Let’s start with the cleaner of the two conferences, the East. The Chicago Bulls have amazingly not had the MVP from last year, Derrick Rose, for over a third of the season and yet it looks like they will get the number 1 seed even over LeBron and Dwyane Wade and the Heat. The Bulls don’t have a solid number 2 option like the Heat or Thunder or Lakers but somehow Tom Thibodeau has coached this team superbly even without the practices.

The Heat have looked absolutely scary good this year and then at times looked like a team without an identity especially the last month and change. As other playoff teams are figuring out who they are and who they aren’t. The Heat are struggling to find out what their rotation is after LeBron, Wade and Bosh. I didn’t think it was possible but the 4-10 players on the Heat squad this year might be worse than last year’s team which is extremely hard to believe. The WWE superstars might be prophetic as they haven’t won “not one, not two, not three, not four championships” (copyright LeBron James). We might need BSR’s own Mark Brown to give us a break down of the stable that is the Miami Heat.

In the three to six slots, there is plenty of movement amongst the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, and Orlando Magic. The Pacers are at 39-22 and the other three teams are all at 36-25. The Celtics have at least the four seed no matter what for winning the Atlantic division which is crazy to fathom. At the All Star Break, the team was stuck in mediocrity barely over .500 and even as the trade deadline approached, there was still uncertainty. However, as Simmons and John Hollinger masterfully pointed out, it has been the defense of the team. These old guys are finding their legs and their rhythm which is scary as the playoffs approach.

The Pacers are a very good team without a superstar and that could make life difficult in the playoffs as the Nuggets found out last year against OKC. As for the Hawks, they have found a way to play well despite their top player, Al Horford, going down with at least a regular season ending injury in the early part of January. Josh Smith has raised his game this year and the Highlight Factory (the Hawks home gym) has lived up to its name. This of course brings us to Magic who have persevered despite the monstrous distraction that has been Dwight Howard all year and now Howard is out for the rest of the regular season and is 50/50 at best to play in the playoffs. My brother, a huge Magic fan, summed it up best when he said Dwight took a huge crap and then left it there and let it simmer for the whole year. When the team opened the door, WHAM it was all right there in your face. Needless to say, he is not voting for Dwight for MVP.

The last two playoff spots are occupied by the Knicks and the Sixers (31-29) with the Bucks trailing by two games from both of them (29-31). The Knicks have been great if you like roller coasters and amusement parks. They’ve have extreme highs and extreme lows. Season started out rough and when all hope seemed lost as Amare and Carmelo were hurt, Linsanity struck. Then Carmelo returned and Linsanity and Carmelo and Mike D’Antoni couldn’t coexist and D’Antoni was shown the door. Mike Woodson took over, Linsanity and Amare got hurt and yet Woodson guided the ship and let Melo play Melo ball which has allowed the Knicks to form an identity with Melo rolling on offense and Tyson Chandler being a defensive force. The Sixers are Pacer-lite with a strong team and no true superstar. They have struggled down the stretch and have fallen from third to eighth. Will they fall to ninth and complete the freefall? As for the Bucks, they took advantage of the Warriors generosity (or tanking) and got Monta Ellis to team with Brandon Jennings and are clawing to get the final spot.

So that is a quick glance at the East, the West is soon to come.

Parker is 6’5 and 195 pounds that played predominantly the wing positions this past year. Parker did not give a reason for transferring but one of the reasons may have been the crowded backcourt situation as Terrell Stoglin and Nick Faust seem entrenched for the Terps next year and Pe’Shon Howard returns from injuries as well as the incoming recruits.

Parker had a lot of talent and potential and Terps fans caught glimpses of it this past year like against Duke on February 11 when he had 12 points on 3 of 4 shooting and 6 for 6 from the charity stripe. I hope he does well wherever he transfers to and gets some playing time. While Parker’s leaving is a blow to the Terps, the crowded Terps backcourt opened up.

Sean Mosley A-
Very Good Sean showed up on senior day as he had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 dimes. The only thing to cap the day would have been a W for the lone senior on the Terps squad but alas it was not meant to be.

Terrell Stoglin B+
The Gunner was in very good form pouring in 25 points, 3 steals, and 2 assists. The 25 points assured him of leading the league in scoring and tied for ninth in the country at 21.2 per game. Stoglin actually made more from three point range (5) and the foul line (4) than he did from two point range (3) despite having 16 shots from 2 point range.

Nick Faust C
He had a very solid if you don’t look at one category, turnovers to assist ratio. He finished with 6 of the Terps 12 and didn’t offer a single assist. However, if you only focus on that, you miss a solid game from the freshman. He had 13 points and 2 steals.

James Padgett C-
A 9 point, 7 rebound day would be a pretty good day but I feel Padgett floats at time in the game and could do even more damage than what he did. It could be a combination of getting fed in the post by the perimeter players or when grabbing the offensive board taking it strong or with being more assertive in his game.

Berend Weijs Incomplete
It is hard to judge Weijs game as he played only 8 minutes of the 45 minutes. He had 2 points but Turgeon seems to more comfortable having Alex Len come off the bench as his sixth man.

Bench D+
The Terps got a total of 6 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 2 steals from the bench. Alex Len, playing starter minutes (34), had the 6 points, 6 of the boards, and 2 of the blocks so he was an easy choice for sub of game. It was encouraging to have him play 34 mostly effective minutes against the UVA frontline.
Sub of the Game: Alex Len

Thursday mini preview:
The Terps finish the season 16-13 and 6-10 in the ACC earning the 8 seed in the ACC tournament. They open up playing Wake Forest and if they win would play North Carolina. Beating Wake Forest is definitely doable getting the Terps to 17 wins. The Terps have more talent than the Demon Deacons at this time. This does not always guarantee a win, but I feel confident. However, the Terps would be in for a similar game of what happened in Chapel Hill on Thursday should they advance.

Nick Faust B-
Faust had 11 points and was 2-3 from three. However, the Terps had only 7 assists on their 19 field goals. Faust contributed only 2 of the assists. I understand Faust is out of his natural position playing point guard following Pe’Shon’s Howard season ending injury, but the Terps need more than 7 assists. Maybe the Terps need to institute some Norman Dale into their games the last few games of the season.

Terrell Stoglin C+
Stoglin had 18 points which is nice and all but 18 points on 16 shots is not that effective going 5-16 from the field. He did go 7-8 from the line which helps but there was much else to the stat line besides 2 steals. The Terps need more from Stoglin to have success and not in the scoring column. Defense, driving and dishing, rebounds, taking charges.

Sean Mosley B
Good Sean has shown up for awhile and he traveled to the ATL as well. He had 4 threes finishing with 16 points on 10 shots and also added 3 rebounds. Clearly with Sean’s career at Maryland winding down, his place in history on the Terps will be discussed. I’m curious where you guys have him. I have him as poor man’s DJ Strawberry or Landon Milbourne. Not great but definitely not a terrible career.

Ashton Pankey D+
Brooklyn went 0-8 from the field which is the main reason for the grade. He contributed 6 boards but not much else.

James Padgett C+
6 points and 6 rebounds just doesn’t seem like enough for my man crush Padgett. He could be so much more and only getting 19 minutes seems criminal. He could be Stoglin’s inside presence to match his outside presence but it does not seem to be materializing.

Bench C
The Terps got no production from their bench besides Alex Len who had 6 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks but the rest of the bench was poor and that is putting it nicely. Mychal Parker was mostly ineffective in his 15 minutes along with Berend Weijs in his 13 minutes.
Sub of the Game: Alex Len

Current Tournament Projection: CBI
With that loss, the NIT (Not Important Tournament) is not looking likely at 16-12 and the last two games look like prime opportunities for a loss with UNC at Chapel and UVA at home to close the regular season.

Terrell Stoglin scored 14 points all in the first half.

The Terps had 5 field goals total in the second half going 5-24 from the field and 0-6 from deep. They finished with 14 total field goals going 27% from the field. At one point in the second half, Maryland went 8:18 without a field goal.

The Terps finished with 15 turnovers (10 in the second half) so their turnovers doubled their made field goals in the second and finished with more turnovers than made field goals. UVA capitalized outscoring the Terps 22-8 off turnovers.

Maryland made 7 three pointers in the first half to keep them in the game.

For why Mark Turgeon pulled his starters: “I’d had enough. Selfishness, not boxing out, not defending.”

Turgeon truly unloaded his bench playing 14 players in the game.

Mike Scott of UVA finished with 25 points and 7 boards and 50% from the field.

The Terps had only 3 assists total in the game.

Current Tournament Outlook: NIT
The performance by the Terps didn’t inspire much confidence even in that but thankfully it is just one game and they can look to bounce back against Miami on Tuesday night at home. Hopefully the Terps can give full effort for the entire length of the game. If not, then it will be lead to another beatdown at the Comcast Center.

Nick Faust: B+
As stated above, Faust had a career high in assists and steals and did an admirable job filling in for Howard at the point. The five turnovers are a bit disconcerting but he performed well. A strong test will be in store for him on Saturday when the Terps travel to Charlottesville to play Virginia.

Terrell Stoglin: A-
Following the benching and Twitter remarks, people were concerned if Turgeon had lost Stoglin. If the game last night was any indication, the answer is no. He had 24 points and 5 three pointers to help lead the team. With the 5 threes, he passed Gary Junior for the sophomore record.

Sean Mosley B
Good Sean appeared in College Park and had 13 points, 3 assists, and 4 rebounds. His senior leadership has been a huge help to the young Terps squad and he made a point to assert himself in the first half as the Terps built their lead.

Ashton Pankey D
Brooklyn finished with 2 points and a rebound and a block but for the most part it was an unproductive 14 minutes. His value is in crashing the board and guarding the paint and cutting to the open areas as the guards drive the lane.

Berend Weijs C-
This might have been Weijs’ strongest game which says something about his season. He had 4 points, and 2 rebounds and blocks in 18 minutes. However, the bench production of Alex Len and James Padgett made up for the lack of sizzle from the starters.

Bench A-
Padgett came off the bench and didn’t miss a shot from the field (5-5) and only one from the line (5-6) to finish with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Len had 4 blocks and 9 rebounds and Mychal Parker finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds.
Sub of the Game: James Padgett

Mark Turgeon B+
Turgeon only played 8 last night following the season ending injury to Pe’Shon Howard’s ACL. He had Faust at the point predominantly who did quite well. Following the rough outing at Cameron Indoor on Saturday with Pe’Shon’s injury and Terrell Stoglin sitting the last 14 minutes, the Terps bounced back and played much better.

Current Tournament Outlook: NIT
The Terps currently sit tied for 7th in the standings with Clemson at 5-6. The Cavs and Hurricanes are a game ahead tied for 5th and NC State sits in the 4th spot at 7-4. The Terps have beaten teams they should beat and lost to teams they shouldn’t beat. Their best win is the Notre Dame win which keeps on giving but the Terps need more victories. They have 5 games (@ UVA, vs. Miami, @ GT, @UNC, vs. UVA) left to make their mark. It is not out of the realm of possibility for the Terps to grab 4 of the 5 but they also may only get 1 as well. To have any hopes of making the tournament, they need to hit the 4 mark which would put them at 19-11, 9-7 ACC. That record may not be enough to make tournament so they may also have to make at least the semis of the ACC. So I’m not saying it’s out of the realm of possibility but I’m telling you there’s a chance.

umterps.com

Pe’Shon Howard D+
Meh. That’s all I can summon for Howard’s game tonight. The most frustrating thing is that Howard is a 70% free throw shooter and missed two front ends of 1 in 1s. He had more turnovers (3) than assists (2).

Terrell Stoglin A +
In the first half he was 5-7 for 13 points and the rest of the team was 5-16 for 13 points. If that was all he did, that would have been great but he was excellent in the second half and got big baskets and free throws to cinch the win for the Terps. He finished with 27 points on 9-11 shooting (4-6 from distance), 4 steals, and clutch free throw shooting. The four steals led to easy offense for himself and his teammates.

Sean Mosley A
Good Sean was in Littlejohn Coliseum last night and he had another very good game. He finished with 16 points, 6 assists, and 2 steals. I was concerned when the game started but in the second half, Good Sean picked his game up. Good Sean also became the 50th Maryland basketball player to surpass 1,000 points.

Ashton Pankey B
Brooklyn had a solid game finishing with 6 points and 8 rebounds. He also had a very nice pass to his interior mate, Padgett, that led to a flush.

James Padgett B
Homeless man Kevin McHale (a step below poor man) had a good game with 8 points and 5 boards but also had some solid passing as well. He returned the favor from Brooklyn and got him set up for an easy inside look and a pass out of a double team led to a wide open Good Sean three.

Bench F
4 points from the bench. the bench production was lacking to say the least. I can’t even give a sub of the game nomination.
Sub of the Game: ________________

Mark Turgeon B
Turgeon rode his starters tonight and they produced specifically Stoglin during the first half when the Terps offense was struggling. He did not seem to panic as the Terps gave up the 14 point lead with 8 to go but was calm and collected. He made sure to get the ball to his players in the right spots down the stretch for them to succeed. One area of concern is the lack of any bench production at all. The Terps will need that in their next game as they travel to Cameron Indoor on Saturday.

Closing Thoughts:
With the Terps first road win of the season, they are now 2-2 in neutral site games and 1-4 on the road. As mentioned above, they play Duke on Saturday and have a chance to not only get a win but a signature road win. Not sure if it is in the cards, but this is why they play the game. The Terps currently sit in 7th place in the league trailing UNC and FSU (7-1), Duke (6-2), NC State (6-3), and UVA and Miami (5-3).

Gregg Cobert has been a Terps fan since the days of Keith Booth and grew to hate Duke especially at the apex in the early 00s when both were competing for national titles. Follow him on Twitter at @g_reggulator.