooting night for MD, as the Terps shot 43% from the floor (26 of 61), including just 31% (8 of 26) from 3.

2) We anticipated MD controlling the game tonight. Maybe that was an aggressive expectation coming off the emotional game vs. Duke. What I liked about the win tonight was that the Terps were able to overcome their poor start, and avoid the mistakes which could have allowed Wake to really get back into things late. Also, a conference win with Dez Wells providing little is a good thing overall.

3) Mitchell has his limitations, but I’m glad he has been inserted into the starting lineup. Based on what is here, he seems to clearly be the best option. In the 1st half, Mitchell had 8 points (4 of 6 from the field) and 4 boards. On the negative side, he also had 3 turnovers. For the game, Mitchell finished with 12 points (6 of 8), 7 boards, and a block. His 5 turnovers limiting how good you can feel about his night though.

4) Off the bench, Faust had 11 points in the 1st half – going 4 of 6 from the field (including 3 of 5 from 3). His last 3 ended the half. For the game, Faust set a new career high with 20 points (7 of 11 from the floor, 4 of 7 from 3). Faust also had 5 boards, 4 assists, a steal, and a block. Nice overall game from him.

5) Maryland had a 17-15 rebounding edge at the half. For the game though, Wake won on the boards 38-35.

6) The Terps had 8 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but finished with just 12 turnovers for the game.

7) It was a quiet offensive 1st half for Allen and Wells, as the duo combined to go 2 for 10 from the floor (1 of 7 from 3), for just 5 points. Things did not dramatically increase for either in the 2nd half, either.
7a) Allen was 2 of 10 from the floor (2 of 9 from 3), finishing with 10 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists. Allen was 4 of 4 from the line. Too many shots from outside, with the shot not falling. MD will need him to be on against Syracuse to have any chance against the Orange.
7b) Maryland’s leading scorer finished with with just 6 points tonight, as Wells was only 2 of 8 from the floor. He did contribute with 4 steals though.

8) Layman had 6 points, 3 boards, 2 assists, and 2 steals in the 1st half. His biggest influence coming on the defensive end at the top of the 1-3-1. The Sophomore had 11 points for the game.

9) Peters had 2 assists in the 1st half.  Getting some additional time in the 2nd half, he added a layup with his most aggressive offensive move in a Month. Peters finished with those 2 points, 3 boards, and 3 assists. Turgeon liked Peters defense against Duke, which is likely the reason for the additional minutes tonight.

10) Smotrycz again started the game for MD, and was 0 for 2 in the 1st half. In the 2nd half, Smotrycz made 4 of his 9 attempts. He finished with 10 points, and 6 boards. Since the FSU game Feb 8th, he is 9 of 37 from the floor, including 2 of 20 from 3.

11) Dodd had a positive outing in his 7 minutes vs. Duke Saturday. Tonight, he had 3 boards and a block. He also picked up 3 fouls.

12) The Terps were 11 of 16 from the foul line.

13) Maryland had 13 assists on their 26 made FG’s.