Terps Rout Hurricanes, Which Is Who They Played

January 27th, 2010 by bijanbayne

The talented Terps home cooked the Miami Hurricanes 81-59 at the Comcast Center, to take sole possession of the lead in the ACC (who’da thunk it?), and extend their winning string to four games. The contest was never really in question, as the hosts led by 21 shortly before intermission. Greivis Vasquez, who made our All-ACC team, contributed 16, to go with nine assists. Landon Milbourne tossed in 16 on 7-10 shooting. Guard Sean Mosley grabbed seven rebounds in 25 minutes of play. No opponent tallied more than 13.

One might question the strength of the competition, though while the ‘Canes are only 1-5 in the conference, they’re 15-5 overall. The Terps shot 51% (28-55), which speaks to the savvy ball distribution of Vazquez. To their credit, they sank 7 of their 16 efforts from the arc (46.7%). They outrebounded the opposition 35-29. Most importantly, Maryland limited Miami to 38.3% shooting from the floor, and the guests only hit 31% of their 13 three-pointers- the latter a key stat when a team is playing catch up.

Like the recent wins over N.C. State and B.C., this was a rout. Sterner tests will come soon enough. As the team prepares to face formidable Clemson on Sunday in the unfriendly “Pit”, confidence and momentum ride high, and the cushion they have provided themselves in the ACC race will serve them well during lulls. Whatever one thinks of N.C. State, they bounced Duke by 14 last week. For that matter, Miami has beaten Wake. A team can only play who’s in front of them, and recent Terp units have tied their own hands in ACC play by dropping contests to the schools most expected them to defeat. Games against weaker opponents can be as “message” as games vs. stiff comp.

One key to future Terp success is defense, particularly interior defense when they face long opponents UNC and Georgia Tech. If this squad can continue to take well advised shots, and make opponents take poor ones (no mean feat vs. the Heels’ Deon Thompson & Ed Davis, Georgia Tech’s Derrick Favors & Gani Lawal, or the superbly coached Dukies in their motion offense. To compensate, Greivis Vasquez will have to score more than 16 (without trying to do too much, his Achilles’ heels in some of last year’s losses) against those teams. His leadership will receive that first big test at Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum.

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Mid-Season ACC All-Star Team

January 26th, 2010 by bijanbayne

Well, we’ve arrived at that time when one likes to assess halfway-point play, from a team and individual standpoint. Terps’ fans, we’ve got one bright light in the mix (three guesses as to whom). Here’s the first in a series regarding my take on the conference pulse right now.

All-ACC Team:

Malcolm Delaney, G, Va. Tech.

Trevor Booker, F. Clemson

Jon Scheyer, F, Duke

Larry Drew, G, UNC

Sylven Landesberg, G, U. Va

Ishmael Smith, G, Wake Forest

Greivis Vasquez, G, Maryland

Nolan Smith, G, Duke

Gani Lawal, F, Ga. Tech.

Al-Farouq Aminu, F, Wake Forest

Tracy Smith, F, N.C. State

Deon Thompson, F, UNC

(Ed Davis and Derrick Favors nearly made the cut, FWIW)

Stay tuned, midseason individual honors, Surprises of the Year (team and individual), Disappointments, etc., are forthcoming this week.

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Week 10 ACC Basketball Power Poll

January 25th, 2010 by dtucker

Greetings Terps/ACC fans! Here is the latest ACC basketball Power Poll results for week 10. For the first time this season, we have a consensus #1 team. That honor goes to the Duke Blue Devils. Boston College was almost the consensus #12, but a few votes for NC State saved BC from that distinction, which only UVA has had the privilege of owning thus far. Of course, after every tallied their votes for this week, NC State solidly defeated Duke and then turned around and got blown out by Maryland. But that sums up the ACC this season – who would have thought Virginia would be tied atop of the conference at this point in the season? I for one did not see that coming. Whether the Cavs can keep it up remains to be seen.
Speaking of Virginia, their amazing climb out of the basement of the power rankings continues this week, as the Cavaliers have climbed all the way to #6 in this week’s ranking! From a consensus #12 up to 6 in 4 weeks is no small feat!
The final rankings are below. I’ve provided a little insight into where I think each team stands at this point. Enjoy and as always, we welcome your comments and input!

Final ranking – Week of Jan 18th (Week 10)
1. Duke – 1.0 – seems to be the crop of this year’s ACC class, but has struggled on the road and showed they were vulnerable after getting handled by NC State this week.
2. Clemson – 2.7 – Clemson will battle with Georgia Tech, FSU, Wake and Maryland for one of the much coveted top four spots in the conference, which affords a team a bye in the first round of the ACC tournament. The Tigers are starting to look like the second or third best team in the conference.
3. Georgia Tech – 3.7 – Tech has talent, but can they maximize it completely? They should finish between second and fifth in the conference. I like their current ranking at number 3.
4. UNC – 5.0 – I said it at the beginning of the year, the Tar Heels have talent, but they haven’t proven anything yet. Why they were ranked in the top 10 pre-season with players that hadn’t really proven anything at the college level yet, I’ll never know. We’ve seen that the Heels can beat good teams, but we’ve also seen them struggle. Until they can consistently prove their abilities, I can’t see them being more than an 8-8 team in conference play this year. I think their current ranking of 4 is still too high and I predict they’ll slowly fall back to earth, settling around 7 or 8.
5. Florida State – 5.1 – Another team with talent. Florida State had a chance to really separate themselves from the pack when they faced Maryland last week, but the Terps look like someone lit a fire under their butt and they took care of FSU. The Seminoles are a team I could see finishing as high as 4th and as low as 8th.
6. UVA – 6.8 – I think most are surprised to see UVA here. Their play recently has been admirable and they look like a different team from earlier in the season, which is credit to their head coach, Tony Bennett. But I don’t think UVA can continue their play and I see them fall and ranked too high at 6. I think they’ll fall and will eventually end up maybe as high as 7 but probably closer to the 9-10 range. Bennett has done a lot, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
7. Wake – 6.9 – Wake has talent and some early struggles find the Decs in the bottom portion of the ACC ranks. That probably won’t last for long. They have too much talent on this team to struggle consistently. They’ll probably end up around 4-6, but until they can prove they deserve it, I don’t have a problem with them being here, although I think they’re playing better than both UVA and UNC at the moment.
8. Maryland – 7.0 – I know at heart I’m a Terp fan, but even taking off my fan hat for a moment, I don’t get some of the rankings Maryland received this week in the balloting. Some people ranked the Terps 10th or 11th! How can you justify that? The Terps beat a ranked FSU team and solidly beat BC at BC. How can you justify putting them that low? But I digress. I think Maryland could contend for the ACC title this year and I’m fairly confident they’ll end up in the 1-4 area.
9. Virginia Tech – 7.9 – Virginia Tech in ACC basketball has been middle of the road. And I think that’s where you’ll see this team as well. Probably in the 8-10 range.
10. Miami – 9.4 – Many people were high on Miami at the beginning of the season because they won so many games. But those games were against much weaker opponents and the fact that the Hurricanes weren’t challenged early is starting to show now, when they have to face fierce competition every game playing in the ACC. I see the Hurricanes finishing with 6-7 ACC wins. They’ll probably finish about 10th place, but not too much higher.
11. NC State – 10.7 – These wolves have been all over the place. I think they have potential, but until they harvest it, they’re not going to make too much noise this year.
12. Boston College – 11.8 – Maryland ran them out of their own gym. The Eagles don’t look like an Al Skinner coached team, which are normally fundamentally sound and show a lot of effort. Once they start doing those things, they’ll move up, but overall, this will probably continue to be a down year for BC.

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Some Old Feelings

January 25th, 2010 by bobwevodau

It wouldn’t be Maryland Basketball with out having our emotions tossed all over the place.  At the beginning of the year, everyone I knew was pretty confident that we had a top 25 team and would not have to sweat through Selection Sunday, then we do ourselves absolutely no favors in our non-conference schedule, by only beating D II Chaminade in the Maui Invitational, oh and yes that game against William and Mary (which though somewhat acceptable at the time is looking worse and worse every week).  And now here we are.

These last few weeks, including our loss at Wake Forest has seen one of the best stretches of Basketball that I can remember.  Possibly going back to the 2004 ACC Championship (I wonder what the Duke crying kid is up to now days?).  They have been making big shots, limiting the opponents runs, making free throws, and best of all hustling for loose balls.  In the last 4 weeks I could not have been prouder of the effort they have given.  Heck if Mosley makes that shot at the end of regulation in the Wake game, we are 4-0 at the quarter pole of ACC play.

But what is best of all, what encourages me most, what allows me to drop my ”They are going to break my heart” guard, is the fact that this conference is wide open (for more on that visit ACC Up for Grabs).  Show me the game on the schedule where we can’t win.  I’m not saying we run the table by any means, but from here on out I expect the Terps to win every time they step on the court.  There is a joke in the card playing community that if you can’t spot the sucker at the table, the sucker is probably you.  Well in the ACC if you can’t spot the most dangerous team on the schedule, then maybe it’s us!  Now there is a lot of basketball yet to be played in the ACC and I’m sure there will be unforeseen twists and turns, but after 4 games, the only question I have for this team is “Why can’t we win this Conference?”.  And it’s been along time since I’ve seen something from the Terps that made me that optimistic.  Quite frankly, it’s a feeling I’ve really missed.

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Hot shooting carries Terps

January 22nd, 2010 by Matt

One of the themes that Gary Williams raised in many interviews before the season was that even with an identical roster from the year before you never know how a team is going to play in a new season. The Terrapins of last season posted the worst shooting percentage of any squad Gary Williams has had in College Park. This season, with most of the same players, Maryland is shooting as good as any team in the ACC. In league games Maryland is first in 3-point %, first in offensive efficiency, second in field goal % and third in scoring margin. This group has been able to light it up on offense without a doubt. Last season in ACC games the Terps ranked 10th in efficiency, 10th in field goal %, 11th in 3-point % and 10th in points per possession. It is a fairly remarkable turnaround. It would make you wonder if that is sustainable as the grind of conference games continues.

I don’t think that Maryland will continue to shoot 54% from 3-point range but there are a few factors that make me conclude that their excellent shooting isn’t a fluke. Sophomore Sean Mosley is one reason the Terps have improved so much. Last season he endured a horrible shooting slump but has broken out of that in a big way shooting 61% from the floor and 40% from 3-point range. Last season those numbers were 37% and 24% respectively. He has really worked to improve his shooting and his shot selection is probably as good as any player on the team. In addition to Mosley Eric Hayes, Landon Milbourne and Cliff Tucker have also really bumped up their shooting this season. That kind of across the board improvement isn’t based on one player on a hot streak. Excellent ball movement as evidence by the second highest assist % in the ACC and the ability to limit turnovers giving them an assist to turnover ratio that is also second in the conference also contributes to very good offensive production.

The defense this season hasn’t been as stout as it was at times last season so Maryland has needed to shoot the ball well. It will be interesting to see what happens when a team tries to slow it down and grind out a halfcourt game against the Terps. Virginia and Virginia Tech will almost certainly try this tactic. If the Terps are not shooting well that day they will have to find other ways to score such as getting to the freethrow line. The Terps are in a good position to gather some wins before a tough road stretch in February as their next two opponents, N.C. State and Miami match up poorly with Maryland. Whatever will happen this season Gary Williams seems to have been correct in suggesting that just because the same players return doesn’t mean your team won’t change.

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The ACC Is Going To Be Interesting This Year

January 21st, 2010 by chrisbixler

Well, this ACC basketball season is going be different than in years past.  I think anyway.  The perceived favorites (Duke and UNC) of the conference have 5 combined losses already.  The team we all expected to finish in dead last (UVA) is in first place at 3-0.  Sure there is a long way to go, but things are looking like it is going to be a dog fight all season long.

What does this mean for the big picture?  Well for one, the so called experts, were already proclaiming the conference was down.  Who could blame them?  For the first time ever, the Big Ten (11) won the ACC – Big Ten (11) challenge.  Not only that, there were some other non conference losses that hurt.  It just means every game is that much more important.

While all this is going to be great for us fans of the ACC, it is going to make it that much harder to get into the NCAA Tournament.  Every night is essentially going to be a tournament game, and you really better not count a win before the final buzzer. Every game should have a big game feel, because it really is going to be a big game.   The ACC used to be so strong 9 conference wins was a lock, and there were times that an 8-8 record was a golden ticket.  That is not going to be the case this year as many teams look like they could be bunched up in that 9-7 and 7-9 league record area, and most teams did not do themselves any favors over the non-conference season again.

Hold on to your seats.  I have watched quite a few games, and there is no doubt any given night a team can look like a title contender, and the next game look like they have no right to be on the floor with their opponent. Come the last two weeks of the season, you are going to be tuning into every game rooting for one team or another to help out our Terps.

Now that I have talked about the conference as whole, more importantly what does it mean for the Terps?  They are sitting at 12-5 and 2-1 in the conference.  The best win on paper to this point is the home victory over FSU.  Since that win, the Terps have played very well, with the OT loss to Wake Forest, and a very convincing road win over Boston College, who at the time didn’t look like they belonged in the ACC.  Follow that up with a total route of Longwood, and things are looking good at the moment.   I was worried about the Longwood game.  It could be one of those games where everyone knows the Terps should win, and they just go through the motions, but that was not the case as they throttled the over matched Lancers from the beginning.

Looking ahead, NCST now is a very big game.  Sure a few weeks ago, I “penciled” this in as a win.  NC State has won on the road at FSU and last night knocked off Duke in a very well played game.  There is no doubt the Pack is playing their best ball of the year, and in all fairness, so are the Terps. This is no time for the Terps to lay the proverbial egg.  This is a home game and they need to keep winning the home games since they have stolen one on the road.

Enjoy this season, it is going to be exciting, and most likely aggravating.  It is going to keep you on the edge of your seat, and you are going to want to watch every conference game for every team, because you never know what you might see.  Go Terps, and be sure to follow us at Turtledroppings all season long.

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Latest ACC Power Poll

January 20th, 2010 by dtucker

Here is the latest ACC Basketball Power Poll. Duke has a pretty solid hold of the number one spot, with all but one of our voters placing the Blue Devils at #1. Miami continues to be…undecided as to where they should rank. Our pollsters have ranked Miami as high as 4th and as low as 9th. UVA, former consensus pick for 12th in the conference, continues their climb out of the basement with their perfect ACC record. Can the Hoos keep it up? Where do you think teams belong? Be sure to give us your feedback!

1. Duke 1.16
2. UNC  1.83
3. Clemson 3.5
4. Ga. Tech 5.5
5. FSU  5.66
6. MD   5.833
7. Miami  6.5

8. Va. Tech     7

9. Wake 8

10. UVA 10.66
11. BC  10.83
12. NC State    11.5


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Moving Forward with No Regrets

January 18th, 2010 by bobwevodau

I think one of the worst phrases in the English language is “if only”.   It conveys such regret, such loss of opportunity.  Every time you see those words together you can almost imagine the sorrow dripping off of them like an over saturated sponge (is that really my best analogy?).  But in order to keep your sanity you have to learn to let go, move forward and focus not on the “if only’s” of the world, but the success, the accomplishments, and the next opportunity where you can avoid such feelings of regret.

Though I think many of us have our “if only’s” scattered throughout our lives, no where do you come across them more than in sports.  For example, the Terps just played two back to back games where I turned the TV off trying to imagine them playing any harder.  The win Saturday night in Boston for example was one of the most complete efforts I have seen to date.  They came out, established a lead, held off all of BC’s runs and left everyone who was watching with little doubt about who was the better team.  It was a much needed road win that came in a rather easy manner, and those are rare.  And though I did take a few minutes to enjoy the game and what happened, and how nice it was to not have to sweat through an ACC game for the first time in what seems like a long time, it wasn’t long until the “if only’s” crept into my head.

I mean, I’m not sure if Gary Williams was still in the middle of his post game interview when I was already saying to myself, “If only Sean Mosley had made that shot at the end of regulation against Wake.” or  “If only Jordan Williams could have made his free throws in overtime”.  The lists goes on and on.  If you allow me to feed those demons for a few minutes had we pulled out the Wake game we would currently be 3-0 in Conference with 2 road wins under our belt.  We would also be looking at games this week against Longwood (who I’ll assume we can handle even though I know nothing about them), and NC State both in Comcast, both winnable.  Though Longwood wouldn’t do much in terms of our ACC record, any win from January until Selection Sunday is welcome regardless of the opponent.

But our win against Wake Forest did not happen.  The team played great, they battled the entire 40 minutes, and a break here or there and the Terps could have won.  I’m pretty sure Wake Forest realized how lucky there were to win that game.  And maybe that is why I could  never be a closer in Major League Baseball (among about 1,000 other reasons).  At this level you need to move on and not dwell in the past.  Remain focused on the next game and try not to let any other opportunities slip through your fingers.  The Terps did that in Boston College.  They followed a great, heart filled game on little rest in Winston-Salem with a performance that dominated the Eagles on their home court.  It was exactly what they needed to do.  So even though for the week, the Terps only went 1-1, I think the past 7 days could indicate the kind of team we are going to see the rest of the season.  If that is indeed true, it should be a pretty exciting winter, and a pretty anti-climatic selection Sunday, and I don’t think anyone would regret that.

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The curious case of Adrian Bowie

January 15th, 2010 by Matt

One of the most surprising developments of this season for the Maryland basketball team has been the regression of junior Adrian Bowie. After starting 28 games last season Bowie somehow lost his starting job to senior Eric Hayes in the offseason which seemed to shake his confidence sending his game into a descending spiral. His numbers are down in almost every meaningful category from last season.

Adrian Bowie ORating Pts/Game Min/gam Ast/Game Shot %
2008-9 101.1 9 24.1 2.5 19.5
2009-10 96.6 3.8 16.0 2.0 15.4

As you can see this isn’t the same player from last season. I think Bowie’s confidence is perhaps his biggest problem this season. He has been at times apathetic on the court and at other times tentative. Only a fair shooter and ball handler Bowie needs to make the most use of his ability to defend and slash to the basket. For a player who relies on those two aspects of his game playing without confidence or passion is a recipe for getting buried on the bench. It is certainly worth pointing out that the hot shooting of Eric Hayes this season has helped to keep Bowie in a supporting role but it has also made the Terrapins vulnerable on the defensive end. Bowie harassed the Wake Forest guards to the tune of three steals in only 10 minutes of play. For coach Gary Williams Hayes’ shooting and experience have made him the clear choice over Bowie but it would benefit Maryland if the junior could become a more solid contributor off the bench. Bowie has always had problems with consistency but he has shown a little spark in the last three games. Over that span he is averaging 7.3 points on 7/13 shooting with an impressive 2.4 steals. His steals are most important because this Maryland team isn’t adept at forcing turnovers and Bowie is very hard to stop if he has the ball in transition off such a turnover. He gave Maryland several easy baskets off steals against the Deacons. With James Padgett’s role dwindling with the return of Dino Gregory Bowie might have the best chance to make a significant impact of any bench player. The starting trio of Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley has been a little disappointing in containing quality backcourt players so having Bowie in a defensive role would be a large boon for Maryland.

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Tracking Greivis

January 9th, 2010 by bobwevodau

There are certainly a lot of other important issues facing Maryland  as they  head into ACC play.  Based on how the non-conference schedule has played out, it is safe to say the Terps will not be dancing unless they can make some noise in the ACC.  Let’s face it, 8-8 isn’t going to do it.   Instead of piling my opinion on top of other opinions that I pretty much agree 100% with, I’m going to take a look at Greivis Vasquez’s run at the scoring title at the University of Maryland.

As of now Greisvis is sitting in 9th place on the all time scoring list.  He has 1,749 points and is breathing down the neck of Keith Booth who is sitting at the very patriotic total of 1,776.   However, in order for Greivis to catch the great Juan Dixon, he is going to have to score 520 more points.  The way I figure there are roughly 20 games left, that is assuming we play 3 post season games between the ACC Tournament, and God willing the NCAA Tournament.  If 20 is the number of games we have left Greivis is going to have to average 26 points a game to catch Juan.  If I were Juan, and assuming he doesn’t want to lose his number 1 spot.  I’d be breathing a little easier.  Earlier in the year, Greivis would have needed a 23 points per game average to take over number one, and though he has been pouring in points as of late, his slow start really hurt him.

The good news for Greivis is that second place is much more reasonable.  Len Bias has scored 2,149 Maryland points, which puts him just 400 points a head of Greivis (wow, got some easy math for this one!).  For Greivis to score 400 points, he’d need to average 20 points per game throughout the rest of the season.  Easy?  No.  Easier than averaging 26 points per game?  Yes.

In the grand scheme of things where Greivis Vasquez finishes on the overall points list at the University of Maryland is pretty irrelevant.  He is going to be mostly remembered for how he and his team performs on his last run through conference play.   And the answer to that question begins to reveal itself tomorrow.  I can’t wait!

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