Maryland Basketball: Buzzing It Short

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13-5, 2-3 ACC) at
Maryland Terrapins (15-5, 1-4 ACC)
Comcast Center - College Park, MD

We’ll keep it short tonight. I’ve been busy at work, trying to fix my car, and I have tickets to the game tonight. So I don’t have a lot of time to discuss a big game for the Terps tonight.

Here’s what I’ll say. Maryland looked very good in the second half in the game against Virginia Tech. At least they looked good when I was watching them. The Colts and Patriots game had my full attention, but I was trying to keep an eye out on the Terps. Moral victories aside, losses are losses. I’m tired of them. A few years ago, there were no moral victories. They either won or they lost. I hate this moral victory crap. That’s the sign of a losing team and losing fanbase.

Maryland has run out of chances for close losses. The Terps need to win, and win now. This is must win game against Tech. With two more on the road after this, a loss here would basically bury Maryland in the conference. The Terps can only afford five more losses (one being in the conference tournament), and this can’t be one of them.

I do owe a tip of the cap to Ekene Ibekwe. I had been dogging his play since the beginning of December, and he’s really been stepping up the last few games. It’s still no reason to hide Bamble Osby on the bench game after game, but it’s at least a reason to keep Ekene on the court. But I think we can all agree now, after two terrible games, it’s time to give much less playing time to Greivis Vasquez and much more to Eric Hayes. All Hayes does is makes plays, run the offense efficiently and hit big shots from time to time. What’s not to like? Is he a loud, obnoxious, chest-beater, “notice me, notice me”, player like Vasquez? No. He gets things done, and then actually gets down the court quickly enough to play defense. I know, a novel concept.

Georgia Tech, after a rocky start, seems to be getting it’s legs - or wings, or thorax or whatever bees have - under them. They have a nice rotation, and the young players are playing much better than the veterans. So much so, that senior Mario West has been buried in the depth chart and is only getting 18.6 mpg. Junior Anthony Morrow is under 17 mpg. Heck, even Ra’Sean Dickey, arguably Tech’s best player the last two seasons, has seen his minutes decrease. Freshmen Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young see more playing time than anyone else on the team. And while Young has certainly earned his time on the court, averaging 15 and 5 a game, Crittenton has made more than his fair share of mistakes. He averages four turnovers a game, and every time I watch him, he seems to be making more than that.

Other than the odd decision to give Crittenton almost 30 minutes a game, the Jackets seem to have a nice rotation and Paul Hewitt is doing another phenomenal job getting everyone on the court. Dickey, Morrow, West and Jeremis Smith still play key roles on this team, and they are all meshing well with the freshmen, so this will be a very tough test for a Maryland team that may or may not show up depending on the position of the moon in the sky. Eh, hopefully me being at the game is worth a six or seven point swing.

Maryland 81
Georgia Tech 77

Elsewhere around the ACC…

After I went 6-0 during the weekend, the record is up to 21-9. That’s much better.

WEDNESDAY
North Carolina at Wake Forest
Once the Tar Heels turn this into a track meet, the Deacons will have no chance. The only question is whether the Heels can break 100 on the road.
Pick: North Carolina 93, Wake Forest 73

Virginia at NC State
We all know that the Hoos can win at home. Now, if they want to be considered a top half ACC team, they have to go out and win on the road. Especially against a team that they are supposed to beat.
Pick: Virginia 75, NC State 67

THURSDAY
Clemson at Duke
Duke just doesn’t match up well against big physical teams. Just see their losses to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech as examples. I know I’m crazy to pick against Duke at home, particularly with the road team being named Clemson. But you know, I’m feeling the upset.
Pick: Clemson 72, Duke 68