It turns out Virginia had already arrived in the College Park area when the decision was made late this morning to postpone Wednesday night's Terps-Cavaliers game.

Rich Murray, a team spokesman, said the Cavaliers came in Monday to beat the new storm, spent the night in Greenbelt, then turned around and went back on the bus this morning.

So the Cavaliers, who now face three road trips in five days beginning Saturday, had the misfortune to take a roughly three-hour trip with no game included at the end. They will return to College Park on Monday for the rescheduled game.

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Maryland seemed to have a competitive advantage over North Carolina Sunday because the Tar Heels had to scramble to get to Maryland and then sit and wait around for the game. Virginia could have been in a similar position this week.

But the postponement of the Virginia game -- from Wednesday to Monday -- places the Terps and Cavaliers in similar situations.

Now, each will play on the road Saturday -- Maryland at Duke, Virginia at Virginia Tech. Then each will quickly turn around and play each other on one's days rest. Slight advantage to Maryland for getting to play on its home court.

Then, they'll each do it again -- one day's rest followed by another game on Wednesday (Maryland at N.C. State, Virginia hosting Florida State).

Atlantic Coast Conference basketball official Karl Hicks said earlier in the season that the league is trying to avoid having teams play two ACC games in three days. The Terrapins are one of just three schools in the conference this season to play an originally-scheduled league home game followed by a road contest two days later. Miami and Duke are the others.

Now, Maryland -- which opened the conference season with a quick turnaround -- will have to do it again. But this time it couldn't be helped.

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Notes on the decision to postpone Wednesday's Maryland-Virginia men's basketball game, originally scheduled for Wednesday night. The game will now be on Monday.

It's not only that many roads, parking lots and sidewalks remain snow-covered or only partially cleared, it's the timing. The new storm could still be over the region right up until game time. "We subscribe to a weather service called WeatherData that predicted 10 or 12 inches up to 20 inches," said Mark Sparks, the university's chief of police. "We didn’t anticipate the storm being finished before we were out there trying to get people into the game."

*Maryland said it needed to make the call early rather than wait until afternoon to see what developed.

"We needed to make a decision this morning because we needed to stop U-VA from traveling here, which they were about to," said Frank Brewer, associate vice president for facilities management.

But it turned out Virginia had already arrived. Rich Murray, a team spokesman, said the Cavaliers came in Monday to beat the storm, spend the night, then turned around and went back on the bus this morning.

"It's really an unprecedented situation. I've worked for the university for 38 years and never faced two feet on the ground and another 12 or more inches predicted," Brewer said. "I'd like to play the game, too, but just wanting to play it is not enough."

We'll look shortly at the decision from a basketball perspective.

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The Maryland-Virginia men's basketball game scheduled for Wednesday at Comcast Center has been postponed until Monday, Feb. 15, due to the inclement weather forecast to hit the region.

All tickets to Wednesday's game will be honored on Feb. 15. The game's starting time and television broadcast information will be announced later.

The National Weather Service issued Winter Storm Warnings on Monday for all of Maryland west of the Chesapeake Bay, calling for light snow to begin mid- to late afternoon today. Forecasters said it should intensify early Wednesday morning as colder air moves into the region, and continue throughout the day. The storm has the potential to drop 10 to 20 inches of new snow on a region still reeling from the 24 inches and more that fell over the weekend.

Maryland, the University of Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Conference reached the decision after consulting with the campus chief of police and the University’s Associate Vice President for Facilities Management.

Earlier Tuesday, athletic director Debbie Yow said in an e-mail: "Another foot on top of what we already have? Sounds like that would paralyze the campus and surrounding areas, not slow them down."

Check back later today for more updates.

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Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow and men's basketball coach Gary Williams plan to talk to the Atlantic Coast Conference soon about the snow storm heading towards College Park as the Terps prepare to host Virginia on Wednesday night.

Might the game be canceled? Right now it's too soon to tell. But it's certainly possible.

Yow is in her office, and Williams was due to arrive there shortly. They will talk to the ACC together.

Yow is also talking to school officials. She said she will "abide by the counsel of the Chief of Police and the Associate VP for Facilities."

Said Yow in an e-mail: "Another foot on top of what we already have? Sounds like that would paralyze the campus and surrounding areas, not slow them down."

She said the campus staff "did did such a terrific job for UNC" clearing snow and handling logistical issues. She said conditions may not make it possible to do that again. But no decision has been made yet.

This storm may not bring as much snow as the last one. But, unlike the last time, it could be snowing right up until an hour or so of the game's start time. Also, winds of up to 35 miles per hour are forecast.

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*Virginia is 5-3 in the ACC -- and two of the losses came in overtime. The Cavs had a 64-61 overtime loss to Wake Forest on Saturday and lost, 76-71, to Virginia Tech on Jan. 28. Watch out for Sylven Landesberg. His 28 points against Wake Forest means he's scored in double figures 20 times already this season.

At 6-2, Maryland is one game ahead of Virginia, and one-half game behind Duke.

*These winter storms present logistical and travel headaches for everyone, but Maryland is fortunate so far to be the home team in these situations. Worse, I think, to have to worry about getting to your game. Just ask the North Carolina Tar Heels, who had to arrive a day early and then sit in their Beltsville hotel and hope their bus could get out of the parking lot so they could practice. Basketball coaches notoriously adhere to routines -- and few things mess up a schedule quite like a storm.

*Did you know Maryland players hit the weight room immediately AFTER games? It surprised me recently to see Greivis Vasquez working out within 20 minutes of a home game. Paul Ricci, the team's strength and conditioning coach, says the post-game lifting and stretching helps players' bodies rebound more quickly and that they wake up less stiff and sore. It also helps them wind down and prepare for sleep. I'm tired just thinking about it.

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*It seemed like there was more red in the stands than usual -- much of it (but not all) worn by students who were able to walk to Comcast Center. Good to see people at a game who really appreciate being there. I like watching the NBA on television, but college basketball is all about atmosphere, isn't it?

*Maryland had been lacking bench contributions of late. That's why I thought those were a big couple of baskets by Cliff Tucker in the first half -- because the Terps are so much more dangerous when Tucker gets rolling. Tucker hit a three and followed it with a bank shot to push Maryland's lead to 27-14. Dino Gregory had eight points off the bench, and Adrian Bowie had four assists and a nice reverse.

*How about this for a starting guard's line: 0-for-6 from the floor, 0-for-2 from the line, 4 turnovers, 5 assists. That was North Carolina's Larry Drew II.

*Road conditions were even worse than I imagined. University Boulevard (193) heading east was rough -- and that's obviously a major road. People who came south from I-95 from Baltimore said that was choppy going. And I'm not even mentioning all the side streets that have yet to be touched by a plow.

Continue reading "A look back at the win over Carolina" »

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Maryland beat North Carolina, 92-71.

The Terps have now won six of seven games.

Maryland fans chanted "NIT" at the Tar Heels in the final moments. Odd to see the defending national champs getting thumped.

Vasquez: 26 points, 11 assists.

Hayes: 16 points on 5-of-6 from the floor.

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It's about guard play today, particularly senior guard play.

Maryland senior guards Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes are having big games.

UNC sophomore guard Larry Drew has zero points (0-for-6 shooting).

Terps lead Carolina 88-65 with a little over 3 minutes left.

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You all remember how Greivis Vasquez had 35 points and a triple-double against North Carolina here last season?

Vasquez remembers it, too. I think he lives to play Carolina and Duke.

He's starting to get it rolling in the second half. He has six points in the half and 20 overall. More important, he's finding his teammates -- he has eight assists already in the game.

This is his time.

Maryland leads the Tar Heels 65-54 with 11:17 left.

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Maryland, which once led by 16, has cooled off -- forgive the weather metaphor -- and now leads by 52-49.

North Carolina's Marcus Ginyard has 13 points and Deon Thompson has 12.

Jordan Williams and Landon Milbourne each have two fouls for the Terps.

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Maryland leads North Carolina 44-34 at the half.

Terps once led by 16. Maryland is 9-for-16 on 3-pointers.

Of note:

*Greivis Vasquez has taken 13 shots -- more than he has been taking of late in a half -- and has made five

*Cliff Tucker has emerged -- Maryland has had precious little from the bench lately -- to score seven points in the half.

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Maryland athletic director Deborah Yow said safety was her top priority in the school's cautionary messages about traveling to Comcast Center for the North Carolina game.

The school warned fans not to brave hazardous roads. Yow said the game was not cancelled because ACC policy is to play the game when both teams -- plus the officials -- are present.

Yow said ticket holders who couldn't come will be given something -- tickets or Terps points or the like.

She said she came to Comcast Center last night to check on conditions and got stuck herself nearby. She said five students had to get her car moving.

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Maryland is 7-for-11 on 3-pointers and leads Carolina by 32-23. Terps have been very good at home this season except for that W&M game.

It's particularly loud at Comcast Center today. Is that because there are more students or because it's a UNC game? Perhaps both.

There are perhaps 2,000 to 3,000 extra students in Comcast Center due to other no-shows. Fans up high were invited to move down to fill in better seats.

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Hey, no traffic today.

I considered it my mission to make it to today's game and did so because of the kindness of a Sun photographer with a rented all-wheel drive. My neighborhood was not navigable. The only moving vehicle was an over-aggressive private plow operator who almost took me out as I walked to meet my ride. That would have been quite a way to go out.

I don't blame any fan for not making it today. Even some of the main roads in the area are far from clear.

Comcast Center is less than one-third full with a little more than 30 minutes before game time. The university has been monitoring how full the building is. At an appointed time -- and it will be soon -- the school will begin allowing ticketless students in to fill the void.

North Carolina and Maryland have both had an interesting few day waiting out the storm. I'll bet both teams are ready to play basketball.

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Maryland is no longer discouraging fans from driving to the North Carolina game, although the school says drivers should carefully evaluate road conditions along their routes to Comcast Center. It says some parking lots and sidewalks will likely remain snow covered.

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Maryland plans to tell fans not to drive to Sunday's sold-out North Carolina game because of weather conditions. The school expects to contact season-ticket holders via e-mail with the message.

Terps fans who don't come to the game will be given some sort of special consideration -- tickets or the like, either this season or next.

"We'll be sending something out to season-ticket holders saying if you have to drive, we’re going to discourage you from coming to the game. If you can walk, come to the game," Maryland athletic director Debbie Yow said.

The school is concerned about conditions -- cold temperatures are expected and it's uncertain how quickly the area's roads can be plowed. "We're all very concerned about peoples’ safety," Yow said.

There could also be parking issues.

"They can't get the lots cleared," Yow said. "One-hundred percent of the available people who can work will work. The university has staff working two 12-hour shifts. But this is a historic event, unfortunately."

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There is likely to be an offer made for students to fill Comcast Center in the event there are lots of unused tickets for Sunday's North Carolina resulting from the snow.

Athletic Director Debbie Yow said in an e-mail: "Yes, there will be some type of offer to students without tickets to come over (and), wait and see how many we can get into building." She said Maryland coach Gary Williams is being consulted and would sign off any plan.

• Williams, by the way, spent the night at Comcast Center and is likely to do so again tonight because of the giant snowstorm. He hasn't been home since the team returned to Maryland from Florida State on Friday and isn't likely to get home until sometime after Maryland's game that begins at 2 p.m.

Williams said staying over was a matter of "convenience" and also simply a way to ensure that he doesn't get stuck somewhere outside the building.

• Was there consideration to canceling the game? Said Yow: "The ACC expects the game to be played if both teams are present and the officials can get to the game site."

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North Carolina had been snowed in at their hotel earlier today. Instead of practicing at Comcast Center, the Tar Heels were initially left to a walkthrough in a conference room at their hotel about four miles from College Park.

But the school says the hotel parking lot was cleared, and the team managed to get to Comcast Center for a practice late Saturday afternoon.

"We got the Comcast Center all to ourselves except for Gary [Williams] who I hear is sleeping here," said North Carolina spokesman Steve Kirschner said.

Maryland said today the game will be played, and will start on time (Sunday at 2 p.m.). The school says there may be an offer made to students without tickets to come to Comcast Center and fill unused seats.

The school is discouraging people from driving to the game, saying only those who can walk to Comcast Center should attend.

North Carolina, which has lost five of its last six games, wasn't pleased about the practice situation initially.

"It's difficult, number one, when you're playing a good team like Maryland," Kirschner said. "And, number two, the flex offense (of Maryland) is difficult to defend anyway. You're trying to get out there and practice as much you can with a young team and now you can't do that."

He seemed in better spirits once Carolina had made it out of its hotel.

North Carolina's Marcus Ginyard tweeted on the situation earlier in the day: "I gotta feeling....we aint gonna make it to practice. Trucks can't even get thru this."

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North Carolina's charter flight landed at BWI Airport this afternoon as the winter storm was intensifying. The Tar Heels headed immediately to Maryland's campus for a practice session that normally would have occurred in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The storm meant that everything was moved up a day. Instead of practicing on their own campus Friday and departing Saturday, the Tar Heels left Friday and got permission to practice on Maryland's court.

The game between Maryland (15-6, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) and North Carolina (13-9, 2-5) is a Super Bowl warm-up scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m.

The change of plans meant the Tar Heels achieved an unusual "double" -- two road trips in two days.

The team had traveled to Virginia Tech, where it lost, 74-70, on Thursday night. It got back to its own campus at about 2 a.m. After players attended classes, the team left for Maryland at about 1:30 in the afternoon.

The Terrapins flew back to their campus today after spending the night near Florida State, which it defeated, 71-67, on Thursday.

Might the Tar Heels be delayed by snow trying to get home after Sunday's game? A school official said it was premature to consider that. North Carolina hosts Duke on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill.

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