Just got this from the NCAA:
"Game time, Sunday, March 21 in Spokane, Washington (Michigan State vs. Maryland) changed to 11:30 a.m."
So that's 2:30 ET.
All the NCAA did was make the start time 10 minutes earlier. Maryland was a little displeased that the Terps played in Friday's late show and now will be first up at Spokane Arena on Sunday.
Maryland beat Houston, 89-77, to advance to NCAA tournament's second round against Michigan State.
Maryland won in large part because of freshman Jordan Williams, who showed just how different a team can be with a little inside muscle. With 21 points, Williams topped his previous career high of 19.
Landon Milbourne also came up big.
A year ago, the Terps overcame a lack of size to advance to the tournament’s second round. On Friday night, it was Maryland – not an opponent – who had a size advantage and exploited it.
The 6-foot-10 Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds in the first half alone against the Cougars, who are statistically one of the nation’s worst rebounding teams.
Game story will be up shortly.
Here's a halftime look at the first-round NCAA game in Spokane, Wash.
It took Houston on;y a few seconds to put up a 3 on its first possession – a miss.
The Cougars took an 18-13 lead behind nine early points by Aubrey Coleman, who accounted for 16 of Houston’s first 29 points.
But the Terps – exploiting Houston’s lack of inside presence – took a 37-29 lead late in the first half.
Maryland was led in the half by Jordan Williams, who has 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Here's the thing:- Maryland can score inside. Williams can post up and rebound. Sean Mosley and Landon Milbourne (10 points) can cause inside damage. Houston is not good in the paint.
Houston closed to within 39-37 on junior guard Adam Brown’s heave to beat the halftime buzzer Brown was between midcourt and the 3-point line when he let it fly.
Michigan State has just advanced to face the winner of Maryland-Houston on Sunday.
The No. 5-seeded Spartans beat New Mexico State, 70-67.
The Spartans entered the tournament second in the nation in rebounding margin. Michigan State has a large and noisy fan contingent at Spokane Arena.
Houston and Maryland each start three guards and three seniors.
Houston
*Sean Coleman, Sr.-G
*Aubrey Coleman, Sr.-G
*Kelvin Lewis, Sr.-G.
*Kendrick Washington, Fr.-F
*Desmond Wade, Soph-G
Maryland
*Landon Milbourne, Sr.-F
*Jordan Williams, Fr.-F-C
*Greivis Vasquez, Sr.,-G
*Eric Hayes, Sr.-G
*Sean Mosley, Soph.-G
Welcome to Spokane, the land that time forgot. The Terps have been waiting and watching other NCAA first-round games. They even went bowling (no joke).
But finally, it's almost time for Maryland to play in the tournament. The first round has been going on for so long that it feels like the Terps are in Round 1B. I'm hoping -- along with other media -- that there is no overtime in the earlier Michigan State-New Mexico State game that pushes the Terps' game near or past our deadline for print. We will have full online coverage, no matter what.
If Michigan State and New Mexico State are tied after regulation, Terps fans everywhere would probably be happy if they just flipped a coin to determine the outcome.
My sense -- and this is just a hunch -- is that Maryland is going to get better as its game with Houston progresses. After all that waiting, it can take time to find your comfort zone, your rhythm. Remember that the Terps won't have played for a full week. After they settle down, I see Maryland's experience in tournament games being a decisive factor.
The Houston Cougars, of course, enjoyed watching Thursday's upsets in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Since they are a No. 13 seed themselves, they noticed that No. 13 seed Murray State upset fourth seed Vanderbilt.
"I think that everybody is going for the underdog, and I think that [Friday] people are going to be behind us because we're going to do some big things," Houston guard Kelvin Lewis said.
Houston's Aubrey Coleman on Thursday referred to the Cougars being called "dead man walking" by coach Tom Penders during the Conference USA tournament. Penders had said that the Cougars had nothing to lose in the postseason and could relax because so little was expected of the team. The Cougars won the tournament.
"We're going to play loose and 'dead man walking' again," Coleman said.
Maryland, by the way, said it sold 450 of its allotted 550 tickets. No immediate word on how many Houston sold.
Houston coach Tom Penders says Maryland senior guard Greivis Vasquez "is probably a [NBA] lottery pick," meaning he would be selected in the upper portion of the first round.
Penders was asked to compare Vasquez to Aubrey Coleman, the Houston guard.
"I don't see any comparison," Penders said. "Aubrey is just a basketball player learning how to play what Greivis already knows. And I'm not demeaning Aubrey."
Coleman began playing the game only a few years ago. Vasquez has played on the Venezuelan national team.
Penders said Vasquez "is a great point guard, probably a lottery pick."
You've probably seen President Barack Obama making his NCAA tournament picks for ESPN. The prez picked the Terps to meet Michigan State in the second round. He's got the Spartans winning.
"Maryland's got a great player [Greivis Vasquez], but Michigan State's got a great coach [Tom Izzo]," Obama said.
Vasquez was asked about Obama's selection earlier today. "That's his opinion," Vasquez said very diplomatically. "We respect that."
For the record, Obama has Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky and Villanova in the Final Four. He's got Kansas winning the whole thing.
As in any NCAA game that you’re expected to win, the first few moments of the Terps' first-round contest against Houston on Friday night will be about overcoming pressure and nerves. It’s about forgetting where you are -- letting the environment fade away -- and just playing the game.
“We’re pretty confident that we can do some damage [in the tournament],” Greivis Vasquez said. “The first game is going to be a huge test for us."
Is Vasquez nervous?
“It is is a little pressure, but I wanted this,” Vasquez said. “I wanted a little bit of pressure. We’re a little nervous; that’s normal. But as soon as the game starts we’re going to be fine.”
Said Vasquez: “It’s just hard because you’re watching everybody playing [Thursday] and you want to play, too.”
This is something I mention in my advance for Friday’s paper. The Terps are sick of waiting around -- they arrived in Spokane on Tuesday -- and want to play.
They practiced at Gonzaga and have been focusing on defending the 3-point shot.
“Coach [Williams] pounded and pounded every time we went to practice,” Sean Mosley said. “He wants us to come out with our hands up high so they won’t get a good look at the basket.”
Check out video highlights of Maryland's 2009-10 season, courtesy of Raycom Sports.
*I arrived in Spokane yesterday. Saw the Terps milling around the team hotel in their sweat suits. They looked only a little sleepy (it was about 8:30 in the evening in Spokane, which means 11:30 ET). I don't see jet lag being much of a factor in Friday night's opening-round NCAA tournament game against Houston. These are college kids, after all, and the effect is negligible. They are all about staying up late. Going the other direction -- west to east -- would be far more challenging. Just ask the Cal Bears football team that made that journey to College Park two seasons ago.
*The Terps have a media availability today beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Then they have an "open practice" at 8:10 p.m. If the "open practice" is like the one at the ACC tournament, it will be basically a shootaround and dunking session. The real practices are closed and come far from the prying eyes of the media. We'll have a report after the media session.
*Baltimore police officer Dino Gregory Sr. received a number of kind offers yesterday to pay his air fare to Spokane so he can watch his son play Friday night. I don't know yet if he has accepted any of the offers, or if his shifts would allow him to get away. Either way, that was a kind response from Terps fans after I wrote a story on how he and some other team parents wouldn't be able to watch their sons play.
*Here some things to know about Spokane:
--Gonzaga is here (the school, not the team), The team is playing Florida State in Buffalo, N.Y.
--The city is in eastern Washington near the Idaho border and is a couple hour's drive from the Canadian border. It doesn't yet feel like spring here the way it did when I left Maryland.
--It still has the feel of an old western outpost. It has a rustic charm.
--I asked a Spokane resident on the plane where to eat, and she said her favorite restaurant was "Chili's." I did not take this as a positive sign. I do sense there are other options.
Dave Dickerson has a dilemma this week going into Friday's opening-round NCAA tournament game between Maryland and Houston in Spokane, Wash.
Will he root for the school where he played four years, earned his degree and won a national championship as an assistant coach? Or will the fifth-year Tulane coach pull for a fellow member of Conference USA?
Don't ask.
"It's going to be an interesting matchup for me. I'm right in the middle of this thing," said Dickerson, who played at Maryland for Lefty Driesell and Bob Wade from 1985 through 1989. "I'm a Maryland guy, I love Gary [Williams], he's my mentor in basketball and coaching, and I have a lot of respect for our conference and Houston and what they've done in the conference tournament and getting to the NCAA tournament."
Continue reading "Ex-Terp Dickerson weighs in on Houston matchup" »
*The Terps left yesterday for Spokane, Wash. It became real when I saw Adrian Bowie wheeling his luggage to the bus at Comcast Center. Let the games begin. Actually, Maryland doesn't play until Friday night, as you know. The Terps will get some practice time out there and try to use the extra day to adjust to the different time zone.
*The team has talked a lot about how many 3-pointers Houston attempts. The Cougars sometimes play four guards at once. Ever seen that before? Oh yes, the Terps have done it on occasion as well in the past few seasons, although three guards is more typical.
*Gary Williams says Houston coach Tom Penders plays a lot of man-to-man defense with some box-and-one and triangle-and-two. On offense, Williams says the Cougars "have a lot of freedom. If they're open, they're supposed to shoot the basketball." Sounds fun, doesn't it?
*How different is it playing in Spokane from one of the other first-round options -- say New Orleans? "I heard it's not much to see out there," Landon Milbourne said. Fewer distractions, I guess, isn't a bad thing. Actually, I haven't heard bad things at all about Spokane.
*And finally, I wrote a story for today on the high cost for players' families -- and for fans -- of getting out to Spokane. Milbourne's mother (she is a Georgia hair stylist) and Dino Gregory's father (he is a Baltimore police officer) both said they can't get away from work to attend. Both also said the cost -- it was too late to get advanced purchase discount airfare -- was a factor.
I'm not sure how you fix this. But it troubles me that parents -- who want to go see their sons -- can't attend because of distance and cost, among other factors.
Bowie's father, John, also can't make the trip. But that's partly because his doctor advised him to avoid air travel with his broken ankle. There sure will be lots of anxious eyes aimed at their television sets late Friday night.
The rest of the country considered Houston's win over UTEP in the Conference USA tournament to be an upset. After all, UTEP had won 16 games in a row and was ranked 25th nationally.
But Houston coach Tom Penders said the win was not an upset. I profiled Penders and Houston in today's paper.
Here are some quotes not in the article.
"I told the team going into the playoffs that we had the best team in the conference. We had beaten UTEP in the regular season," Penders said.
Prior to the title game, the team had battled injuries. Leading scorer Aubrey Coleman had leg cramps. Guard Zamal Nixon got mono.Another player, Mauice McNeil, left to tend to his ailing mother.
"For the first time all year we had our team as a whole all together" for the championship game, Penders said.
Penders said he's familiar to a point with Maryland's flex offense, but that the offense is a little different than what it used to be.
"He (Gary Williams) is doing a doing a lot more ball screening and things for (Greivis) Vasquez. He let Juan Dixon do things outside that offense, too," Penders said. "But his teams always played hard."
NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee chairman Dan Guerrero said today that selection officials try to avoid sending teams -- such as No. 4 seed Maryland -- far from its campus and fans.
"Sure there is always is an attempt," Guerrero said on a media conference call, to place teams "as close to home as is reasonably possible."
I asked Guerrero specifically about Maryland, which was sent to Kansas City last season as a No. 10 seed and is going to Spokane, Wash., this season.
He said things become complicated "when you have muiltiple teams from the same conference" in the tournament because those teams can't be bunched together into the same sites. The Atlantic Coast Conference has six representatives in the tournament.
"One of the things that comes into play, however, and we've spoken about this on many occasions, is the whole principle and procedures policy that we must follow," he said.
I asked Guerrero whether the committee considers recent history of individual teams. Would it seek to avoid sending the same team a long distance several years in a row?
"We actually do look at that. We look at the history of the last several years to determine if, in fact, a team has been, for lack of a better word, disenfranchised," he said.
"The bottom line is I know Maryland also played in Washington, D.C., a few years ago. It just so happened that that is the way it happened out in this particular year."
The Terps played in the District of Columbia in the first and second rounds of 2002.
For those of you piqued that the Terps (and maybe yourselves) have to travel about 2,478 miles to Spokane – farther, approximately, than the Moon – consider that the Terps didn’t get a bad draw.
It’s true the destination is hardly ideal in terms of travel. But Maryland is playing a team that hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament in 18 years. Experience matters and – I’m not ruling Houston out here because they can shoot it – but the Terps start three seniors who have been to the NCAAs, and more than once.
Let’s look at Maryland's No. 4 seed. Those seeds are 64-16 in the first round since 1990.
And if the Terps had been relegated to a No. 5? No. 5s are 50-30. Ah yes, the dreaded 12-5 matchup. Coaches fear being a No. 5, owing to track records and superstition.
If Maryland survives, then the second-round matchup – possibly Michigan State – could have been worse. To me, the Spartans and Terrapins (with nearly identical RPIs) would appear evenly matched.
And finally...
I took note of something Greivis Vasquez said yesterday. I often do.
“I’m still upset,” Vasquez said, speaking about the Georgia Tech game. “It’s good for us that were playing on Friday. I’m not a lot a little (upset), I’m very upset.”
Continue reading "Quickie analysis of Maryland's NCAA draw" »
A year ago, Greivis Vasquez said before Maryland's second-round matchup with Memphis in the NCAA tournament that the Tigers would "have a losing record in the" in the ACC, then added the Conference USA champion "needs some competition."
The Tigers crushed the Terps by 19 and went on the Sweet 16 before losing to Missouri.
Since Maryland is playing another Conference USA tournament champion - albeit an unherald Houston team with a 19-15 record - in the opening round Friday in Spokane, Wash., I asked Vasquez if he was going to take a more diplomatic approach this year.
"You're trying to get me in trouble," Vasquez said with a smile.
What did Vasquez learn from getting in a trash-talking contest with the more talented Tigers? A lot, apparently. The senior guard said, "It's a learning process. I don't regret saying what I say. But I understand what I'm about right now. I won't say anything like that anymore.
"They called me a name, and they were talking a little trash and I talked a little trash, And we lost. If we had won, things would be different. It is what is, I don't remember that. Maybe 10 years from now we can talk about it."
Of the Cougars, who were a .500 team heading into the Conference USA tournament, Vasquez said he has respect for a team that includes the nation's leading scorer, Aubrey Coleman.
"It's going to be a fun game, they have a good team, they won their league, we're not going to come out thinking we're going to beat them, we're going to go out thinking that we're playing a big-time team, and they are a big-time team," Vasquez said.
How boring, but here's a question: anyone else want to take on Vasquez's old role? ---
Don Markus
CBS Sports just announced the start time for Maryland-Houston in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday.
The game will begin at about 10:00 in the east -- following the Michigan State-New Mexico State game that starts at 7:20 p.m.
Gary Williams on Houston: "I really haven't seen them but obviously we do a good job of taping games during the year."
Gary Williams on playing in Spokane: "The tough thing is for the parents of the players to get out there on short notice."
Eric Hayes: "We were all clapping. We weren't jumping up and down like last year. It was more subdued because we know we were in."
More Hayes: "We didn’t really want to go back tgo Buffalo because we’d been there before."
But Hayes said Spokane was near the bottom of favorite destinations because it's so far for fans and family members to travel.
FYI, Houston may have a mediocre won-loss record (19-15) but they possess the nation’s leading scorer.in Aubrey Coleman, a 6-4 guard.
Maryland's opponent, Houston, is unranked and has a record of 19-15.
Houston's RPI rank is 144. Maryland's RPI rank is 19.
Houston's key wins were over UTEP and Memphis.
Terps will play a Conference USA team for second season in a row. Houston this season. Memphis last season in the second round.
Maryland will play at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Washington State.
The host is Washington State University. The region is known as the birthplace of former NBA star John Stockton.
Maryland is playing in Spokane, but the Terps are officially in the Midwest Region.
Their opponent, Houston, is champion of Conference USA.
Maryland gets No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament and will face the Houston Cougars.
The Terps will play in Spokane, Wash., on Friday against 13th-seeded Houston.
Houston had to win its conference championship to qualify for the tournament.
If Maryland wins, the Terps will play the winner of Michigan State-New Mexico State.
More to follow--including reaction.
Maryland's 69-64 loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament quarterfinals in Greensboro hasn't caused a whole lot of movement in the mock brackets.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi, who had the Terps a No. 6 seed even after Maryland beat Duke and shared the ACC regular-season title with the Blue Devils, still has the Terps in that slot facing Siena in Providence, R.I., with the winner playing either No. 3 Georgetown or No. 14 Akron (prior to the MAC championship game) in the East (Syracuse) Region.
I spoke this afternoon on the drive back from North Carolina with Jerry Palm, whose CollegeRPI.com website had the Terps as a No. 4 seed playing No. 13 seed Siena in San Jose, with the winner facing either No. 5 Tennessee or No. 12 San Diego State in the Midwest (St. Louis) Region.
But Palm's latest post was Monday, meaning about 100 different scenarios have changed his bracket. Asked where the Terps are now after losing to the Yellow Jackets, Palm said, "Probably a 4 or 5 [seed]."
A lesser-known Web site called the Bracket Project also had Maryland as a No. 4 -- even after losing to Georgia Tech -- and playing in Spokane against Rhode Island. The Terps were also matched up with a No. 5 seed in Tennessee, with the Vols playing No. 12 Cornell also in the Midwest.
I know Maryland fans -- and school officials -- are hoping for a trip to Providence or possibly Syracuse, rather than going west to either San Jose or Spokane. I'm not sure anyone in College Park is hoping for a matchup with Georgetown in the second round, given the way the Hoyas and Greg Monroe have played in the Big East tournament.
I think the Terps will wind up no lower than a No. 5, and depending on how things continue to shake out in the conference tournament, possibly remain a No. 4 seed. Given that regular-season co-champion (and recent Maryland victim) Duke will be a No. 1 seed if the Blue Devils win the ACC tournament, I'm not sure how the Terps can be four spots lower in the brackets.
Where would you like to see Maryland play, what do you think the Terps should be seeded, and which team is your dream matchup (or nightmare matchup) should they survive the opening round?
Did Maryland lose Friday night's game to Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament in the first half, when the Yellow Jackets went up 19 late in the half and were ahead 16 at halftime?
Did the Terps lose to Georgia Tech when, after cutting their deficit to two, missed their next four chances to either tie or go ahead?
Or was the outcome decided last month, when Cliff Tucker ran around the Comcast Center court with his teammates in tow after hitting a game-winning, buzzer-beating 3 against Georgia Tech?
All of the above.
The Terps buried themselves with too big a deficit, failed to capitalize on an imploding, impulsive opponent when the Yellow Jackets were against the proverbial ropes and, in truth, might have celebrated their last-second win a little too much for Georgia Tech's liking.
Here's what a couple of Yellow Jackets said after Georgia Tech survived, 69-64, to move into Saturday's semifinals.
Asked how motivated he and his teammates were after the game in College Park, Georgia Tech forward Gani Lawal said: "We were very motivated. We felt like that was a fluke shot, I don't care what anybody says."
Said guard Iman Shumpert: "That image of him running around on the court, that had a lot to do with [how the Yellow Jackets played Friday night]. We wanted to come and get a second shot at 'em. We knew we beat 'em the first time, we just wanted to prove it."
Maryland knew going in that Georgia Tech was going to be fired up to beat the Terps.
So how come the Terps were so flat at both ends for such long stretches in the first half?
I think it goes back to the fact that Maryland was not accustomed to such a long break -- nearly a week after a ridiculous stretch of games at the end of the season -- and the Terps lost whatever rhythm they had during the seven-game winning streak.
As much heart as Maryland showed in the second half, the lack of emotion in the first half was noticeable.
"We weren't going hard," said Greivis Vasquez. "I don't think they were doing anything defensively. We were passive."
Said Eric Hayes: "We were lackadaisical, kind of slow on defense. Second half, we had no choice but to do that."
Vasquez used the word "embarrassed" to describe how the Terps felt going into their locker room at halftime.
As for not being able to get over the hump in the second half -- at 48-46 in favor of Georgia Tech, the Terps missed back-to-back 3s by Vasquez and Sean Mosley, then two other shots by Mosley and Vasquez -- Hayes called it "frustrating".
I thought it might have cost Maryland the game. Had the Terps been able to get that lead, Georgia Tech seemed ready to fall.
And one more thing might have cost the Terps the game: the dunk by Derrick Favors that seemed to come after the shot clock.
It came with 1:15 left, after Mo Miller missed badly on a drive, and put Georgia Tech up five, 64-59. Miller's shot ricocheted high off the backboard without touching the rim and the 35-second shot clock sounded as Favors was throwing it down. One problem: freeze-frame replays later showed the ball still in Favors' hand as the light went on.
Gary Williams said he asked the official responsible for looking at the clock for his view, and was told that the shot counted. Williams admitted later that he didn't know if that kind of situation was reviewable.
"I should know the rule, but I don't in that situation," he said.
According to John Clougherty, a former referee and the supervisor of ACC officials, a shot-clock situation is not reviewable
Where do you think Maryland lost Friday night's game?
There's 2:47 left and the Terps are down three, 62-59. Maryland had a chance to tie but a 3-point shot -- what else -- by Greivis Vasquez rimmed out, with a little under four minutes left.
Whatever happens -- and we'll know in about 10 minutes the way this game is going -- this was by far the best game of the ACC tournament so far. I know Maryland fans won't look at it that way if their team loses.
The Terps cut what had been a 19-point deficit in the first half and a 16-point halftime deficit to two, but had four chances to tie or take the lead. They haven't done it yet, and now are fighting back from what was an 8-point deficit on back-to-back 3s by Brian Oliver.
It's now a 4-point deficit, 59-55, with a little over seven minutes left.
The Terps have cut their deficit to two, 46-44, and twice had chances to go ahead, but Greivis Vasquez missed on one of his "what-is-he-thinking?" 3s and then Sean Mosley did the same.
Give Maryland credit for making a game of this. But there is a lot more to be done to complete what would be a marvelous comeback.
One thing, Jordan Williams has been on the bench for nearly four minutes -- he went out with his fourth foul with 15:33 to go. Another, the Terps have gone to four guards and Landon Milbourne.
It's getting interesting.
Maryland forced turnovers on Georgia Tech's first four possessions of the second half and cut its deficit to nine, 42-33. With Paul Hewitt scrambling to call timeout, the Yellow Jackets' D'Andre scored to make it a 11.
But the Terps have certainly given their fans -- most of whom are tucked away in a corner of the Greensboro Coliseum -- some hope. After the Georgia Tech timeout, Eric Hayes hit his first jumper -- a 3 -- Sean Mosley made a steal and Greivis Vasquez scored to make it a six-point game.
It's not pretty, folks, but it's not over.
How's that for being positive?
In reality, it's going to take another huge comeback for the Terps to survive the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. They're down by 16 -- and it could have been worse. Maryland tried everything to slow down a very motivated Georgia Tech team, and little worked.
Play help defense on Georgia Tech's big men? Iman Shumpert and Mo Miller shredded Maryland's perimeter. Miller, who had four points in last month's loss in College Park, hit all three of his 3s.
Play zone defense against the Yellow Jackets? North Carolina did that Thursday night and ran off 17 straight points in the first half. Maryland did that for a little while Friday night and nearly got run out of the Greensboro Coliseum.
Right now, you're thinking that Maryland has come back from double digits a few times this season, including from 15 down against Clemson and from 12 down against North Carolina State.
I'm sure that's what Gary Williams is telling the Terps in their locker room right now -- along with a few choice "adjectives" about their first-half play. And I'm sure Paul Hewitt is telling the Yellow Jackets the same thing.
The first-half stats tell the whole story: Georgia Tech is 16 of 26 from the field, six of eight on 3s (they missed a heave at the buzzer) while Maryland is nine of 31, zero for six on 3s. The Terps are also being outrebounded, 21-14.
It's not over, but unless the Terps can cut their deficit to single digits quickly, it will be a quiet plane ride back to College Park.
After leading 11-10, the Terps have been outscored 28-9.
The offense went cold and most possessions look like Maryland does right now for this year's ACC tournament -- one and done.
The defense wasn't much better. Early on, Georgia Tech was settling for -- and hitting -- jump shots, including 3-point shots on three different occasions. I guess the Yellow Jackets either read my first post about not going inside or, more likely, started listening to Paul Hewitt about getting the ball to Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal.
That didn't last, as Yellow Jackets went to their big men to increase their lead to double digits and now have doubled Maryland at 38-19.
A little more than eight minutes into the game, Georgia Tech is leading 15-13. Given how the Yellow Jackets have started, hitting three early 3s and settling for jump shots, I think this is playing into Maryland's hands.
Georgia Tech's biggest advantage is its size, especially with Derrick Favors and Gani Lawal. Lawal touched the ball early and scored easily, but since then it's been mostly the guards firing away from the outside.
Remember the Clemson game when the Tigers couldn't miss early and couldn't score late?
We'll see how this develops, but I think Maryland is liking Georgia Tech's offensive strategy.
Tonight's game against Georgia Tech at the Greensboro Coliseum marks the first time Maryland has been the more rested team going into the ACC quarterfinals since the league expanded. In other words, it's the first time the Terps came into the ACC tournament with a bye.
You'd think that would give Maryland a decided advantage, especially after the stretch the Terps endured to close the regular season. But after watching the games here this afternoon, and having seen what happened at other tournaments around the country this week, I'm not sure it will be an advantage at all.
Duke beat Virginia in the opening game this afternoon, but it was a lot closer than the final score (57-46) and a lot more competitive than their game was in Charlottesville (an 18-point win for the Blue Devils that wasn't as close as it looked) two weeks ago. Miami and Virginia Tech split during the regular season, but the No. 12 seed Hurricanes were the fresher team at the end of their 70-65 win over the Hokies.
I see this being a difficult game for the Terps for some other reasons I think that Georgia Tech has a lot more at stake than the Terps, with a win basically locking up an NCAA bid for the Yellow Jackets. There's also the revenge factor, given what happened in College Park a few weeks ago.
And, most significantly, Georgia Tech creates some monster matchup problems for Maryland, particularly inside with Derrick Favors (21 points, 18 rebounds). Jordan Williams will have to play even better than he did in College Park (nine points,12 rebounds), and the Terps are going to have to find a way to limit second-chance baskets, a big problem in the first game.
That said, you know Maryland is going to show up mentally for this game. The same isn't always true for the Yellow Jackets.
We'll see in a couple of hours, but do you think this could be a tough test for the Terps?
Terps will play Georgia Tech on Friday in ACC tournament quarterfinals.
Remember that the Terps needed a Cliff Tucker buzzer-beater to beat Georgia Tech, 76-74, on Feb. 20. The Yellow Jackets have an imposing front court led by freshman Derrick Favors and junior Gani Lawal. Favors had 21 points and 18 rebounds against the Terps. Against North Carolina tonight,. Favors had 18 points and Lawal had a key basket in the final moments.
“When we get back to the hotel we’ll start thinking and talking about Maryland,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt just said. "I have a lot of respect for (Maryland coach) Gary (Williams) and his team and Greivis Vasquez."
Maryland (23-7), which had a first-round bye, will play Georgia Tech (20-11) in the ACC tournament quarterfinals on Friday night.
The seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets, who are on the bubble for an NCAA tournament bid, came back from a 13-point, first-half deficit Thursday night to beat North Carolina, 62-58. The Yellow Jackets have an imposing front court, as you all know.
About to watch Georgia Tech-North Carolina in the game that will determine who Maryland plays tomorrow night in the ACC tournament...
If I'm Maryland, I'd rather play North Carolina than Georgia Tech -- for a few reasons, some less obvious than others. Unlike North Carolina, Georgia Tech has a real shot at the NCAA tournament. The Yellow Jackets are 7-9 -- the same record the NCAA-bound Terps had last season entering the tournament.
So Georgia Tech has obvious incentive. But it's more than that. Freshman forward Derrick Favors (11.8 points, 8.7 rebounds) could come out and declare for the NBA draft. So could junior forward Gani Lawal, who has flirted with the NBA before. I think these guys will be inspired not only to win for their school, but to audition on a big stage for NBA scouts.
It goes without saying that the Yellow Jackets came within a Cliff Tucker buzzer-beater of beating the Terps at Comcast Center.
It would be a clearly tough (but winnable) game for the Terps if Georgia Tech gets a rematch.
We had a temporary technical glitch where I wasn't seeing reader comments. It has been corrected and comments have been posted. My apologies, everyone, for the delay. I really do try to stay on top of these.
*I wrote a story today on the FOG and the Fastbreakers, which provide support for the basketball program. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Marvin Perry, a Terps booster who died in 2006 and was an important supporter, personal and otherwise, in the life of Gary Williams.
*What do you mean the Terps don’t play today? I’m ready to run. Actually, I’ll be sitting calmly on press row when the game starts-- tomorrow night -- but you know what I mean.
The Terps, by the way, won’t be in the coliseum tonight when North Carolina and Georgia Tech play to determine Maryland’s opponent.
The players will be watching the game – as a team – at their hotel. A few of the assistant coaches will be at the coliseum scouting.
Maryland, of course, will get less than 24 hours to prepare for a specific opponent. But it’s not as if the Terps aren’t already familiar with both teams since they played them during the regular season. Coaches said they would be studying video on both Georgia Tech and Carolina in advance.
*For those of you who have been to tournaments here, feel free to let me know what you think of Greensboro as a tournament site.
I was looking at the seating chart yesterday. The Maryland section is in the corner, between Clemson and N.C. State.
Earlier in the season, senior forward Landon Milbourne had a string of nine games in a row scoring in double figures. That was in January.
He's slipped of late, scoring in single digits in the past six games. It's puzzling.
I asked him at Greensboro Coliseum today simply to assess how he has been playing. Here is what he said:
"I haven't been scoring that well lately. I've been struggling for like the past six games. Coach says it's a new season so I'm trying to get out to a fresh start and see if we can pick it back up.
A blank slate really. The regular season is over with, so it's no reason for me to think about that. We've got more games to play."
I next asked him about the fun of playing in the postseason.
"It is exciting. It's where we wanted to be at the beginning of the season.We wanted to be at the top of the ACC coming into this tournament," he said.
Maybe he should focus on exactly that -- his excitement of playing in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
The Terps arrived an hour ago at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum and are going through their open "practice" in front of fans and media. They're wearing their black practice jerseys, in case you are fashion-conscious.
It's not much of a practice, really -- they're shooting foul shots now and dunking and joking around. This team does seem to have gotten some rest since the Virginia game, when it was pretty drained.
There is a media availability after the shootaround.
Among my stories for tomorrow's paper is one looking more closely at the tradition of playing the tournament so often in the state of North Carolina.
The tournament, by the way, returns to Greensboro next year, then moves to Atlanta. Then it's back to Greensboro for at least three more years.
One more note -- Maryland says it hasn't decided which uniforms it will wear down here.
I've seen all sorts of bonuses in contracts negotiated by college coaches and their agents.
There are commonly bonuses for radio and television appearances, payments for personal appearances, fundraising, team performance and players' graduation rate.
I inspected Gary Williams' contract this afternoon wondering whether there was a bonus in there for his winning Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year.
I didn't see one. But I did find a large bonus -- $262,000 with a mandatory 5 percent yearly increase beginning in 2006 -- for finishing in a two-way tie atop the ACC regular-season standings. The total comes to about $318,000. I wrote a story about it for Wednesday's paper.
That's a big one. And the assistant coaches got bonuses, too, albeit smaller ones. I guess it all shows the value Maryland places in having a strong regular season -- a feat that this season could be called "beating (or at least tying) Duke."
Greivis Vasquez said he went to an elementary school near campus today and talked to kids. He needed an escape from people asking if he was going to win ACC Player of the Year.
"It was going to be a huge day and I knew everybody was going to call me and tell me all this stuff. So I decided to go to this elementary school. I went on my own," Vasquez said.
"Just seeing the kids so excited to see me, asking for a picture and for my autograph was just unbelievable. One kid couldn’t believe I was there," he said.
"I got out of that and I got at least 40 text messages saying 'You got ACC Player of the Year.'
It's nice to have that, but my thing about life is that I want to be different. I want to be somebody who can help all the people and just be a better person every day."
Gary Williams said he was watching video when he learned he was ACC Coach of the Year.
"Coach of the year always means that you have good players," Williams said. "I defer a lot to the three seniors this year beause I trust them."
Williams was asked about criticism in the media last season about the team's recruiting and direction. Did he use that as motivation this year?
"I don’t want to talk about that. This is a happy day for all of us," he said.
It seems to be Maryland's year. Senior guard Greivis Vasquez just won ACC Player of the Year and Gary Williams won coach of the year.
I think voters -- there were 53 media voters, by the way -- looked at the broad context. Gary Williams' Terps went 7-9 in the conference last season. This season, they jumped to 13-3, tying a Duke team that is much larger in the front court and was coming off an ACC tournament title last season.
In Vasquez's case, you had to look at much more than points. His versatility -- his assists and rebounds -- raises the team that much higher. Vasquez has his detractors, but It's hard to imagine the Terps enjoying this sort of success without him.
Vasquez got 39 votes, Duke's Jon Scheyer got 12 and Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney got two.
We'll have comments from Vasquez and Williams -- who are probably almost as excited for each other as for themselves -- later this afternoon.
The Terps are No. 19 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll released today -- the team's highest ranking this season.
Maryland coach Gary Williams had said on Feb. 23 that the Terps should be ranked. The Terps weren't in the top 25 then, but entered at No. 22 shortly afterward. They moved up after beating No. 4 Duke and Virginia.
I asked Williams today how much a national ranking means in terms of recognition.
"This is good, the attention that you get," the coach replied.
But Williams immediately said that Maryland was already on the national radar.
"When you win a national championship ... that doesn’t go away quickly. People remember that," the coach said, referring to the 2002 title. He also said the Terps had gained exposure by winning NCAA tournament games in two of the past three seasons.
*Since its last regular-season game was Saturday, Maryland has full five days between that contest and its ACC tournament game against the winner of North Carolina-Georgia Tech. "It’s a chance to get rested a little bit," Maryland coach Gary Williams said today.
Of course, the Terps, who have today off before returning to practice Tuesday afternoon, will also use the time to assess where they are offensively and defensively. "It's really a good opportunity for a lot of things in terms of preparation," Williams said.
Maryland will watch video of both North Carolina and Georgia Tech. The Terps won't learn which team they will play until less than 24 hours before their game begins Friday night.
Other notes from today's ACC coaches' conference calls:
*The ACC tournament has been dominated in recent years by Duke and North Carolina. Maryland last won the tournament in 2004 as a No. 6 seed.
Except for 2004, either North Carolina or Duke has won the tournament every year since 1996, when Wake Forest was the champ.
Beginning with the 1990 season, the tournament has been held in the state of North Carolina 16 times and outside the state four times.
Said Gary Williams today: "They can be tough atmospheres -–almost like a road game -– for some of those other schools."
Here, courtesy of the ACC, are tournament pairings for the event at Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum:
Opening Round: Thursday, March 11
#8 Boston College vs. #9 Virginia Noon RAYCOM
#5 Wake Forest vs. #12 Miami 2 p.m. RAYCOM
#7 Georgia Tech vs. #10 North Carolina 7 p.m. ESPN2
#6 Clemson vs. #11 NC State 9 p.m. RAYCOM \
----------
Quarterfinals: Friday, March 12
#1 Duke vs. #8/#9 Winner Noon RAYCOM/ESPN2
#4 Virginia Tech vs. #5/#12 Winner 2 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN2
#2 Maryland vs. #7/#10 Winner 7 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN2
#3 Florida State vs. #6/#11 Winner 9 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN2
--------
Semifinals: Saturday, March 13
Semifinal 1 1:30 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN
Semifinal 2 3:30 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN
--------
Championship Game: Sunday, March 14
Championship Game 1 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN
*The team planned to take off Sunday and Monday -– returning to practice Tuesday afternoon -– to allow players to recover from a stretch of games that included the emotional win over No. 4 Duke on Wednesday followed by Saturday’s 74-68 victory at Virginia. I anticipate Maryland getting to Greensboro in time to practice down there on Wednesday for the ACC tournament.
*Georgia Tech is positioned for a possible rematch of its buzzer-beating loss at Maryland on Feb. 20. The seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets would first have to beat tenth-seeded North Carolina -- it has already defeated the Tar Heels twice – on Thursday night in order to advance to face the Terps, who have a first-round bye.
If you want to look ahead, Maryland -- if it wins -- could encounter third-seeded Florida State on Saturday. Or the Terps could meet sixth-seeded Clemson or 11th-seeded NC State.
Here are some keys to Maryland's 74-68 win over Virginia. Looks like the Terps will be the No. 2 seed at the ACC tournament and will play Friday night against the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10 game.
--Greivis Vasquez was tough enough to pull it together after starting the game shooting 4-for-13. Vasquez was 0-for-5 to begin the second half -- then hit three 3-pointers.
"No matter how he's playing, going into the last five minutes he's willing to put it out there," Gary Williams said of Vasquez. "He likes the attention – we all know that. But he's willing to take the heat when things don’t go well."
--The Terps were stepping into the passing lanes on defense and effectively using the inside-out game on offense by establishing Jordan Williams, Sean Mosley and others in the inside post.
--Form held true: Virginia is 11-1 this season when scoring at least 70 points and 3-14 when scoring under 70.
--The Terps had 22 second-chance points compared to Virginia’s two. Maryland converted 20 of 26 free throws, while the Cavaliers were just seven for eight. Mosley got to the line eight times himself, making all eight attempts.
So what next? The Terps have clinched at least a share of the ACC regular season title and will await Duke-UNC outcome tonight.
If Maryland is the No. 2 seed -- the most likely scenario, although not guaranteed -- it will play Friday night in the ACC tournament against the winner of the No. 7 v. No. 10 game. That could be any number of teams, including tough Georgia Tech.
Quotes from Maryland's 74-68 win that clinches at least a tie for the ACC regular-season title:
Maryland coach Gary Williams:
"I’m really proud of our team to get 13 wins this year. It’s been a very even league.
You have to give Virginia a lot of credit, losing Landesberg like they did. They’re going to rally."
"Any time you’re on the road and a team hangs around like that they’ve got a chance.
It wasn’t about how it looked. It was just get the win. I think we were probably mentally tired. As crazy a six-game stretch as I’ve ever been in. It was a very difficult situation for us to be in."
Virginia coach Tony Bennett:
"Heck of a time to get the first technical of my career. It was a mistake to take my jacket off and throw it down. Heat of the battle. There was a lot of emotion from both coaches. But I feel bad."
"Those kids battled hard. I wish they would have had a chance. It’s a tough one to swallow because there was a lot of emotion on both benches. There was a lot of emotion—senior night ... and the situation with Sylven.'
Maryland held on to beat Virginia, 74-68. Terps had led by 14 but Cavs got as close as one point.
A critical technical foul on the UVA bench gave the Terps two free throws at the end. UVA had argued a blocking foul on Meyinsse.
More upcoming.
Maryland leads Landesberg-less Virginia 38-27 at the half.
Key stat: Maryland has 22 rebounds to Virginia's 10.
This is a game in which outmanned Virginia -- leading scorer Sylen Landesberg suspended for academic reasons -- should be in trouble in the second half.
But Maryland knows all too well that weird things can happen to them in this building. So despite an 11-point lead, there is no comfort zone yet.
Another key stat: Terps have only two fast break points. Terps -- and Greivis Vasquez in particular -- always fare better when they can get out and run.
--Virginia on the run. Maryland leads 20-9. Vasquez: already has 10 points. Maryland has 14 rebounds and Virginia has one.
--Virginia altered its starting lineup not only because of Sylven Landesberg’s suspension but because coach Tony Bennett started his three seniors playing their final home game.
--Virginia has the rims microphoned up. It sounds like a train wreck when a shot hits the rim – not good for shooters’ confidence.
Sylven Landesberg, Virginia's leading scorer, is out of today's Maryland game. He has been suspended for failing "to live up to his academic obligations," said coach Tony Bennett.
Bennett said the sophomore "will not play in games for the remainder of the season." This is Virginia's final regular-season game, but the suspension will carry into the ACC tournament that starts next week.
Landesberg, a six-foot-six guard, leads the Cavaliers in scoring (17.3 points per game) and assists.
This is more bad news for a Virginia team that has lost eight games in row heading into today's 1:30 game.
My story for tomorrow's paper references last season's bad loss by the Terps to a Virginia team that -- like this one -- was on a losing steak heading into the final game in Charlottesville.
Could it happen again? Could Saturday's game be of the "trap" variety? It sure helps the Terps -- as it has all season -- to have three seniors in the starting lineup. Those three can help keep the team grounded after the emotional Duke victory.
Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes, Landon Milbourne and other Terps remember all too well how it felt to trudge off the John Paul Jones Arena court one year ago after losing to the Cavaliers.
Said Jordan Williams today: "It’s a tough place to play, at Virginia. We’re not taking this team lightly at all. We’re very strong on winning now and we’re not going to stop just because it’s the last game or because who the team is."
He also said: "That’s the great thing about having seniors. They’ve been in that situation before."
Once again, I've seen complaints about the "profanity" directed at Duke in general -- and Jon Scheyer in particular -- from fans at Comcast Center during Wednesday's game.
Lots of people feel these lewd chants are not becoming, not classy. And not clever.
This is an issue at lots of schools.
I've asked Maryland about this before, and the school has said it is trying to foster sportsmanship. Consider the video messages from Gary Williams on the subject that are played at Comcast Center.
By the way, the school says it can't eject fans for yelling obscenities because that's protected speech.
I reported in September on a Maryland athletic department report outlining five-year goals. I was interested to note that among the goals was offering prizes for best "opponent-specific cheer" at games. The report said students should be "effective and creative."
SSSSHHHH, we're going to talk among ourselves about how relevant the ACC tournament truly is. It's a delicate subject considering how much money revolves around it.
There are two ways to look at it. It's a fun event steeped in tradition. Or it's an anachronism.
Consider for a moment that it didn't matter much that North Carolina was not last season's ACC tournament champion. The Tar Heels didn't even make it to the final after losing to Florida State in the semis. The result didn't seem to hurt North Carolina, which was to win a certain other honor several weeks later-- the national championship.
The NCAA tournament has become so big that it's left the conference tournaments in their shadow.
I've noted before that Maryland coach Gary Williams says the regular-season ACC champ doesn't get as much credit as it should. Williams has said the regular-season standings reflect what's really important -- consistency and durability. He's suggested that the winner of the regular season should be the ACC champion.
Having said that, Williams also commented on his radio show this week that the ACC tournament is "fun" and that the players enjoy it. So do the fans.
So, yes, the tournament may not have so much cachet, but there's still pride involved and it's an entertaining gateway to the NCAA tournament that follows. It's a rite of March.
I would also argue that it's often quite important to Maryland. Consider last season, when the Terps probably needed at least two wins in Atlanta to qualify for the NCAA tournament. They got them.
Of course, Maryland doesn't need to win two games in the ACC tournament this season to get into the NCAAs. But the Terps would love to make a statement about the direction of their program by winning the ACC tournament championship. Maryland would be happy to flex its muscles and send Greivis Vasquez and its other seniors out of conference play in style.
So, yes, that's absolutely worth something.
Here are some notes and opinions on Maryland's 79-72 win over Duke on Wednesday night:
The difference in the second half was Maryland's versatility in being able to score inside (Jordan Williams had nine of his 15 points in the second half) and outside (Adrian Bowie had all nine of his points in the second half), while Duke kept trying to win on 3-point shooting. It helped the Blue Devils climb back from an early 14-point deficit to take the lead, but once they stopped hitting those shots, that helped Maryland take control. Duke's three top scorers combined to shoot 19-for-52, while Maryland's top three went 18-for-29. Add Bowie's 4-for-4 and you get the picture.
At one point in the second half, Gary Williams had Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes on the bench and a lineup that included Bowie, Sean Mosley, Cliff Tucker, Jordan Williams and Landon Milbourne. Except for Milbourne, a senior, that's four-fifths of what could be Maryland's starting lineup next season given Gary Williams' long-standing loyalty to seniors. While the Terps will obviously miss Vasquez and Hayes, Bowie and Tucker give Maryland a much more athletic backcourt that will be able to press more to Gary Williams' liking. Look for that lineup -- and the four-guard set including Vasquez, Hayes, Bowie, and Mosley along with Jordan Williams, going into the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
I think this win will boost the Terps to a No. 4 seed if they don't fall flat Saturday against Virginia, and possibly higher if they wind up beating Duke again to win the ACC tournament. Before beating Duke, Maryland was at best a No. 6 seed, or maybe even a 7. The higher they get, the better their chances of reaching the Sweet 16 or even the Elite 8 since it means they won't have to play a No. 1 until the second weekend. Right now, the only No. 1 seed that looks almost unbeatable against Maryland is Syracuse, though I'm not sure who the Terps have to match up with John Wall if they face Kentucky.
Some interesting comments from the Duke locker room after the game.
Jon Scheyer was asked about how much the crowd was a factor. "At this point I didn't hear anything, to be honest. They've done the same thing for four years and we've gotten wins." But Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said that Maryland "fed off" the crowd and almost "knocked out" his team in the early stages. Krzyzewski gave Maryland credit and said his team played well, too. I certainly don't think the Blue Devils looked like the No. 4 team in the country -- or have for awhile -- but they didn't play badly.
Here's a question to think about heading into the ACC tournament. Do you think the Maryland-Duke rivalry is back because of this one win?
I think it's going to take another win -- say for the ACC tournament championship in Greensboro a week from Sunday -- to put it back into the conversation among college basketball fans.
I'll be looking at what this win means going into Saturday's game in Charlottesville in Friday's newspaper.--Don Markus
*Jordan Williams has continued to progress. His 15 points and 11 rebounds were huge. Duke center Brian Zoubek had 13 rebounds but only four points and got in foul trouble. Zoubek had torched the Terps at Cameron.
*Vasquez was Vasquez. He didn't let Senior Night emotions get the better of him, and his runner to make it 73-69 was key.
*Adrian Bowie (4-for-4 from the floor) played very well, and that allowed Gary Williams to rest Vasquez and Hayes without the Terps losing momentum.
*The fans made it seem -- even more than usual -- that Duke was battling not only the Terps but the environment. Duke is a hard team to rattle, too.
--Jeff Barker
The Terps have gone to four guards -- Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes, Adrian Bowie and Sean Mosley -- along with Jordan Williams.
Maryland wants to see if it can counter Duke's lineup, which now has Brian Zoubek back in it along with Kyle Singler. Could be an interesting chess match between Gary Williams and Mike Krzyzewski. It certainly puts a premium on Maryland running its offense and making its shot since the Terps won't get many second chances.
Maryland hit four of five shots with this lineup -- including a second-chance basket by Bowie -- and just went ahead on a runner with Vasquez, 67-65, with 3:42 to play.
Bowie has been huge in the second half, but after a timeout, Williams just replaced him with Landon Milbourne, who has struggled of late. It was probably the best Bowie has looked this season, and I wonder if Williams should have left him in. But ever loyal to his seniors, Williams went to Milbourne.
We'll see how it turns out.
--Don Markus
The first four minutes of the second half look a little bit like the game down in Durham -- Maryland is giving the Blue Devils too many second chances.
Just when I say that Brian Zoubek can't play as well as he did in the first meeting, the big guy starts grabbing offensive rebounds and suddenly Duke looks like a different team. It's 46-44 in favor of the Blue Devils with 15:55 to go. Duke had four or five shots inside and Zoubek and Kyle Singler dominated the boards.
What also doesn't look the same as the first half -- and more like the first Duke game -- is that Maryland has gone cold. Greivis Vasquez just airballed an 18-footer and is 3-for-9 for the game.
The Terps have scored just one field goal in the first six minutes. Well, Jordan Williams just made a jump hook over Zoubek and was fouled and completed the three-point play to tie the game at 47.
It's not so loud in Comcast Center right now.
The noise, and Maryland's big lead, has disappeared.
The Terps, who led by as many as 14 and were still up 12 with a couple of minutes left in the first half, are ahead 40-38 at halftime.
It's not that Maryland has played badly, but Duke started getting the ball into the hands of its scorers -- Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith. The three scored all of Duke's points in a 12-2 run that closed the half -- three of them 3-point shots, the last two by Smith, and a three-point play by Singler.
It was only a matter of time that the Blue Devils started hitting shots, just as it was a matter of time in recent games when Clemson and N.C. State would start missing shots. The Terps need to worry about keeping at least two of them away from the ball and make someone like Brian Zoubek or one of the Plumlees beat them. (Actually Zoubek did down in Durham, but he's not going to have another game like that the rest of his career.)
The Terps hit 13 of their first 22 from the field, but only two of their last seven. The Blue Devils were 9-for-25 at one point but made their last five before Scheyer's three-quarter court heave at the halftime buzzer.
While neither Greivis Vasquez (7 points, 4 assists, 3 turnovers) or Scheyer (5 points) are playing like an ACC Player of the Year candidate, Singler has 11 points. What's helped Maryland so far is that Sean Mosley and Eric Hayes each have 9 points and, most importantly, the Terps are outrebounding the Blue Devils 19-13.
I think if the Terps can lock down Singler -- a tough task given the matchup problems he creates -- in the second half, they will win the game.
--Don Markus
After its hot start, Maryland has taken a couple of good shots by Duke.
The Blue Devils cut deficits of 10-2, 14-5 and 21-9 to 25-19, but the Terps came right back with Sean Mosley sticking a jumper in the lane and Eric Hayes hitting a 3-pointer off a nice feed from Greivis Vasquez. Maryland has done most of it without Landon Milbourne, who got two early fouls. But the way Milbourne has played of late, Dino Gregory seems to be more effective.
After Hayes' 3, Duke called timeout and Brian Zoubek went to the bench with some sort of injury.
After the timeout, Mosley hit a 3 to push Maryland's lead to 33-19, but Miles Plumlee came right back with a 3 for the Blue Devils.
The Terps continue to do a good job of Jon Scheyer, who is 1-for-6 and just picked up his second foul with 5 1/2 minutes left. He took a seat on the bench and was replaced by freshman Andre Dawkins. Maryland needs to exploit Scheyer being out -- probably for the rest of the half -- and build up an even more comfortable margin.
The biggest question I had about Maryland going into this game was how the Terps, in particular Greivis Vasquez, was going to handle the emotions.
So far, so good.
The Terps jumped out to a 7-0 lead and were up 10-2 when something interesting happened -- they had to cut the nets down because of a rip.
I thought they only cut down the nets after a team wins a championship.
I also thought it was going to cut down on Maryland's early momentum, but the Terps picked up right where they left off and scored five straight points -- including a three-point play by Jordan Williams when he slammed down a dunk while getting fouled by Jon Scheyer.
Maryland is doing a great job of keeping the ball out of Scheyer's hands, and right now they are leading 19-7.
--Don Markus
Is this the biggest game in the history of Comcast Center?
Based on the hype leading up to Wednesday's showdown between No. 23 Maryland and No. 4 Duke, I'd have to say it is. I've never seen this kind of excitement. The extremes fans went through to get tickets -- including the law student my colleague Jeff Barker wrote about earlier in the week -- was unheard of around these parts. This is what you see at big events like the Masters or the Super Bowl, not a college basketball game.
The only game that comes to mind approaching this one was played between the Terps and Blue Devils in the first season the building opened. Maryland was coming off a national championship and Duke was, well Duke. Maryland lost, but that game was played in early January, not in early March and an ACC championship -- even a share of it -- wasn't at stake.
I talked with Jay Bilas before the game and was reminded of something he told me years ago when he was playing for Duke and about to face North Carolina in a typical 1-2 Tobacco Road battle. "The winner won't be crowned king of the universe and the loser won't be banished to the gorge of eternal peril," Bilas said, launching the career of either a broadcaster or Shakespearean actor.
Well, the game is starting and I'll have more at halftime.
*I think a key tonight for the Terps is whether they can pile up points in transition. This is really Maryland’s game – collecting turnovers and taking off down the floor.
Greivis Vasquez seems to flourish in the open court. It’s his game – where he is most comfortable. When he’s in the open court, he’s free to make creative passes and express himself basketball-wise. I think he doesn’t let loose as much – he’s tighter – when the game is strictly halfcourt.
*Will Terps fans bring back the Scheyer Face this game or is that so last year? You wonder if waving the poster-sized images of the Duke guard’s contorted expression will be back for an encore.
*The exchanges between Duke and Maryland fans on this blog are making me laugh -- especially the ones about proper use of the language. As a former English major I'm all for spirited grammatical competitions.
So it turns out that the first-year law student got a ticket to tonight's Duke-Maryland game. But he didn't get it in quite the way you might imagine.
You know the guy I'm talking about, right? I noted in a story that he had placed an online ad saying that he couldn't afford the soaring price of a ticket in the open market. So he offered instead "to sign a contract that will guarantee a TBD number of billable hours of attorney services fully redeemable upon my passing of the Maryland bar."
No one bit on Burke Miller's offer of future work, at least not immediately. But Maryland just told me that it came up with a single seat for Miller (Maryland '07), who attends law school at the University of Baltimore. But he'll have to work for his ticket. Is that like dancing for your dinner?
Miller got the ticket after e-mailing athletic director Debbie Yow. He closed his message by saying: "I hope you guys are feeling generous today!"
Maryland said it found a single seat for Miller for $50. But Yow told Miller in a message: "You could also work for us in order to score the tix. We'd put you to work at one of our events for 3 or 4 hours."
The deal is that Miller is to work at a future Terps sporting event (not basketball or football).
I asked Yow exactly what the enterprising lad would do.
"Could be manual labor related to set up or break down of a competition site, could be handing out team posters before an event, etc.," Yow told me in an e-mail. "There is always a need for such support and we often use undergraduates for these needs. He'll do fine. No specific training needed, just a positive attitude."
Duke and Maryland lead the ACC in a number of significant statistical categories that speak to the sorts of seasons both teams have had. They are the top two in scoring offense, scoring margin, 3-point shooting percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. Let me say this again: the most surprising thing about Maryland's season, to me, is how dramatically the Terps were able to improve their shooting percentages compared to last season.
• I think Terps fans should hope that Maryland avoids dangerous Georgia Tech as a first-round opponent in the ACC tournament. If you look at the standings, the Yellow Jackets, who lost last night to Clemson, loom as a possible foe.
Led inside by fabulous freshman Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech hurt the Terps on the boards at Comcast Center before losing on a buzzer-beater by Cliff Tucker. Favors had 21 points and 18 rebounds.
• I enjoyed this anecdote from Gary Williams and used it in my story for today's paper. Williams said he knew Greivis Vasquez would be a unique personality when the player leaned into the coach’s office doorway on the first day of his freshman-season practice in 2006, saluted and said: “Reporting for duty, sir.”
• How much significance do you think tonight's game will have on the ACC Player of the Year outcome? With Vasquez and Jon Scheyer going head-to-head in a nationally-televised game, you'd think this would be meaningful. I just hope -- and so does Gary Williams -- that the entire season's body of work is given proper weight. Sometimes these awards are skewed by late-season games because those happen to be the freshest in peoples' minds.
• And finally...Vasquez was talking yesterday about how he and fellow senior Eric Hayes complemented each other in the backcourt because Hayes is "calm" and Vasquez is "crazy." Greivis, we're going to miss you.
I did a story for today's paper on the soaring cost of Maryland-Duke tickets in the open market.
I didn't realize until I did my reporting that season tickets are down about 2,000 over the past two years.
Maryland, by the way, expects that to change.
"Too early to say definitely, but we do anticipate an increase in season-ticket sales next year," said Randy Eaton, the athletic department's chief financial officer.
Here, courtesy of the ACC, is the tournament schedule. Even if Maryland beats Duke on Wednesday night and finishes with the same regular-season record as the Blue Devils, the most likely scenario has the Terps playing as the No. 2 seed and opening Friday night (March 12) at 7:00.
The problem for the Terps in the tie-breaking scenarios with Duke is that Wake Forest and Clemson meet in the final game on Sunday. That means, of course, that one of those schools will pick up a win. What the Terps needed is for Georgia Tech (currently a game behind Clemson and Wake) to fare well and figure prominently in the tie-breaking picture. The Terps hold a better record against the Yellow Jackets than does Duke. But Duke has performed better in head-to-head competition against both Wake Forest and Clemson. You can see my earlier post on this if you'd like. Or you can skip the whole thing. I won't mind.
What it all likely means is that if you want to "scout" Maryland's opening ACC tournament opponent you'll probably want to watch the 7-vs.-10 game on the tournament's opening Thursday.
Opening Round: Thursday, March 11
#8 Seed vs. #9 Seed Noon RAYCOM
#5 Seed vs. #12 Seed 2 p.m. RAYCOM
#7 Seed vs. #10 Seed 7 p.m. ESPN2
#6 Seed vs. #11 Seed 9 p.m. RAYCOM
-----------------------------
Quarterfinals: Friday, March 12
#1 Seed vs. #8/#9 Winner Noon RAYCOM/ESPN2
#4 Seed vs. #5/#12 Winner 2 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN2
#2 Seed vs. #7/#10 Winner 7 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN2
#3 Seed vs. #6/#11 Winner 9 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN2
----------------------------
Semifinals: Saturday, March 13
Semifinal 1 1:30 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN
Semifinal 2 3:30 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN
----------------------------
Championship Game: Sunday, March 14
Championship Game 1 p.m. RAYCOM/ESPN
With the Terps (11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) one game behind Duke, there is a possibility that the teams, which meet Wednesday night, could tie atop the regular-season standings. Each team has one game remaining after Wednesday.
The first tie-breaker to determine the top ACC tournament seed would be head-to-head meetings. A Maryland win on Wednesday would mean the teams split their series.
The next tie-breaker would be each team’s winning percentage against the team occupying the next highest position in the standings. Virginia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest and Florida State are tied for third at 8-6.
Duke has an advantage in the scenarios that matter. That's because the Blue Devils are 2-0 against Clemson while the Terps are 1-1. The Blue Devils are 1-0 against Florida State and the Terps are 2-0.
Duke and Maryland are both 1-0 against Virginia Tech. Duke is 1-0 against Wake Forest while Maryland is 0-1.
Maryland would have the advantage if Georgia Tech is involved. The Terps are 1-0 against the Yellow Jackets while Duke is 1-1. The problem for the Terps is that Georgia Tech, now 7-7, can't finish in third place by itself.
I asked Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski today on the ACC media conference call whether Maryland was a rivalry game.
Here is what he said in reply:
"I don't look at any of our games in the ACC as rivalry games. That would not be respectful of Virginia, N.C. State, Wake Forest (and others). We treat every game in the conference the same."
More from Coach K:
"We have ultimate respect for Maryland because I have ultimate respect for their coach and what he's done. Maryland is a great program. Their coach’s personality runs all the way through it in terms of toughness, in terms of competitiveness and the way they play. They are a reflection of their coach."
It didn't take an advanced marketing degree to figure out before the season that the Maryland-Duke game on Wednesday figured to be a hot ticket.
But have you checked out ticket prices lately in the open market? You practically need a trust fund in your name to afford lower-level seats.
It's a perfect storm:
*Two teams with winning streaks vying for the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
*Teams with plenty of history between them.
*Senior night, which means the final home game for Greivis Vasquez -- the animated one, the master of the shoulder shimmy -- who always attracts attention wherever he goes.
Not only are the Terps winning, it's the WAY they are winning. There was the Cliff Tucker buzzer beater, which looked like a shot straight of March Madness, except that it was still February. There was double overtime at Virginia Tech.
And there is the storyline of Maryland trying to break through against Duke after losing six in a row to the Blue Devils. You can debate whether this rivalry is still relevant. I would argue that it is. But rivalries thrive when there is balance, and this one -- face it -- has grown a bit lopsided the past few years.
I know Maryland has one more regular-season game (Virginia) before the postseason tournaments. But as far as I'm concerned, the postseason begins Wednesday night. It is now March, after all.
OK, it's time to start talking about Duke.
I'm sure Gary Williams will keep his players off-limits until Tuesday -- and maybe longer -- in advance of Wednesday's showdown at Comcast Center. But even if they didn't say it, I will. This is the biggest game between the two schools since Maryland beat the Blue Devils for the ACC tournament title in 2004.
The Terps clinched at least second with Saturday night's 104-100 overtime win against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Now 11-3, Maryland will face a Blue Devil team that beat the Terps by 21 in Durham on Feb. 13. Duke will likely be 12-2 after playing a fading Virginia team in Charlottesville on Sunday night; a win for the Cavaliers will put Duke and Maryland into a dead heat.
Given the fact that it will be Senior Night for Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne, there's going to be a lot of emotion for the Terps to handle. But I'm sure Comcast Center will be crazier than it was for Clemson, Georgia Tech and every other game this season -- maybe combined.
Even getting a share of an ACC title would be huge for the Terps in terms of their seeding in the NCAA tournament. While I am of the belief that the rivalry with the Blue Devils has definitely cooled as Duke put together a six-game winning streak that included the 41-point demolition last year and this year's defeat, a victory Wednesday night will start to revive it.
It could set up a similar scenario to 2004 in Greensboro, the site of this year's ACC tournament.
There is something about this year's Maryland team that even Gary Williams hasn't seen before.
Or, at least, not in about eight years.
Get my drift?
I'm not saying that the Terps are going to win another national championship, or even an ACC championship, but the resolve of this year's team over the past few weeks has been intriguing to watch.
Saturday night's 104-100 win over Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum marked the fourth time the Terps have come from behind during their five-game winning streak, the second time on the road. It wasn't the 12-point deficit they faced at North Carolina State, but Maryland was down eight in the second half against a much better team than the Wolfpack.
Of course you can say Greivis Vasquez carried Maryland with a career-high 41 points that put him at No. 3, behind only Juan Dixon and Len Bias, on UM's all-time scoring list. But Vasquez's final points came early in the second overtime. After that it was Sean Mosley and Eric Hayes hitting big free throws.
Lost in the transition game that saw 164 shots from the field taken and made, was the toughness of Maryland's interior defense. Jordan Williams had only nine points, but he had a career-best 15 rebounds. Dino Gregory gave the Terps some tough minutes when Landon Milbourne got into foul trouble and eventually fouled out.
Another big stat: the Terps had only 11 turnovers in the game, and just two in the second half. It helped that the Hokies didn't press, but Maryland gave itself scoring chances nearly every time it had the ball. Vasquez had only two turnovers playing 48 of the 50 minutes. Eric Hayes had 10 assists and two turnovers in 40 minutes.
What the Terps also did better than nearly every team in the ACC this season was limit Malcolm Delaney's trips to the free throw line, especially in the first half. The former Towson Catholic star eventually got there 10 times, making eight, but his only misses with 39.5 seconds left in the second overtime let the Terps escape.
It sets up a huge showdown with Duke going into Wednesday's game at Comcast Center. I'll write about that more Sunday, but it's probably the most important regular-season meeting between the two teams in awhile. Maybe eight years ago, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Certainly the Terps won't.
Greivis Vasquez had 41 points -- the most since Joe Smith scored 40 at Duke in 1995 -- and carried Maryland for most of its 104-100 double OT win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. But give credit to Maryland's other guards -- Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley -- for hitting some big free throws down the stretch and to the Maryland defense for not allowing Malcolm Delaney take over.
Nice scene at the end of the game, with Mosley (St. Frances) and old rival Delaney (Towson Catholic) hugging. After Delaney missed a couple of critical free throws with 39.5 seconds left in double OT, another Baltimore friend, Dino Gregory (Mount St. Joseph), gave his friend some words of encouragement. Class act.
The win clinches at least second place for Maryland in ACC and the Terps will have a chance of at least sharing first if they beat Duke on Wednesday night at Comcast Center.
I'm going back to the locker room to get some quotes for tomorrow's story, but will get some up on the web as soon as I can.
Considering the three-hour delay, the Terps started off pretty well. Sean Mosley hit his first three shots, eight different players scored, Maryland did a good job of slowing down Malcolm Delaney, and a 23-19 lead resulted.
But the Hokies finished the half on an 18-8 run, Delaney's rebound follow dunk giving them a 37-31 lead going into their locker room. Neither team shot well -- Maryland was 13 of 35, including 2-for-10 for Greivis Vasquez and Jordan Williams, and Virginia Tech 15 of 40.
The teams combined to make 2 of 15 3-pointers.
The difference was the second-chance points for the Hokies, 14-6 in Virginia Tech's favor.
Maryland's doing a great job on Delaney, with Eric Hayes, Cliff Tucker and Vasquez taking turns at the ACC's leading scorer. But Delaney is doing just as good a job finding his teammates and the Terps have to keep Jeff Allen (10 points) off the boards and not give Dorenzo Hudson (10) so many open looks.
Mosley was slowed down by a neck injury in the first half and we'll keep an eye on that as the second half unfolds.
In 30 years plus of covering college basketball, I've had the start of games delayed a handful of times. Usually they were for only a few minutes, and then for reasons that seemed to make sense. Flickering lights or faulty time clocks, maybe a late-arriving team or a ref in bad weather.
But a beer truck running over a hydrant and rupturing a water main running into Cassell Coliseum?
I arrived here for what was supposed to be a 4 p.m. tip between Maryland and Virginia Tech about 15 minutes after it was announced that the game will now start at 7 p.m. The game was supposed to be televised on Raycom in the Baltimore-Washington area, and it's now up to local affiliates to decide whether to change its programming.
I will put a call into WNUV to see what its plans are and will post the response when I get it.
Update: Click here for the story.
Photo of the beer truck that hit the hydrant that broke the water main at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum.
The Terps were supposed to leave Friday afternoon by airplane for Roanoke, then bus down to Blacksburg.
Maryland sports information director Doug Dull said that heavy winds at BWI had delayed the women's team from getting back from Boston College Friday until mid-afternoon, so he wasn't sure if the men's team would have to alter its plans later in the day.
I flew into Roanoke on a windy fall day years ago and I have driven there ever since. I will again Saturday morning.
Here's what I expect to see at Cassell Coliseum:
• A very hungry, bordering on desperate, Virginia Tech team. Coming off two straight road defeats, most recently a 20-point loss at Boston College on Wednesday night, the Hokies need to pile up wins to counter a weak non-conference schedule. While Cassell Coliseum doesn't have the same feel as Cameron Indoor Stadium, it's still an old-style gym that can get pretty loud.
• Greivis Vasquez wanting to make up for what happened there two years ago. At the end of a tight game in which Maryland seemed to get control, Vasquez and the Terps imploded in the last couple of minutes. The Hokies closed the game on a 6-0 run to win 67-66 and Vasquez took a horrendous 3 -- even by his standards -- at the end of the game when he should have looked to drive the ball inside.
• The bench could be the difference. Right now, Maryland might have the deepest bench in the ACC. Gary Williams said it's probably his most experienced bench ever -- led by a trio of juniors. Cliff Tucker is still riding the high from last week's game-winner against Georgia Tech, Dino Gregory is one of the most improved players in the league and Adrian Bowie, depending on the game, can be explosive. Bowie had a pretty good game down there as a freshman playing for an injured Eric Hayes.
• Speaking of Hayes, the senior guard has taken over the lead as the ACC's top 3-point shooter. Hayes has hit six of his last nine 3s, and except for an 0-for-5 game when he was sick against N.C. State, he has made 11 of his last 18. Hayes has been overshadowed by Vasquez, and even by freshman Jordan Williams, but he's been one of the team's unsung heroes throughout the year.
I will continue as your Terps tour guide in Jeff's absence once I get to Blacksburg -- can't wait for that 5-hour trek down I-81 -- but in the meantime, you can check out a couple of stories previewing the game that will appear Saturday on baltimoresun.com. One of them is on Baltimore product Malcolm Delaney, now the star of the Hokies.
I just had to quickly weigh in on this one. A Maryland-Duke rivalry? Of course there is a Maryland-Duke rivalry. You think the Cameron Crazies would waste their time chanting "Not our rivals" at the Terps if they didn't care? If there wasn't that Duke-Maryland history, the Crazies would have done something else with their time -- like studying.
Terps-Blue Devils possesses all the necessary ingredients -- heroes and villains, frequent meetings and, most of all, plenty of history.
I spent some time with Steve Blake a few years ago and was struck at how -- years later -- a particular Duke loss was still imprinted on his soul.
Blake labeled the 2001 Final Four loss to Duke -- the Terps blew a 22-point-lead -- as perhaps the most trying of his career. "That was something I didn't forget for a long time," Blake said.
Don Markus will be your tour guide for this weekend's Virginia Tech game and I will rejoin you all for -- what else? -- the Duke game and all that leads up to it.
I'll just bet Maryland coaches are not happy that Virginia Tech went up to Boston College on Wednesday night and lost by 20. If you're Maryland, you don't want a good team like the Hokies to be any more motivated than they already are.
Virginia Tech had won five games in a row before dropping its last two to Duke and Boston College, both on the road. Now the Hokies, who host the Terps on Saturday afternoon, return home with something to prove.
Maryland faced a similar situation when it encountered Clemson in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 31. The Tigers had just lost three in a row and had to face the home fans after losing by 14 at Boston College. Clemson worked harder in that Maryland game than any team I've seen all year.
I'm not saying the Terps can't win -- only that Saturday's contest poses a stern test. The Hokies have the conference scoring leader in Malcolm Delaney and are tied for the lead (with Duke) in turnover margin.
And speaking of motivation ...
I know you're supposed to take 'em "a game at a time." If I were a coach, they would drum me out of their little club for peering two games into the future. But I can't help but contemplate next week's Duke game. I keep thinking how badly Greivis Vasquez -- who is a sentimental guy -- wants to win his last game at Comcast Center. And then I think how much Vasquez relishes playing Duke and how the Terps have now lost six straight to the Blue Devils. You think Vasquez and the other two seniors want their last memory of the building to be getting bounced again by Duke? Now there's some motivation for you ...
*Sean Mosley refused to say he had been in a slump. But he did say he had noticed that teams had begun paying more attention to his outside shot since his hot shooting early in the season.
"My shot wasn’t falling (earlier)," Mosley said. "Not a slump, I just had off games. I’m over that now."
*Greivis Vasquez said he had a mild stomach ailment. "I've got a little something," he said. Vasquez shot 5-for-13 but had 13 assists. He and Jordan Williams really seem to have developed some chemistry.
Vasquez said he lives for close games like the past two for the Terps. "I came back (to Maryland) for a reason. I'm hungry," the senior said.
Vasquez moved into fourth place on Maryland's career scoring list, passing John Lucas and Adrian Branch.
*Maryland fans chanted "We want Duke" at the end in reference to next week's final home game .
*The Terps recorded assists on 20 of 32 field goals. That's testament to how well they moved the ball..
Terps came back from 15 points down to beat the Tigers.
Some notes:
*Greivis Vasquez had only two points in the first half but 13 after that. "He wasn’t feeling well," Gary Williams said. "He took some stomach medicine. He turned it around the second half for us."
*Gary Williams comments on the win:"It was a good test. Not that you want to be in that situation against a good team like Clemson."
*Sean Mosley had not scored in double figures in seven games in a row before this one (20 points). He took open shots early and made them -- and he renewed his confidence.
The last time Maryland played Clemson, the Tigers were reeling. They had lost three in a row and were playing without injured guard Demontez Stitt.
It's a different Clemson team tonight. Stitt has settled them down and Trevor Booker, who was battliing flu-like symptoms the last time, is much more in control tonight. The Tigers have won three in a row.
Booker has 11 points and eight rebounds. Guard David Potter also has 11.
Clemson leads 48-39 at the half.
You just know Greivis Vasquez (only two points but eight assists) will try to assert himself more in the second half.
Here's why Maryland will fare better tonight against Clemson than in the teams' previous game -- because the Terps couldn't do much worse.
The matchup at Clemson was one of the choppiest games I've ever seen. It was an ugfest.
It was a game in which the Terps had some early success breaking Clemson's press and getting two-on-one and three-on-two fast breaks. The Terps apparently thought they could continue to do this all game long. Consequently, they continued to push the ball up court -- often unwisely -- and rushed shots and seemed to get out of their comfort zone. It's as if the prospect of fast-break baskets was just too tempting. Maryland needed to settle down.
I don't think the Terps will have the same problem tonight. Where Maryland can be hurt -- no surprise to Terps fans -- is on the offensive boards. Trevor Booker was coming off an illness in the last meeting and still managed 16 rebounds. He also shot 2-for-16. You'd think he'd shoot better tonight, but you'd think Maryland -- 34.6 percent the last time -- will too.
"We should be ranked," Gary Williams said today of Maryland missing the AP top 25. I guess coaches do pay attention to that stuff.
"I look at them," Williams said of the polls. "I vote in the USA Today coaches poll."
The Terps (19-7, 9-3 ACC) are listed third in the "also receiving votes" category of the AP rankings.
Williams said voters make judgments about teams and tend to stick by them. "Opinions are formed. It's tough to break opinions," the coach said. "Hopefully we'll get in there if we win enough games."
Williams also offered a progress report on freshman forward James Padgett, who played just four minutes against Georgia Tech and two against N.C. State.
"I’d like to see James (play) but we have to win games this time of year," said the coach, not ruling out that Padgett could see more minutes the rest of the year.
" He knows what he has to work on this spring and summer. He’s got the frame to go 10-15 pounds more in a hurry of muscle, so I’m looking forward to that."
*Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez has been named ACC Player of the Week -- again. It's the third time this season for the senior.
*Terps miss out again on AP's top 25 rankings, although they are third in "also receiving votes." It was that Duke road loss, wasn't it, that kept Maryland out? Duke, now No. 5, is undefeated at home, so the Terps are in good company.
*Terps host Clemson on Wednesday night. The Tigers are 7-5 in the ACC, two games behind Maryland.
The Terps are in second place by themselves. Remember that four teams receive first-round byes in the ACC tournament. Since these tournaments are partly about stamina, it would be big for Maryland to avoid playing an opening-round game.
*Here's a quick look back at those frantic, final seconds of the 76-74 Georgia Tech victory.
Some of you have debated whether it was the right call for Maryland to use a timeout after Georgia Tech took a 74-73 lead with three seconds left.
Usually in those situations, a timeout is the prudent call once the ball has been inbounded. The exception is if you are able to catch the defense before it can get into position. But that takes time. In this case, time was working against the Terps -- there wasn't enough of it to work the ball down the court. So that left Maryland with a desperation shot -- not usually a high-percentage shot, although Greivis Vasquez made it appear otherwise.
Several Terps players said afterward that assistant coach Keith Booth called the timeout -- a point that Maryland hasn't disputed. If Booth did call a timeout, it was not a demonstrative one. After Vasquez's nullified basket, Maryland's basketball staff asked one of the officials exactly who on the Terps sideline had called for the timeout. I'm told that the official responded that it was the "bench." I've made a request to talk to Booth but have not yet heard back.
My Maryland-Georgia Tech game story is filed and should be up soon. In it, Cliff Tucker said he assumed -- as nearly everyone else did -- that the final play would go to Greivis Vasquez.
“Eighty, 90 percent of the time it’s going to go to Greivis,” Tucker said.
But Gary Williams figured Vasquez would be double-teamed. In fact, Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said he had told guard D’Andre Bell: “Don’t let him (Vasquez) touch the ball. ’ ”
So Williams called the play for Tucker, who said later that he hadn’t converted a game-winner since his AAU days.
Tucker said Maryland originally wanted to try to a lob pass to him underneath the basket but figured it would be too long a heave for Eric Hayes, who was inbounding the ball at midcourt.
Tucker instead collected Hayes’ pass from near the corner, behind the 3-point arc, and fired in the game-winner.
*Terps players say it was assistant coach Keith Booth who called timeout in the final seconds before Greivis Vasquez's shot to try to beat the buzzer. The timeout nullified Vasquez's basket. But the Terps won the game anyway on Cliff Tucker's shot moments later.
*Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said he initially thought Vasquez's shot would have come after the buzzer but then saw video showing otherwise.
*Cliff Tucker said the play originally was going to be a lob pass to him. But Maryland improvised because the pass seemed too far for a lob play. So Tucker used a back screen from Vasquez to set up for the game-winning corner jumper.
How many buzzer beaters does it take to win a game?
In Maryland's case, two.
One came from Greivis Vasquez with the Terps trailing 74-73. But Maryland had called timeout before Vasquez banked in his shot.
After the timeout, it was Cliff Tucker's turn for a game-winning 3 -- and this one counted.
The last play was "based on the fact that they would probably double-team" Vasquez, Gary Williams said. Tucker curled around a pick and took an overhead pass from Eric Hayes and made the corner 3 for a 76-74 Terps win.
Maryland leads Georgia Tech, 34-32, at halftime.
This is a dangerous game for the Terps because of Georgia Tech's ability to get second shots. George Tech is only shooting 35.3 percent. But second shots can erase a lot of mistakes. Maryland can work hard defensively, get an initial stop and still surrender a hoop.
Georgia Tech has 10 offensive rebounds.
Stats highlights:
Greivis Vasquez is 3-for-10 and has 10 points.
Eric Hayes has eight poiints and Dino Gregory seven.
Tech led by Derrick Favors with 11 points.
Greivis Vasquez just became Maryland’s sixth player to reach 2,000 points. He did it with a catch-and-shoot 3-pointer.
Vasquez has seven of Maryland's 13 points.
A bad early sign for the Terps is that Ga. Tech has 16 rebounds to Maryland's nine and is getting plenty of second shots.
Terps lead Georgia Tech 13-11.
Eight Isn't Enough
After beating N.C. State for the seventh straight time, the Terps will be facing Georgia Tech, which Maryland has not lost to since the 2003-2004 season -- a stretch of eight straight wins.
Gary Williams downplays the winning streak, saying that last year's wins featured the outside shooting of Dave Neal and that this year's Tech team has more backcourt depth.
But Williams did point out that losing streaks to another school are usually thrown in a coach's face rather than winning streaks.
He wasn't talking about Duke, was he?
Hayes on the mend
There was a reason for senior guard Eric Hayes being held scoreless for the first time all season Wednesday night against N.C. State.
Hayes said that he started feeling ill even before the Virginia game Monday night, when he had 10 points and nine assists in 25 minutes. But he said that what started out as a bad sore throat worsened Tuesday.
"I was feeling a lot better, my throat was killing me and it was tough for me to breath," Hayes said. "I got tired really quickly."
He wound up playing 28 minutes, getting five assists and four rebounds but missing all five shots he tried. Hayes said that the the Terps got a "big lift from" Adrian Bowie, who hit two big 3-pointers, in a comeback from a 12-point deficit.
"It was huge," Hayes said Friday. "Other guys stepped up as well. It was one of those games where you don't want to lose that type of game. It would have been a killer for us if we did lose that."
Stepping up the competition
Saturday's game starts a rugged end to the regular season for the Terps. Maryland is done with the bottom of the ACC for awhile and now will play the middle and top.
After facing Georgia Tech, which is currently a half-game behind sixth-place Clemson, the Terps play the Tigers in College Park, followed by second-place Virginia Tech in Blacksburg next Saturday and first-place Duke at Comcast Center. Maryland closes the season at Virginia, where the Terps have traditionally struggled.
The recent play of Maryland and Greivis Vasquez in particular -- is there a point guard in the country playing any better than No. 21 at the moment? -- has overshadowed the prolonged shooting slump of Sean Mosley.
After starting out the season shooting ridiculously well in his first eight games, making 45 of his first 70 field goal attempts and going 11 of 14 against Villanova, the sophomore from Baltimore (St. Frances) has fallen off badly.
Since hitting all eight of his attempts against lowly Longwood last month, Mosley has gone 15 of 45 in the last eight games, including 0-fors against both Florida State and, more recently, against Virginia.
Mosley's reaction?
"It just comes with playing the game of basketball," Mosley said during Friday's media availability at Comcast Center. "Every shot you take you're not going to make. When you're going through a stretch like I'm going through right now, it's kind of tough. But you've got to keep shooting. The only thing I can do is keep shooting until I make 'em."
Mosley said he took extra shooting on Thursday, even though it was supposed to be a rare day of rest for a team that's about to play its fourth game in eight days. He also watches tape of the games, but sees nothing out of sorts about his mechanics. It's not physical or mental, just basketball.
Gary Williams sticks with Mosley in the three-guard lineup because of the other things he adds: on a night when he missed five of eight against Wake Forest in an overtime loss, Mosley got a career-high 13 rebounds. Against N.C. State the other night, Mosley hit his first shot and then missed the other five. But he had two blocks and helped in his team's comeback.
"I try to help the team out anyway I can," Mosley said. "I try to get every loose ball, try to be there to help my teammates out. Things like that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. But I definitely think I do a great job on the defensive end."
Mosley struggled last season as a freshman with his shot, finishing at only 37 percent. He worked over the summer and seemed to have found the same touch he had in high school when he finished as the second-leading scorer in state history. Even now, it doesn't feel any different than it did back in November and December.
"It feels like every time I shoot the ball it's going in, but it don't," he said.
Mosley takes solace in the fact that even the world's best players have similar stretches.
"At the end of the day, Kobe don't make all the shots," Mosley said. "Kobe has some off nights, so I guess I can have some off nights."
Gary Williams doesn't seem too concerned.
"I've told him, 'Don't judge how you play on how you shoot the basketball,'" the Maryland coach said Friday. "That's true for everybody. There are so many more things to the game than that. It's nice if you have a guy who can make a lot of shots. I want Sean to feel that way. As long as he generates those other things, he's going to get his playing time."
Maryland has been a pretty good frontrunner in the ACC this season, building big leads and turning them into double-digit victories. What the Terps did Wednesday night against North Carolina State was something they hadn't done all season: come back from a double-digit deficit and win.
Until Wednesday night's 67-58 win at RBC Center -- a game Maryland trailed by 10 at halftime and by 12 early in the second half -- the biggest deficit for the Terps the entire season in a game they wound up winning was by seven at Indiana in early December. While neither the Wolfpack or the Hoosiers are very good teams, it still takes a lot to come back on the road.
Here are three reasons why Maryland came back:
• After shooting 11-for-33 in the first half, and looking out of control doing it, the Terps were 14-for-25 in the second half. They went 4-for-8 on 3-pointers -- including two huge 3s by Adrian Bowie -- and forced the Wolfpack into a 7-for-30 shooting half.
• Despite playing for the third time in five days, the Terps forced the tempo by pressing the Wolfpack. They only forced seven turnovers in the second half, but several led to easy baskets and they generally turned the Pack into panic mode.
• Unlike last year, when Maryland got very little inside, the development of freshman Jordan Williams gives Maryland a legitimate inside presence. Dino Gregory is also helping in that area, but Williams could be one of the keys in March.
The Terps are down 37-25 and it probably could've been worse if the Wolfpack was any better.
Maryland seemed to lose its legs midway through the half as N.C. State went on a 9-0 run to open a 24-17 lead. Sean Mosley, who's been in a horrendous shooting slump, hit his first shot and then missed his next four. Maryland shot 11 of 33 in the first half.
One stat that stood out was Grevis Vasquez's assist-to-turnover line: three assists, four turnovers. After getting 30 points and eight assists -- with zero turnovers -- in Monday night's rout of Virginia, Vasquez looks like he's not moving as well. He started off well, as did the Terps, but seemed to be out of sync for much of the half.
The Terps are doing a good job limiting Tracy Smith's touches, just as they did last month at Comcast Center. But they are not getting bodies on North Carolina State's other bigs, and the Wolfpack have several early tips and drives down the middle to stay close. Maryland's also doing a good job running its halfcourt offense.
Of course, just as I'm writing this, Greivis Vasquez lost the ball in traffic, Adrian Bowie was out of control on a drive and Cliff Tucker shot an off-balance 10-footer.
It's 17-17 with 9:29 left in the first half, but both teams have gone cold.
I'll have more at halftime.
If you look at the box score you'll see that N.C. State forward Tracy Smith scored 18 points in the Wolfpack's 88-64 loss to the Terps at Comcast Center last month. But that's a deceptive number.
Smith had only six in a first half in which Maryland built a solid lead. By my tally, he didn't attempt his second shot of the game until 3:30 remained in the first half. By then, the game was just about out of hand.
So I'd look for the Terps to again double Smith whenever feasible in tonight's rematch in Raleigh. He is their ace. He tops the ACC in field goal percentage (.549) and is a consistent scorer.
Other notes:
--N.C. State has lost four games in a row. The Wolfpack’s biggest win was an 88-74 home victory over Duke on Jan. 20.
--The Terps have beaten the Wolfpack six straight times.
--Maryland will be playing its third game in five days.
Remember when Gary Williams told fans as preseason practice opened that he hoped the Terps could go undefeated at Comcast Center?
He could end up close to that goal. The Terps lost to William & Mary but have won every other Comcast Center game and are 5-0 at home in conference play.
Here's a pretty good formula: be competitive on the road (Terps are 2-3 in the league) and win 'em all on your home court.
Of course, Duke, Clemson and Georgia Tech have yet to come to Comcast Center. I'm looking forward to those games.
Maryland comes out much stronger in the first half at Comcast Center than it did last season. That makes the opposition have to immediately climb uphill in unfamiliar surroundings against not only the Terps but also the fans.
Listen to Virginia coach Tony Bennett and you'll sense a theme of his team being outworked. That's what the Terps do to you, particularly at home.
Bennett: "From a defensive standpoint, to get beat in transition like that and have our starters give up offensive rebounds, to not play team help-oriented defense -- those are the things we work on a lot and those things were really exposed and lacking."
ON THE SHORT TURNAROUND:
"I wasn’t sure how we’d be mentally or physically because of the short turnaround." But he said Maryland came out quickly. "And now we have to do it again."
ON GREIVIS VASQUEZ, WHO HAD 30 POINTS.
"I’m not big on individual performances usually but what he did tonight was exceptional. It wasn’t easy to get ready to play this game."
ON COMING BACK FROM DUKE LOSS
"We had to regain our confidence quickly and we did.'
Maryland leads Virginia 52-34 at the half.
Seems like the Terps couldn't wait to play another game and vanquish the memory of Duke.
Among the big differences between this year's team and last year's edition is that this one has a tendency to start quickly -- particularly at home.
Terps led, of course, by Greivis Vasquez. He's 10-for-13 and has 25 points, five assists and four rebounds.
His career high? It's 35, against North Carolina last season.
The folks at ESPN360 contacted me to make certain I knew it had exclusive rights to broadcast tonight's game. So, for those of you watching them online, I'd be interested in hearing your opinion. Could you get the broadcast smoothly? I can get ESPN360 pretty well on my newer desktop -- the alpha male of computers in my house -- but not so well on my capacity-challenged laptop.
--Maryland has won its previous four home games by 19 points, but I think tonight could be closer.
--Virginia enters first in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing 61.0 points per game.
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We've posted a story I wrote today on Juan Dixon, the former NBA player and Maryland's career scoring leader.
He tested positive overseas for Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid. He's still in Spain while, according to his wife, the urine sample is to be tested again.
"He is kind of in limbo," Robyn Dixon said. "He is still under contract with the team. Until the team said it is severing ties, he probably needs to stay over there."
She said the Dixons believe his positive steroid test resulted from an over-the-counter supplement.
Dixon was in training camp with the Atlanta Hawks but did not make the team. He played initially in Greece -- where the test was administered -- and then in Spain, where he now stays in the city of Malaga.
Said his wife: "He definitely was not ready to go over there as far as his career, but he was appreciative of the opportunity and thought if he still can play his game he might have an opportunity to play in the NBA again."
My game story will be posted soon. In the meantime, here are some quotes:
Gary Williams blamed the loss partly on "our not being able to run our offense, not being in synch. You cant do that here."
Said Williams: "We didn’t play well enough. In the second half we were a little more competitive. We played harder."
More Williams: "We've been doing a great job starting games up until today."
Note: Maryland was down 40-24 at the half. Last season, the Terps trailed 40-15 against the Blue Devils here at the half.
Duke's defense came out high to defend Greivis Vasquez and the other guards. The defense seemed t
