Maryland Basketball: There's A West Carolina?

Western Carolina Catamounts (5-5) at
#21/17 Maryland Terrapins (5-2)
Comcast Center - College Park, MD

It may not have been as high scoring as anticipated, but the Terps predictably stunk the Phone Booth up on Monday. 25 turnovers. Even for Maryland in the BB&T Classic, that is abysmal. The Terps have had enough problems turning the ball over against zone defenses. Against GW, they faced pressure defense followed by man-to-man. And they still turned it over. Gary is going to have to deal with some major problems before the Boston College game this weekend.

The main problem is Nik Caner-Medley. This guy is terrible. Ever since suffering that ankle injury against Michigan State in the NCAA tournament his freshman year, he hasn’t been nearly the same player. He is all hype. Sure he can put more than 20 a game on Chaminade and Nicholls State. But 10 points and three rebounds against George Washington in 37 minutes is unacceptable. So are 3 points and 4 rebounds against Gonzaga in 34 minutes and 5 points and four rebounds in 38 minutes against Arkansas. It is time to put him on the bench. Start a three guard lineup of Strawberry, Jones and McCray, along with Garrison and Ibekwe in the frontcourt. Or two guards with Garrison Ibekwe and Gist in the frontcourt. Either way, it will force Caner-Medley to earn his playing time with production. If he doesn’t produce, then he sits on the bench.

So now a gimme game against Western Carolina. I’m looking on the U.S. map and I can’t seem to locate this state. I do know the university is located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, which isn’t far from Ashville if my geography is correct. They play in the Southern Conference with better known teams like Davidson and College of Charleston. Their record is 5-5, but most of those wins have come against non D-1 teams. Larry Hunter is in his first season as their head coach. If the name sounds familiar it should. Hunter was on Herb Sendek’s staff at N.C. State the last four seasons. I don't know if that's good or bad news for the Catamounts. WCU is one of the smallest team in division one. Only center David Berghoefer is taller than 6-5. They do play nine guys, but the talent level is clearly inferior to teams like Maryland.

Look for the traditional slow start from Maryland. But the Terps will win this one big anyway. So I’ll save most of my real analysis for the game on Sunday against Boston College.

Maryland 92
Western Carolina 55