Maryland Basketball: Tryptophan? No, Trypto-fantastic!

#21/22 Maryland Terrapins (4-1) vs.
Wisconsin Badgers (3-1)
Lahania Civic Center - Lahania, HI
Maui Invitational

Well, that was a rude awakening. Not much to say about the loss to Cincinnati. The Bearcats were the better team from the 10-minute mark onward. The Terps couldn’t figure out their early zone. They couldn’t grab a rebound (out-rebounded 47-33 on the game…not surprising, but alarming for how easy it was for Cincy). The press wasn’t working, and I said as much a few minutes into the game. I’m curious as to why Maryland kept running it in the second half after see how much of a failure it was in the first. Whatever the case may be, Maryland has plenty to work on in the next couple of weeks.

I’m going to move on quickly to the Wisconsin because the Terps have to move on quickly as well. Also, I’m going on my annual Thanksgiving getaway, so this edition is going to be condensed with my weekly NFL picks to make things easy on me. So that brings me to the fourth annual tryptophan edition. Wisconsin, in many ways, is like Cincinnati. They are balanced and somewhat deep. The guards handle the ball real well and are unlikely to be affected by Maryland’s pressure. The big men don’t wander away from the interior on either side of the ball. They are a team that will throw both man-to-man and zones at the Terps. What the Badgers don’t have is the athleticism of Cincinnati. They also have no interest in speeding the game up. Maryland’s half-court offense, which to this point has been below average on the season, is going to have to show up.

For years I’ve been making fun of Bo Ryan and Wisconsin. They routinely set the game of college basketball back 30 years. There have been several times in the last few seasons where they’ll give up less than 50 points and still lose. However, as much as I poke fun at Wisconsin, their methods are effective for winning games. Ryan is now entering his 9th season in Madison, and the Badgers have made the NCAA tournament in each of his previous eight years. The Badgers may not be pretty to watch. Bo Ryan certainly is frightening to look at. But they get the job done.

Trevon Hughes is the guy to watch for the Badgers. He’s not much of a stat stuffer (on a team that averages 64 points a game, it’s hard to be one), but his 14 points per game on this team warrants attention. Offensively, Wisconsin is methodical. Don’t look for many shots before 20 seconds run off the shot clock. They only shoot 25% from long range. I know it’s early in the year, but don’t expect that stat to get much better. Like the Bearcats, they will attack the rim and get a healthy chunk of their points off second chances.

I like Maryland in this one, because Wisconsin might as well be a poor man’s Cincinnati. Similar style, lesser players. If Maryland gets around the 60-point margin, you gotta like their chances. Wisconsin already has problems scoring, and now they are playing their third straight game 5,000 miles from home. Tired legs will sink an already questionable offense. The question is whether or not Maryland can compete with the Badgers inside. I think they can, and I’m assuming that at least one of the Terps five guards will be able to hit shots consistently in this one. They were all off last night, so I think they are due for a good game. Terps in an ugly one. Hopefully the cameras stay off of Bo so I don’t have to see his eyes popping out of his skull during the entire game.

Maryland 63
Wisconsin 55


Now time for the NFL picks. No summaries this week, just the picks ‘mam. Be back with the Redskins write-up in a couple of days. I was 10-5 overall and 8-7 against the spread (with a little help from the Falcons and 49ers). The records now look like this:

Overall: 104-46 (69%)
Vs. Spread: 84-64-2

Thursday
(home teams in bold)
Green Bay (6-4)(-10.5) over Detroit (2-8)
Dallas (7-3)(-13.5) over Oakland (3-7)
New York Giants (6-4)(-6.5) over Denver (6-4)

Sunday
Houston (5-5) over Indianapolis (10-0)(-4) … call me crazy!!!!
Cincinnati (7-3)(-14) over Cleveland (1-9)
Minnesota (9-1)(-10) over Chicago (4-6)
Miami (5-5)(-3) over Buffalo (3-7)
Arizona (7-3) over Tennessee (4-6)(-2.5)
Seattle (3-7)(-3) over St. Louis (1-9)
Atlanta (5-5)(-11.5) over Tampa Bay (1-9)
Carolina (4-6) over New York Jets (4-6)(-3)
San Francisco (4-6)(-3) over Jacksonville (6-4)
San Diego (7-3)(-13.5) over Kansas City (3-7), Chiefs cover
Pittsburgh (6-4) over Baltimore (5-5)(-2.5)

Monday
New Orleans (10-0)(-3) over New England (7-3)

Have a good holiday everyone!