An ugly night in Winston-Salem
If you watched the first half of Maryland's 74-55 win over Wake Forest last night, you could be forgiven for thinking you were watching possibly the worst game in the history of college basketball.
The Deamon Deacons are a terrible team. They ended up with 18 turnovers, 11 in the first half. In the first 15 minutes of the game, they took so many horrible shots and looked so awkward and out of sync driving to the basket that it was embarrassing.
Maryland played down to Wake's level during that stretch, but that was mainly because the Terps had trouble getting their sophomore big man, Jordan Williams, any touches down low. (He was 1-for-5 from the field in the first half and finished with 13 points.)
As the TV announcers, Raycom Sports' Mike Hogewood and Mike Gminski, kept pointing out, it was quiet in Joel Coliseum. And no wonder. Tie-Dyed Nation was probably mortified at the utter ineptness it was seeing.
Things improved only slightly for the Deacs in the second half. But the Terps, who still seemed fatigued from their emotional 71-64 loss to Duke Sunday, got on a 15-0 run midway through the period and were never threatened after that.
Cliff Tucker had a sensational game for Maryland, 21 points off the bench, and it'll be a shame if Gary Williams doesn't start the senior swingman when the Terps play Villanova Saturday.
Williams loves the lift Tucker gives his team off the bench. But Tucker has made no secret of his desire to start and it would be hard to keep him in a reserve role after his performance against Wake.
As bad as the basketball was, the commercials were worse.
How many times can you watch that stupid "Sink One, Score a Million" promotion for Pepsi products at Food Lion before you go out of your mind?
They must have run that commercial 20 times last night: the bouncing basketball hitting the house, the look of concern on the faces of the family members, the dopey neighbor trying long-distance trick shots that end up in the bushes, etc.
It made for a long, long evening.
Comments
Bob Goldwater can take his Tardive Dyskinesia commercials and shove it as well. Almost as irritating as this old-school Saiontz and Kirk commercial that was replayed over and over again in the '90s:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh21mQNNHec
Posted by: Jay | January 13, 2011 12:21 PM
Hey Mr. Toys .. A win is a win is a win!! After playing superb against Duke and LOSING, it was nice to win ugly
Posted by: steveinboston | January 13, 2011 12:30 PM
I've got to disagree with you on Tucker. He's been great off the bench, no doubt, but seems to lose his incentive when he starts. Also, it leaves the Terps without a true PG - Bowie has really struggled in that role. I like Howard to start over Stoglin, who is struggling mightily with his offense right now, but look for the Terps to continue to use Tucker for a spark off the pine.
Posted by: Dave | January 13, 2011 12:44 PM
Sorry you had a horrible experience watching the game, Kev. I really enjoy any road win in the ACC. I don't care if the Terps play all horrible teams. A win is a win in the ACC. And to put a 19 point beat down on Wake just makes it sweeter. I remember when the Terps had their double dose of Final 4's a few years back, and MD fans complained that the games weren't good cause the Terps were beating UNC and others by double digits. Yep, with some folks, It's always something.
Posted by: AJ | January 13, 2011 1:18 PM
Can anyone teach Md. to shoot foul shoots
Posted by: Anonymous | January 13, 2011 7:04 PM
The only thing worse than the Pepsi/Food Lion commercials is Kevin Cowherd's columns. Help us!!!!!!
Posted by: SmittyATL | January 13, 2011 10:24 PM
I thought it was fine game. Yea it was a little sloppy in the beginning, but the Terps dominated them. They made a good run in the second have and we shut 'em down. Lots of positives... Williams did much better from the free throw line, Tucker is back, Gregory is looking better and better every game. Stoglin is going through a funk but he's a freshman and will snap out of it.
Posted by: Paul | January 14, 2011 10:12 AM
Kevin -
We may be bad, but you could at least get our name right. It's "Demon" not "Deamon" Deacons.
Thank you.
-A Long Suffering WFU Alum
P.S. Have a chance to see the Deacs at "College" Park but I can't endure the suffering. I'm sure UMD will be once again pounding their chests over another win over a cellar-dweller.
Posted by: Crawfish | February 1, 2011 4:06 PM