No sleeping on Holy Cross
Don’t expect the Maryland Terrapins to take their opponent lightly tonight at Comcast Center.
But don’t expect the Terps to have an easy time with Holy Cross. The Crusaders already beat Ohio this season and have been a dominant team in the Patriot League in recent years, the same league in which American plays. Those two morsels of minutia have been reinforced the past couple of days to the Terps by coach Gary Williams.
“It’s a little easier to drill it into them after American U and Ohio U,’’ Williams said, referring to his team’s two disastrous home losses last month.
Holy Cross also has beaten St. Joseph’s in Philadelphia this season and plays the kind of style that will test Maryland’s, and ultimately, Williams’ patience. Think Princeton with better athletes.
“Holy Cross does a great job with how they play,’’ Williams said Monday. “They have a style of play and they stick with it. And they’re very difficult to play against."
The Crusaders have the size to contend inside with Maryland and a more versatile player than either James Gist or Bambale Osby. Tim Clifford, a 6-foot-11, 260-pound senior, also has the ability to step outside (7-for-17 on threes) in a high-post offense.
“The best thing he does is get angles to receive the basketball, and they do a very good job of feeding the post,’’ Williams said. “When you’re that big, and you can position, you don’t have to dunk everything.’’
The key for the Terps, aside from staying with their offense and not settling for quick jump shots, will be to hit the defensive boards hard in order to do what should be their biggest advantage – beat the Crusaders down the court.
Getting ready for Charlotte last week was easier than practicing for Holy Cross, because the 49ers are the same kind of pressing, running team as the Terps.
“Our second team can duplicate what Charlotte does a lot easier than what Holy Cross does,’’ Williams said. “During the year you can hit anything once conference play starts. This will be a good game to see where we are playing this style of play.’’
Or it could turn into the last of a trying trilogy that began last month.
Comments
Well despite being short-handed, the Terps look pretty good tonight. I love the defensive intensity. I am not sure if I've ever seen a team shoot only 15% for the half.
I have to admit that I had this game circled on my calendar as a potential upset. Holy Cross makes the tourney every year and lets face it, the Terps haven't exactly dominated this year. I was really surprised that we blew them out.
I have two big concerns right now. #1 I am still concerned about our turnovers. Vasquez still plays out of control for much of the game. He admits it in interviews, but then doesn't seem to change his play. #2 Do we have any offensive plays or do we just try to create something through penetration every possession. Any good team has a plan for who gets the ball...I don't see any plans with this team. Where is my flex curl? Where are the dump downs to the post? That was how we won the national championship. Maryland won't regularly be able to look past easy teams like Holy Cross until we get more consistent running offensive sets.
Posted by: David | January 9, 2008 12:22 AM