Leading scorer: MD – Terrell Stoglin 21.7ppg CLEM – Andre Young 13.6ppg
Last game: MD- Lost to UNC 83-74 CLEM: Lost to Virginia Tech 67-65
Outlook:
Any educated ACC fan knows that despite their record, Clemson is always a tough team to beat at home, and that Little John Coliseum is one of the loudest venues in the conference. The Tigers are 11-11 and have lost to the likes of College of Charleston, Utep and Costal Carolina, but by no means can the Terps sleep on them… just ask Florida State, who was handed a 20 point loss by the host Tigers earlier this season. The Tigers five losses in conference play this year have been by a combined 18 points, so they are by no means pushovers. The Tigers certainly have some talent. Andre Young can light it up from the outside, and Devin Booker can provide a mismatch on the inside. The Terps go into Littlejohn looking for their first road win against a team who on paper they are “supposed” to beat. However, every Terp fan has to be worried about this game. The Tigers will be tough, and if they do lose, they will sure go down fighting. READ MORE >>>
Believe it or not there is local sports sports action outside of the Ravens. Here is my game preview for the Terps vs Temple.
Maryland Terrapins (12-5, 2-2 ACC)
At
Temple Owls (12-5, 2-2 ACC)
Saturday, Jan. 21st 11 a.m. at The Palestera– Philadelphia PA
Leading scorers:
MD- Terrell Stoglin 21.2 ppg Temple- Ramon Moore 17.0ppg
Last games: MD lost to FSU, 84-70 Temple def LaSalle, 76-70
Outlook:
The Maryland Terrapins played a great 23 minutes Tuesday night against Florida St. The other 17 minutes were the exact opposite as the Terps were run out the gym and the state of Florida. As a reward, they get the ever popular 11 a.m. tip in a hostile environment against a great defensive team. The Palestra is one of the most historic and difficult venues in college basketball, which should bode well for a young, inexperienced visiting Terps team that is winless on the road. Temple was a preseason top 25 team that has beaten Duke, but also has lost some games they shouldn’t have and underachieved so far this season. The Owls have a balanced scoring attack, but their offense starts with guard Juan Fernandez, who is the team’s leader in assists. Fernandez can score but his bigger role will be to distribute the ball to the primary scorers Moore and Wyatt. The Terps will need to shut down those three if they want to win the game. I don’t see it happening. READ MORE >>>
With no end in sight in terms of the NBA lockout, the players have been playing in exhibition games to keep in shape and stay sharp. Greivis Vasquez, the former Terps star, participated in an exhibition in Baltimore against the St. Frances team. He teamed with Kemba Walker of the Bobcats and Brandon Jennings of the Bucks; they beat the St. Frances team 88-85. The three pros are working with Under Armour on the “Are You From Here Tour” and will have two games in New York on today and Friday. The St. Frances team is expected to compete for the Baltimore Catholic League title. At this point, the exhibitions are all hoops fans can hope for as the lockout lingers and extends into December.
Terps fans are grinning at the critics that said that Greivis Vasquez would never make it in the NBA. Anyone watching game four between the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder into the wee hours of the night witnessed Greivis game tying three pointer that sent the game into double overtime. Dan Steinberg of the DC Sports Bog quoted Vasquez following the game.
“It was a good shot,” he told reporters. “You practice that when you’re on the court by yourself. Every time I work out with Biggie — Damon Stoudamire — before we start working out I work on those type of shots. Today it was me, it was mine, and it got us to [double] overtime, but it wasn’t good enough to get the win that we wanted. This is truly gonna motivate me to get better, because you got to take advantage right now, because you never know when you come back.”
Ask most fans of the Maryland Terrapins men’s basketball team and they will point to lack of talent as the main reason for a disappointing 2010-’11 season. Certainly Jordan Williams performed at an all-ACC level and Terrell Stoglin showed why many were excited when he committed to play for Maryland, but there were few other bright spots. Clearly the Terps and specifically head coach Gary Williams needs to make it happen on the recruiting trail if the Terps are going to be a force in NCAA Tournament play again. It seems like Coach Williams is doing just that.
The Terps are bringing in a strong 3 player class, headlined by Baltimore shooting guard Nick Faust, for 2011 and just last week picked up a verbal commitment from athletic forward Justin Anderson for the class of 2012. Anderson attends nearby Montrose Christian Academy, which also produced recent Terps Greivis Vasquez and Adrian Bowie. Anderson is a powerfully built 6’7″ lefty, who at one point was the #1 player in his class. At this point his is ranked in the top 50 of the class and would need to improve his handle and mid range shot in order to climb into the top 25. Anderson is known for his hard work and his ability to be a leader. It is huge for Maryland to pick-up a commitment from another big-time local talent. Not only that, but Anderson is well known and liked on the AAU circuit by other players. Anderson’s pledge to the Terps could help build momentum and cause other talents to look more closely at Maryland. READ MORE >>>
In an appearance on the Sports Junkies last week, Greivis Vasquez discussed his love for College Park and how much he misses attending the University of Maryland. Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post quoted Vasquez, who now refers to Gary Williams as G-Dub, in a piece on the D.C. Sports Bog.
“This is my house, man; this is where I want to live the rest of my life,” he said. “I mean, not in College Park, but around Maryland. It means a lot to me. It means a lot to me when I’m back here, especially with the people that love me, our fans, and the people that really care about me and support me in good times and bad times….
The Terps had eight former hoops stars (Greivis Vasquez–Grizzlies, Chris McCray–Grizzlies, James Gist–Spurs, Ekene Ibekwe–Trail Blazers, Landon Milbourne–Hawks, Jamar Smith–Timberwolves, Nik Caner-Medley–Clippers, and D.J. Strawberry—Lakers) participating in the NBA Summer League. The listed included recent graduates and some a few years removed as you can see. The four that stood out the most for me would have to be Vasquez, Strawberry, Ibekwe, and Gist. READ MORE >>>
For Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne, last Sunday’s loss to Michigan State had to be doubly heartbreaking. When you come so close to making it to the Sweet 16, only to have it snatched away by a last second shot; and to have that game be the last you will ever play in a Maryland uniform is a tough way to end a college career. Yet the three of them shouldn’t dwell on that loss for long; the good that these three were a part of far outweighs the tough losses they had to endure. Sure, they weren’t as decorated as the likes of Juan Dixon, Steve Blake or Lonny Baxter, but perhaps they can and should be remembered as players who helped to raise the program back from the low of the post championship years. These three certainly will be looked upon more favorably than recent seniors Nik Caner-Medley, and Travis Garrison, and the “thought he was actually better than he was” John Gilchrist.
Any review of this year’s seniors has to start with Vasquez. Was he maddening at times? Sure he was. Was he sometimes too emotional, too flashy for his (and the team’s) own good? Yes. But throughout what would become a great senior season, he showed more heart, more toughness and more guts than a lot of better known and more highly regarded players. Sure he would take the occasional crazy shot, but when the game was on the line, he wanted the ball and was willing to take the big shots. One need only look at the last game to see that. In the last two minutes, Vasquez scored 10 points, with every shot bringing the Terps closer or getting the lead. The numbers say that Greivis has had one of the great careers of all time; though it can be debated if he even is in the top 5 or 10 of players who have ever played at Maryland. As the only player to amass over 2,000 points, 700 assists and 600 rebounds, he certainly should be among the greats to ever have worn the Terrapin uniform.
Eric Hayes came in with hype labeling him “the next Steve Blake.” While that may or may not have been what he became, there was plenty of growth in Hayes over the course of four years. It took him a while to get acclimated to the ACC grind, but by the time he became a senior, he had found his niche, and was a perfect complement to Vasquez. His personality was not one that had to be in the spotlight, but he was the steady counterbalance to Vasquez’s emotional outbursts. Opponents knew that they had to keep an eye on Hayes on the perimeter, or he would make them pay from behind the three point line. My lasting memory of Hayes comes from the ACC tournament last season, when it seemed he finally discovered he could be an important part of the offense. It was as if a light turned on and he believed he could score points and make plays on offense. That discovery carried over into his senior season.
Landon Milbourne had the misfortune of spending his time at Maryland when there often wasn’t a big man that could share the responsibility of banging down low with the big bodies in the conference. Yet he battled them night after night, often as his offense suffered. Milbourne had the ability to make shots out to 15 feet, but was often expected to play down in the paint. He had good shot-blocking ability though, and used that as a weapon under the basket. The arrival of Jordan Williams help ease some of the load in his senior season, but there he was still trying his best even though the Terps were often outmanned on the glass.
Throughout their careers at Maryland, these three had to hear how they were lesser recruits for the school; how their coach couldn’t get the best talent and how their struggles were magnified as being part of the downfall of Terrapin basketball. Yet, Gary Williams managed to get the best out of all three of them; a Williams trademark is that he often gets the most out of the talent he has. These three all had their moments to shine as Terrapins, and while they are leaving, each of them left their mark on Maryland basketball. Terrapin fans are hoping that the coming years see further progress for the Terrapins basketball team.
In order to give us preview of who the Terps are facing on Friday, I was able to procure the services of Phillipe Craig, the sports editor for the The Daily Cougar.
First off, how happy is everyone about the Cougars’ Conference USA Championship?
Well, I think people down here are more surprised than anything else, and with good reason. That being said, there isn’t a lot of excitement and I think that has to do with where the game is being played and how long people had to wait (Saturday to Friday). I think people are cautiously optimistic and that seems to be tempering the excitement.
Tell us a bit about Houston’s style of play
UH runs an offense that is very guard driven and oriented. The Cougars like to drive and kick out quite a bit and don’t really have a traditional half-court offense. The ball is in Aubrey Coleman’s hands more often than not, but he has the ability to turn from a scorer to a facilitator in just one possession. Still, it’s a gimmicky kind of offense.
Aubrey Coleman is the leading scorer on this team. What are his strengths?
Aubrey’s strengths are his ability to penetrate and finish around the basket, more than capable of hitting the mid-range jumper and and excellent passer and rebounder for a guard. He is also an excellent defender and led the nation for quite a while in steals per game. Aubrey has also improved his 3-point shooting and has to be respected from behind the arc
Assuming the Terps can slow down Coleman, who needs to step up for Houston?
If Coleman is neutralized, then the majority of the scoring will need to come from Kelvin Lewis. He is more than capable of picking up the slack and is an excellent outside shooter as well as a shut-down defender. Inside, Maurice McNeil will need to step up and guards Zamal Nixon and Adam Brown will be key. If they are hitting their shots and not turning the ball over, Coleman’s lack of scoring could easily be offset.
What do you see as Houston’s answer to defending Greives Vasquez?
The key with Vasquez will be to make him work on every possession. Do not allow him to get the ball early in the possession or where he’s comfortable. It’s much easier said than done
What do you see as the key for Houston if they are to beat Maryland?
Capitalizing off of Maryland’s turnovers, keep their own down, avoid foul trouble and defend the paint at all costs. The Cougars will also need to make someone other than Vasquez beat them.
The Maryland Terrapins held of an under-manned yet scrappy University of Virginia team 74-68, to clinch at least a share of the 2010 ACC Regular Season Championship. The Terps were againled by ACC POY front-runner Greivis Vasquez, who poured in 23 points (5-11 from three) and added 5 assists and 4 steals. Maryland won their 7 straight conference game and finishedthe regular season at 23-7, 13-3 in theACC. Whether or not Maryland wins the regular season crown outright will be determined by tonight’s Duke North Carolina game in Durham.
Maryland seemed like they were going to make short work of the Cavaliers jumping to a 21-9 lead while dominating the backboards. Maryland out rebounded UVA 31-18 and had 15 offensive rebounds, but could not hold off a Cavalier run in the 2nd half. The Terps contributed to the UVA run by going more than 5 minutes in the middle of the 2nd half without scoring. UVA got within one point of the Terps, but Sean Mosley made a big play drawing a foul. The foul caused UVA coach Tony Bennett to erupt on the sidelines and draw a critical technical foul. Maryland made all four free throws, forced a tough shot from UVA and did not look back. Bennett could not have picked a worse time to draw the technical.
Vasquez, despite some bad decisions int the 2nd half, kept Maryland alive by hitting three straight 3 pointers holding UVA at bay during their run. The Terps also got solid performances from Eric Hayes and Adrian Bowie. Landon Milbourne contiues to struggle with his shot, but showed more aggressiveness grabbing 7 boards and getting to the line 6 times.
Maryland will need to improve on both ends to make a run int he ACC Tournament. The Terps struggled from the field, hitting only 42% of their shots. They were assertive on the boards and they earned 26 trips to the charity stripe. Defensively, Maryland was 2nd in the ACC in FG % defense, but UVA must not have read that stat because they shot 53% overall and 45% from the 3 point line. Credit to UVA for shooting that well without their best offensive player Sylvan Landesburg, who was suspended for academic reasons prior to the game. Sometimes losing a top player does cause the rest of the team to step their games up. That seemed to be the case today.
Up next for the Terps is the ACC Tournament in Greensboro which begins on Thursday. Seeding for the Tourney is to be pending the rest of the weekends games. The Terps have earned a first round bye and will not play until Friday. Hats off to the Terps who greatly exceed my and many others pre-season predictions. Fill in the blank.This is the best team under Gary since _______ .
In a game that predictably down to the wire, No. 22 Maryland finally got over the hump and defeated No. 4 Duke 79-72 on Senior Night in College Park.
When the game started, there was the feeling that Greivis Vasquez wouldn’t let the Terrapins lose on the last home game of his college career. Not only was it Vasquez’s last game, but also fellow guard Eric Hayes and forward Landon Milbourne’s home finale. Vasquez and the Maryland offense got off to a fast start and built up a 14 point lead.
As always, though, the Blue Devils closed the lead to two before the half and then took the lead. Maryland never backed down from Duke and pulled out the 79-72 victory.
Aside from Vasquez, who had 20 points, Adrian Bowie, Sean Mosley and Jordan Williams were clutch down the stretch. Bowie didn’t miss a shot in his playing time. Mosley hit free throws to ice the game for the second game in a row. Williams played one of his best games of the year.
Maryland is now 22-7, 21-7 in Division I games, and 12-3 in the ACC. They’ll take their six game winning streak in to Virginia for the season finale. Virginia has been rough for Maryland in recent seasons, but Maryland is playing for a shot to be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
Some fans hate him. Some love him. Its hard to argue with the numbers Greivis has put up over four years, but without Greivis, the Terps may not be where they are today. Over four years, his numbers have improved. Scoring and assist/turnover ratio have improved, but one thing that stands out the most is his ability to change the game when its needed most.
Photo courtesy of ESPN.com
Vasquez’s most recent example of taking over a game comes in a 41 point, 7 rebound and 6 assist double over time win against Virginia Tech on their home court. Another could be the 25 point effort against Virginia in the first half. Theirs no doubt Greivis can score and this year he has added different dimensions to his game. He can score with his back to the basket. He can shoot the 3 much better. He can drive the lane and get to the free throw line. He can get rebounds when their needed.
This year, Vasquez has moved himself into the top spot in the ACC with 2000 points, 700 rebounds and 600 assists. No other player in the ACC has ever done that but him. With a win against Duke at home, on Senior night, Greivis should solidify himself as a POY candidate. Scouts and media members don’t remember games against Virginia or BC. They remember games against top teams like Duke, Villanova or Virginia Tech.
It started later than expected and took longer, but the Maryland Terrapins held on for a 104-100 double overtime victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies. Sean Mosley hit two free throws with one second left in the second overtime to seal Maryland’s fourth league road win. Those two points of his 17 were the biggest points of the game.
Saturday night’s game was played under odd circumstances considering it was supposed to start at 4 p.m., but wound up starting at 7 p.m. because of three water main breaks in Blacksburg. However, Greivis Vasquez and the rest of the Terrapins just didn’t care when the game started.
Vasquez scored 41 points on Saturday to quiet a crowd that taunted him most of the evening until halfway through the second half. Vasquez was slow to start, but caught fire in the second half and overtime. He still had his questionable shots and bad plays, but the 41 points he scored were a career high.
Eric Hayes chipped in with 12 points and 10 assists. Of his 12 points, five were free throws hit in overtime. Hayes also hit a go-ahead shot right towards the end of regulation. Malcolm Delaney went on to tie the score and send the game in to overtime, but the Baltimore native also missed two critical foul shots for the Hokies at the end of the second overtime.
Jordan Williams was also solid with 15 rebounds and nine points. The only flaw in his game so far is his foul shooting. He missed foour of his five shots from the charity stripe, however, his impact was on defense. Williams’ rebounds were critical because Maryland was outrebounded by seven again.
Dino Gregory picked up the slack for Landon Milbourne who struggled most of the night. Gregory played 32 minutes and collected five rebounds while contributing six points on offense. Gregory has really been contributing since he came back from his suspension earlier this season.
The win for Maryland Saturday night moved them closer to their goal of an NCAA Tournament berth and a bye in the ACC Tournament. With this win, Maryland moves to 21-7 overall and 11-3 in the ACC. Their conference record is good enough for second place, by a long shot, and a chance for at least a tie of a regular season ACC title. The expectation for Wednesday’s game includes an assumption that Duke will defeat Virginia Sunday night. There’s a lot on the line Wednesday night and it doesn’t get much bigger than a chance at an ACC title.
Well it wasn’t an easy game for the Terrapins, but Maryland pulled off what seemed to be an improbable win against NC State. The final, 67-58, doesn’t sum up what actually happened in the game. It was definitely an affair where Terrapin fans may have chewed their nails all game long.
Maryland came out extremely flat in the first half in which they were only able to score 27 points. Eric Hayes struggled all night ending up scoreless. Wednesday night’s first half rivaled Saturday’s poor play at Duke. The first half was filled with turnovers, missed field goals and missed free throws.
However, when the second half came, the Wolfpack went up by 12 and then Maryland turned it on. The Terps scored 40 points in the second half while limiting NC State to just 21 points. Greivis Vasquez went off for 17 points, but did have one or two really bad shots. Vasquez got some unexpected help from reserve guard Adrian Bowie and freshman center Jordan Williams. Bowie hit two huge threes and Williams stepped up his defense.
The only really bad part of the entire game was Maryland’s free throws. Maryland missed seven free throws. Even Maryland’s best shooters missed their shots from the line. I will attribute Maryland’s woes at the line to tired legs from playing three games in five days.
The win moves Maryland to 18-7 overall and 8-3 and tied for second in the ACC. They have two straight home games against Georgia Tech and a rematch with Clemson. Beating those two teams, at least to me, would lock Maryland in to the NCAA field and get very close to earning a bye in the first round of the ACC Tournament. With each win, especially those on the road, Maryland gets closer to their goal of making the NCAAs.
Maryland Terrapins (13-9, 3-5 ACC) AT Clemson Tigers (11-11, 3-5 ACC)
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