Maryland Basketball: Let The Good Times Roll

Miami Hurricanes (15-4, 1-4 ACC) vs.
Maryland Terrapins (13-5, 3-1 ACC)
Comcast Center – College Park, MD

Like I said last week, this bizzaro Terps team that keeps showing up is a welcomed change from what we’ve seen the past few years. They make open shots. They play defense. They rebound relatively well. They put mediocre ACC teams away early, then finish them off in the second half. When was the last time Maryland won back-to-back conference games by a combined 40 points? The championship season? The year after it? It’s been a while.

A year ago – heck, a month ago – there is no way the Terps go to Boston and convincingly put away BC. I don’t care how bad the Eagles may be this year, Maryland would have found a way to make the game interesting. And there was certainly no way the Terps beat NC State at home by 24. Even though they own State, and they probably would have won regardless, there was no way they’d put the game away by the 15-minute mark of the second half. It reminds me of the Terps teams of 10 years ago. Once upon a time, Maryland didn’t fool around with the dregs of the ACC. They won handedly.

It only took three months, but this team is finally learning not to be dependent on the play of Greivis Vasquez. You can certainly look at his 19 points and 5 assists as the reason Maryland won. Or you can look at his effort and realize it’s the reason Maryland won easily. The rest of the team put the Terrapins in position to blow out NC State, and Vasquez finished them off. Landon Milbourne continues his quietly good season. He chipped in 18 and 5. Cliff Tucker had 11 off the bench. Sean Mosley reappeared and added 13. Jordan Williams had 9 and 9, but the timing of the nine points was important. He had two big baskets early, then stopped two different NC State mini-runs later in the game. He also shut down Tracy Smith, who scored most of his points with the game already out of hand. Dino Gregory even made a guest appearance and added 8 and 6. Make no mistake about it; the win over the Wolfpack was a team win.

It’s a quick turnaround for Maryland (and myself) as they host a Miami team that usually gives them problems. A couple of weeks ago, the Hurricanes were ranked. I still can’t figure out why. Miami checks in at 15-4…but all four losses have come in conference. Not only that, two of those losses came to Boston College. I’d love to hear Frank Haith’s explanation for that. They’ve also lost convincingly to both Virginia teams. They managed to beat Wake by one at home. Their best win out of conference came at home to Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a game which they held on to win by five. Other than that, their best non-conference wins came against Pepperdine and South Carolina. Don’t be confused by the win over “Nova” on their schedule. That was Nova Southeastern, a division 2 baseball powerhouse near Coral Gables. Not to be confused with Villanova, a division 1 basketball powerhouse in Philadelphia. Their schedule strength is right around 250th in the nation. So if you don’t see a reason for a national ranking, rest assured that you’re not alone.

The problem right now for Miami is they really don’t have a go to scorer. When Guillermo Diaz left a few years ago, Jack McClinton was able to take his place. Haith has yet to find a replacement for McClinton. Miami has decent size. Dwayne Collins is a good player. Four other big men see significant playing time. As usual, Haith can use a revolving door underneath the hoop. The problem is no one can get these guys the ball. There is no Diaz or McClinton to draw the defense and distribute. That’s why most of Collins 13 points per game have come via his 8.7 rebounds. Jamie Dews is the closest thing Haith has to a McClinton. He’s simply not the scorer that either Diaz or McClinton were. He hasn’t warranted double teams. His drives usually don’t get the defense out of place. He’s certainly not the passer that McClinton was. Villanova transfer Malcolm Grant has been asked to fulfill the point guard spot. He’s more of a tradition point guard than a McClinton. He’s basically got a 2/1 assist/turnover ratio, but he doesn’t do a lot of scoring. They also try Durand Scott at times. Scott is a better passer than Grant, but is even less of a scorer. But between Grant and Dews, they haven’t done a decent enough job filling the void McClinton left behind.

The one guy who worries me is Adrian Thomas. He’s a 6’7” forward who can shoot. Doesn’t do a whole lot inside, but can create matchup problems on the perimeter. Think more a Tahj Holden type player than a tradition forward. He shoots 41% from beyond the arc. Milbourne will probably get the assignment, but he’s been burned on the perimeter at times this season. That also means Jordan Williams will be all alone inside to contend with Collins. Williams has shown marked improvement the last few weeks, but it’s not fair to ask him to face a senior like Collins alone. It may be worth giving Tucker more playing time in this game and letting him matchup with Thomas.

That potential problem aside, the Terps backcourt matches up just as well against Miami as they did against State or BC. Expect big games from Vasquez and at least one other guard. The Canes are going to try to isolate Dews, let him score, and clear the paint for Collins. Maryland has done very well this season shutting down teams initial scoring threats. Vasquez and Eric Hayes should be more than up to the task of limiting Dews. If they keep up their recent rebounding efforts, they should also be able to neutralize Collins. Miami is going to try to slow this game down and out-physical Maryland. I expect it to be closer than most think. However, all Maryland needs to do is look at the next couple of weeks of their schedule to see how big a game this is. Hopefully they play with the same sense of urgency they’ve had the last five games.

Maryland 76
Miami 68

Elsewhere in the ACC…

Now 11-6 overall predicting conference games. Here are the middle week contests:

Clemson at Boston College
Nothing will surprise me anymore in ACC play this season. Not even Clemson going to Chestnut Hill and losing. Something tells me the Tigers won’t score only 47 points again and won’t fall to the Eagles. But it wouldn’t surprise me.
Clemson 74, Boston College 59

North Carolina at NC State
The Wolfpack have already pulled their upset. Now it’s time for Sid’s Kids to slide slowly back to 5-11 in ACC play.
Pick: North Carolina 83, NC State 72

Florida State at Duke
Without former Duke destroyer Toney Douglass, I doubt Soloman Alabi and company can go into Durham and win. Derwin Kitchen just doesn’t have the same intimidation factor.
Pick: Duke 76, Florida State 60

Wake Forest at Georgia Tech
I would love to see Georgia Tech and Georgetown play in the NCAA Tournament. It would feature two teams with dominant frontcourts that are undermined by their pea-brain coaches who don’t yell at their guards when they jack up threes all game long.
Pick: Georgia Tech 78, Wake Forest 74

Virginia Tech at Virginia
Commonwealth Clash should be better known as Battle For NIT Positioning. I guess it doesn’t have the same ring to it.
Pick: Virginia Tech 68, Virginia 62