The University of Maryland headed into today’s game against #7 Villanova in need of a marquee out-of-conference victory. Up 12 points in the middle of the second-half, that win seemed within reach. The Wildcats though would turn-up the intensity, and Maryland wilted under the pressure allowing a 19-0 run over the course of 7+ minutes.

With the loss, the Terps fall to 11-6 overall (1-2 in ACC play). Despite what Penn State has done the past week beating Michigan State, and Illinois; the likely-hood is that Maryland will not have one quality non-conference win when Selection Sunday comes around. That forces the Terps to do all of their damage within the Atlantic Coast Conference. The problem there is that for ACC standards, the league is down this year (currently ranked 5th in Conference RPI). It is my opinion the Terps are going to need a minimum of 10 ACC wins, and probably 11 to reach the National Tournament.

Any discussion or worry about the Terps and the NCAA ‘Bubble’, means little at this point though. Not that the discussion lacks merit, but because what Maryland does going forward to control their own fate matters more. The Terps can not get these close losses to Pitt, Illinois, Temple, and Villanova back. Those games are over, and Maryland failed to capitalize on those opportunities.

The Terps have to focus on controlling what they can control, and that means becoming as good as they can be within the ACC. Maryland hosts Virginia Tech and Clemson this coming week, and then visit Virginia and Georgia Tech. The goal needs to be winning each of those 4 games and being 15-6, 5-2 in the ACC when Duke comes calling February 2nd.

The Good:

1) Williams got involved early allowing the Terps to find their legs against a talented opponent.

1a) It was interesting seeing Williams step-out to 15 feet or so and knocking down a few jumpers.

1b) Williams had his 11th consecutive double-double finishing with 25 points, and 14 boards.

2) Gregory is not getting enough credit for how well he is playing. He is a presence on defense, he is able to knock down open jumpers, and his effort is consistent. What an emphatic 1st-half dunk from the Senior. Gregory had 10 points, and 6 boards.

3) Maryland did a good job of keeping Villanova from getting to the foul-line in the 1st half. The Wildcats finished with 20 attempts, but I’d guess that was below their season average.

4) Early on ‘Nova applied some pressure and trapping defense and Stoglin looked uncomfortable against it. After coming back off the bench, he made some adjustments and was very productive. Stoglin finished with 6 points, 8 assists, and just 1 turnover.

5) Another thing the Terps did well was limit the dribble penetration of the Villanova guards. Last year when these teams played Maryland lacked the foot-speed to stay with the Wildcats. That was not the case today.

6) Bowie had a nice second half, where he was able to drive to the rack.

7) Maryland had 19 assists on their 27 field-goals.

The Bad:

1) Early on the Wildcats were getting too many 2nd attempts, with MD failing to capture needed rebounds.

2) Late in the 1st-half, Maryland had turnovers on 4 consecutive possessions.

3) Partly by design, the Terps had decided to sag off Antonio Pena. At some-point an adjustment was probably needed as Pena continued to hit open jumpers.

4) Tucker had 4 boards, and 4 assists, but was just 1 of 7 from the floor. He’s the Terps 2nd best offensive weapon and the scoring has to be consistent.

5) Villanova won on the boards 40-30.

6) Maryland continued their horrific FT shooting, making just 10 of 18 shots. MD is not good enough offensively to live with misses at the line.

7) Palsson gave some good minutes playing-up at the 4, but I think the rebounding numbers show that Padgett and Weijs should have gotten some time today.

The Ugly:

1) Up 12 points, Maryland allowed a 19-0 Villanova run over the next 7+ minutes. You know a quality team like the Wildcats are going to make a run and play with some pride. However, there were too many lost possessions where the Terps were not even getting shots. When they did get shots off the Terps were settling for ill-advised 3’s, and not getting the ball to Williams.

2) A win over Villanova would have meant a lot for the Terps. MD would have gained the confidence that they could not only play with a quality team, but the knowledge they could win such a game.

Up-Next:

An incredibly important week with home games against Virginia Tech, and Clemson.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

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