Maryland Basketball: A Conference With No Buzz

Maryland Terrapins (13-8, 3-3) at
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-9, 3-3)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum - Atlanta, GA

For all those wondering, and I’m assuming that means all four of you, there will be no Super Bowl preview. I can’t stand either team. I can’t stand talking about either team. I’m sure that if you do frequent this page, then you’ve already seen ESPN’s non-stop coverage over the past two weeks (and in the Patriots case, the past four months) and there is nothing else I can add. The Giants are a flawed team that ran through a weak conference. The Patriots are a dirty franchise that don’t deserve to go 19-0 and get mentioned among the greats. I was about ready to let the whole Spygate thing go, but recent accounts has this cheating streak by New England going all the way back to 2000 and beyond. It’s incredible that they’ve been allowed to get away with this for almost a decade. The punishment handed down in September, which at the time seemed acceptable, now seems trivial when compared to the advantage the Patriots have received over the past eight seasons. So excuse me if I’m not excited about the game. For my personal record purposes, I have the Patriots winning 37-17. I think with all the hype the past two weeks, we’ve all forgotten how lousy the Giants really are when compared to the team they’re facing.

Anyway, to Maryland basketball. I don’t want to be the typical fan that analyzes Maryland’s chances to make the NCAA tournament after each and every game. To really believe that one win or one loss gets you in or out of the tournament is not the way a real fan should act. The overall body of work for Maryland is not good. They had a heck of a win over Carolina. They played well against Duke, save for the last ten minutes. The win against Virginia was nice too. Wins over Illinois, Charlotte and Holy Cross give them something to grasp on to in the out-of-conference action. But overall, the Terps are a 13-8 team, with a .500 conference record and losses to Ohio and American. The RPI of 80 is not bad, but it’s not good either. A win over Virginia is not going to change all the issues Maryland has on their resume. A win over Georgia Tech won’t do it. A win over Boston College next week won’t do it. If you want Maryland’s NCAA tournament chances to improve, then you’ll have to hope for a sustained run over the course of the next six weeks. And I’m not sure this team can do it.

Case in point: the game against UVA. The Terps get out of the gates red hot. Before Sean Singletary and his backup singers can settle in, they’re down double digits. The Terps couldn’t miss in the first eight minutes of the game. The problem is Maryland played inconsistently the rest of the way, and allowed Virginia to hang around in a game that should have been over by halftime. Some of those second half possessions were atrocious. At the ten minute mark of the second half, Maryland had a 12-point lead. So why in the world are Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes forcing shots 10 seconds into a possession? If you are up double digits in the second half, you better be eating up the shot clock. It was mind-blowing. That’s just some of the inconsistency I’m talking about. How can a team play so well for long stretches, then so poorly in the exact same game? Maryland possesses the talent to be better than 13-8, and they possess the ability to become the third team in the ACC to separate themselves from the pack. But it just seems like the team has mental lapses that prevent them from winning easily or winning at all.

However, like I’ve said all season, the Terps have one major thing working in their favor. This conference continues to be run by North Carolina, and the Heels are followed at a distance by the Dookies. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. Every other team already has at least five losses and at least three losses in conference. Virginia Tech currently sits in third place, and they have a profile that’s worse than Maryland’s. Clemson and Miami are each 15-5 and have the best overall record of the rest of the conference, but Miami is an ugly 2-4 in the ACC and Clemson is in typical Oliver Purnell-induced conference swoon mode. The rest of the conference teams aren’t even worth mentioning. Maryland could be in third place if things bounce right around the ACC today. That’s incredible considering all the problems the Terps have had. And I don’t care what any “expert” or bracketologist says, the ACC is going to get at least four teams in the NCAA tournament. So there have to be at least two teams out there that can step up.

The Terps have two very winnable ROAD games against Tech and Boston College, and then get NC State (the same Wolfpack that were vastly overrated in November) at home. One team that could step up could easily be Maryland if this recent run of good play becomes consistent. During Maryland’s 7-game win streak late last season, they played a tougher schedule than the schedule they’re staring at this year. They only thing standing in their way are themselves.

Tech, for their part, has the same conference record and same problems outside of the conference. With losses to Georgia, Winthrop and UNC-Greensboro, it will take a hefty run for the Jackets to make up enough ground by mid-March. But they, like Maryland, have been playing a lot better recently. They took the Heels to the brink at home before falling on a last second shot in overtime. They also own three straight conference wins, two of those coming on the road. The Jackets are deep, with nine players seeing over 15 minutes of playing time. They score 78 points a game, a number that’s even higher in conference play. Anthony Morrow has turned into the team’s go to guy, with 15 points a game and a nice three-point shooting percentage of 45%. Jeremis Smith adds 11 and 7 a game. Lewis Clinch has hit several big shots. Just like the Terps, this team has talent. They just need to find a way to stop tripping over themselves.

Maryland has won the last five against Tech, but they’ve traditionally played poorly at the Thriller Dome. The noon start helps Maryland because the crowd won’t be in to it, or even in the arena. But again, Maryland traditionally plays poorly and shoots worse in early afternoon games. I’ll give this one to the Terps because James Gist is finally playing like a man possessed, Boom Osby is coming around and Hayes seems to be close to 100% healthy.

Maryland 81
Georgia Tech 76