Maryland was looking to start off their 2009 – 2010 season on the right foot. Maryland played host to Charleston State University Friday night hoping to start fresh and show off their new look offense and defense. Maryland came away winners of their season opener, 81 – 56 over the Buccaneers.
After advancing to the second round in the NCAA tournament, there is much hype about this team. Maryland has new bodies under the basket, much needed bodies they didn’t have last year. Maryland played small and in some games, it was obvious. It couldn’t have showed more than their second game in the tournament against Memphis. Maryland was over matched and came away losers to a big and talented team. Fast foward to Friday night and Maryland began to show that they are working on securing the front line.
Maryland did start slow in the first half. Being that this was their opener, the Terps were erratic with their shots and weren’t focused on setting their offense. Their defense was decent as they didn’t allow penetration down the lane and if any of the Buccaneers players did, Jordan Williams or James Padgett were there to defend shots taken. The Terps were able to break away and build good leads, but they would then stall against Buccaneer’s pressure defense.
The second half was much different as Maryland appeared to run their offense and defense effectively. They started the half with an 11 – 0 run and then didn’t look back. Greivis was able to drive the lane, dish efficiently and Hayes seemed to be on fire with his three point shooting. Williams and Padgett secured the front line and forced the Buccaneers to stay outside.
Maryland moves to play Fairfield next and they look to improve on Fridays performance. Overall, this team had a lot of positives. They were able to defend well, they were able to share the ball effective and scored points when they had too. This was a lower tiered team though so that should all be expected. Either way, we shall see Tuesday after their next game.
