By BSR Staff, on September 14th, 2011  Guest Post by Patrick Guthrie
Why this is a tougher game than Week 1:
In the five years I was at Maryland, the third week of the season was not exactly a banner one for the football team. Maryland played West Virginia during three of those years, and they were blown out by a combined score of 107-45 in those three games. We’ve all seen this movie before, and plenty of us walked out of the theater. The question is, with both teams employing completely different staffs and philosophies; can Maryland make some rewrites to the script?
It won’t be easy. The #18 Mountaineers are a legitimate top 25 team with a dynamic offense lead by the best QB in the Big East. Although there was significant turnover on the defense from last year, there are still some exceptional pieces left from the unit that was one of the top 5 in the country a year ago. Dana Holgorsen is a brilliant offensive mind whose resume reads like a who’s who of explosive offenses (Texas Tech, Houston, Oklahoma State).
All things considered, Geno Smith will be the best quarterback Maryland faces this entire season. He’s an efficient, accurate thrower, big enough that he’s difficult to bring down, and he didn’t particularly seem particularly vexed by the Maryland defense last year. As a sophomore, his 64.8 completion percentage was almost a full 8 points higher than Danny O’Brien’s. It was also better than Christian Ponder, Matt Barkley, and Ryan Mallett. He was only intercepted 7 times on his way to throwing 24 touchdowns. Quite simply, when Geno Smith was on the field, he routinely got the better of the defense rather than the other way around.
The spread offense installed by Dana Holgorsen means that a true #1 receiver isn’t a necessity, but junior Baltimore native Tavon Austin is widely regarded as the offense’s most dangerous playmaker. He reminds me a lot of Jacoby Ford, in that he’s a little guy (5’9”), but in open space he can burn just about everyone on this defense.
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By Jeff Pilson, on September 17th, 2010 The University of Maryland renews a border state rivalry in Morgantown on Saturday, taking on the Mountaineers of West Virginia. Early in coach Ralph Friedgen’s tenure, West Virginia was the Terp’s whipping boy falling in the teams first four match-ups. In many ways Maryland’s fall from respectability has coincided with the “Neers ascension under former coach Rich Rodriguez. WVU has turned the table on the Terps winning the last four games, most in decisive fashion. Maryland has a difficult task facing West Virginia on the road. The Mountaineers have not played as wel as some expected, especially in their overtime win at Marshall, but they will push the Terps with superior personell going along with their varied rushing attack. READ MORE >>>
By Jeff Wolfson, on April 4th, 2010 Cinderella decided to stick around for one more game this season.
The Butler Bulldogs, in the midst of doing the almost impossible as it is, defeated the Michigan State Spartans 52-50 in what was a very tight, defensive game. Butler took advantage of 18 Spartan turnovers, foul trouble for Draymond Green and the absence of Kalin Lucas, who was injured in the Maryland game. The Bulldogs also had to cope with the loss of Shelvin Mack in the second half.
Butler’s biggest challenge, however, is yet to come, as they try to win the NCAA Championship on Monday night, against the Duke Blue Devils.
Duke was hardly challenged as they led West Virginia from the start of the game. The Mountaineers seemed to have trouble getting their offense going Saturday night. Da’Sean Butler scored 10 points before leaving the game with a gruesome knee injury. Kyle Singler had a lot to do with limiting Butler, while also scoring 21 points in Duke’s 78-57 win.
This sets up a very intriguing matchup on Monday night, when Butler will try to become a very improbable champion, while Duke will try to get its first title since 2001. Butler will try to use defense. Duke will play defense and shoot the three. Who do you think will win?
By Weston Bruner, on April 2nd, 2010 Wow, there has certainly been a flurry of activity here at BSR! With the O’s season almost upon us, we can start turning the over-optimism or defeatism into actual wins and losses. However, there is a lot of other excitement going on in the sports world, starting with the thrilling conclusion of the NIT (kidding). Nevertheless, we have a lot of idiotic decisions, meaningless games, and other random bits of sports to cover, so let’s line up for the kick…
If Dayton Wins the NIT and No One’s Around…
…does anyone care? Dayton took the NIT with a 79-68 win over North Carolina, denying the Tar Heels any chance to salvage their season with a postseason championship. But is it any bit of salvation to win this Tier 2 Tournament? Winning the NIT basically means you are the 65th best team in the country, though I know others will take the autobids from mid-major conferences out of consideration and make it the 33rd or 34th best team. Either way, it is not something to raise banners about in my mind. If you put enough mediocre teams in a tournament one HAS to win at some point, but it doesn’t make that team any better than when it started the tournament. Is it a good learning experience for a young team? Absolutely. Is it a stepping stone for a rebuilding program? Certainly. But the shear meaninglessness of the tournament is another piece of evidence that expanding the NCAA tournament to 96 teams would just add a heaping helping of mediocrity into the tournament. If the NIT is a novelty act, then why wrap it up into the NCAA?
Shaun Rogers Makes the Cleveland Browns Proud
Shaun Rogers, one of the few quality defensive players on the Cleveland Browns, attempted to bring a loaded gun on a commercial flight on his carry-on. Let me repeat that- his carry-on. Was he anticipating a rough flight? In the current security climate even bring an unloaded gun is a stupid idea that shows not only a sense of entitlement but a disconnect with what the rest of America is going through with security. An act like that speaks to utter irresponsibility and a willingness to put everyone else on that plane at risk. Regardless of any excuse or extenuating circumstances that Rogers tries to invent, the sheer negligence of the lives of everyone else, not to mention the ignorance of the most basic airport security laws deserves a suspension from the league. The NFL cannot allow their players to put others lives at risk in such a sensitive area of security. Perhaps in recognition of September 11th, Mr. Rogers can sit out that month of play.
A Couple of Random Musings on the Final Four
-Yes, I will count Butler as an underdog regardless of whether Vegas has them favored against Michigan State. They have a 33 year old coach, play in a conference no one actually follows, and haven’t been this far in the tournament in the history of their program. Against an established power like State, yea that counts.
-West Virginia vs. Duke… this is hard. I can’t stand West Virginia, either the state or the institution (being a Michigan fan their inane whining and burning-in-effigy after Rich Rod left was spectacularly childish). At the same time however, Duke is Duke. Do I root for the ACC? But… it’s Duke. I will take an antacid and root for the Mountaineers, but it isn’t a particularly appealing game for a Maryland/Michigan fan.
By Clark, on April 1st, 2010 Two weeks of some of the best tournament games in the history of the NCAA tournament and we are down to four teams. We’re going to take a look at two of the final three games and my take, despite the Final Four odds. Of course, if you are like most people, your bracket is probably toast at this point.
Michigan State vs. Butler: On one side we have old reliable, Michigan State where making it to the Final Four is almost customary for Tom Izzo. On the other side, we have the not-so-cinderella-anymore Butler, who has recently become a regular in the tournament. State will bring tough defense, good rebounding and key shot making abilities to the floor this Saturday. They will make the shots when they count and play with their hearts on their sleeves. They play ten deep and have great leadership from Raymar Morgan and Korie Lucious. For Morgan, this is his last chance at a National Championship, so he’ll do whatever it takes to get into the Championship game. State is not a great three-point threat as they get most of their points around the basket and they’ll probably continue with that game plan against Butler.
Butler and coach Brad Stevens have been making a name for themselves the past few years. They come with solid guard play from Ronald Nored and Shelvin Mack and rarely turn the ball over. Their big man Gordon Hayward, who is listed as a small forward, averages almost a double-double (15 pts/8brds) and can play anywhere on the court. He rebounds and he can score inside or beyond the arc. This team is solid in rebounding, distributing the ball and not turning it over.
Duke vs WVU: Huggins has this team playing very well together. He also plays about ten deep and keeps his players fresh. The Mountaineers play great defense and rebound well. They share the ball averaging almost 16 assists a game as a team. They handle the ball well and with Mazzula starting for guard Darryl Bryant (broken foot) the Mountaineers haven’t missed a beat. This team gets to the basket and gets their second chance points which may prove too much for the Blue Devils.
Coach K has this gotten this team to grow throughout this year. The Plumlee brothers have emerged as solid replacements to Zoubek and Thomas. Zoubek has been a beast on the boards ever since his explosion against Maryland earlier this year and with every game his confidence has grown. Duke plays fast, they score points fast and in bunches. Just when you think the score is close and opponents have a chance against Duke, the Blue Devils blow it open. Singler, Smith and Scheyer are the best scoring trio of any of the Final Four teams. Duke has good rebounding ability and are always around the basket. They get a good amount of second chance points and take care of the ball.
Of the two games, I think the Duke/WVU game is going to be the most thrilling to watch. Both teams play well as a team and are good at the same things – scoring and defense. At this point, I could see Duke and State playing for it all. State has the advantage with Izzo’s experience and his teams stout defense, but who knows, maybe a team like Butler can make the Final in the biggest surprise in the tournament.
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Guest Post by Patrick Guthrie
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