Terps lose at home to VaTech; The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The University of Maryland Terrapins were down 12-0 after 5 minutes of play tonight against Virginia Tech, and were never able to mount a serious challenge to the Hokies. Virgina Tech did everything they wanted against the Terps, crushing Maryland 74-57. With the loss, the Terps fall to just 11-7 overall, and a very disappointing 1-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.

Maryland continues to look for their optimal starting lineup, with Howard and Tucker getting the nod tonight over Stoglin and Bowie. (EDIT: Gary Williams said after the game that Stoglin was late for a meeting and that was why Howard started)

After the loss to Villanova Saturday, I said:

“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.”

Well, that is only more accurate after this loss tonight. If you get run off your own court in conference games, you do not need to be worrying about what it will take to get to the Tournament. Maryland’s only goal at this point has to be figuring out to beat Clemson this weekend.

The Good:

1) Padgett entered the game and immediately made a nice offensive move and had also had a block. With the Terps getting nothing from Williams in the first-half, Padgett’s play was important. Padgett finished with 8 points, 1 board, and that block.

2) Obviously Maryland was having all types of offensive problems to start the game, Bowie helped get the Terps going by hitting a couple of 3’s. All 10 of his points came during the first 20 minutes. His night might have been bigger had he not picked up his 4th foul at the 12 minute mark of the 2nd half. He also had to spend additional time at PG, after Stoglin and Howard struggled running the offense.

3) After Bowie picked up his 4th, he was replaced in the lineup by Parker. I liked the move to bring in Parker’s athleticism, and hope the Freshman’s minutes increase during the remainder of this season.

4) Over a 2 and a half minute stretch, Tucker had 11 points including three 3’s. The last basket closed the score to 61-53 with 7:25 on the clock.

5) Williams tied Elmore’s school record of 12 consecutive double-doubles with 11 points and 11 boards.

The Bad:

1) The Terps found themselves down 12-0 four minutes into the game.

2) Maryland’s first basket came with 15:20 on the clock.

3) After falling behind 12-0, MD closed the game to 17-13 only to give up another 6-0 run to the Hokies. There were several wasted possessions which only makes it harder when you are attempting to stage a rally. At the half, the Terps were down 40-29, meaning MD had only gotten 1 point back from Virginia Tech’s initial run.

Days after watching Villanova go on a 19-0 run to take control of that game, it was beyond irritating to watch the Hokies start on their 12-0 run tonight.

4) During the 1st half Len Elmore said that he thought Williams looked too passive underneath, and needed to more demonstratively call for the ball. I am not sure I agreed with that, but I clearly agree that Williams needed more touches. It seemed to me that the Terps had trouble gaining dribble penetration against the Virginia Tech zone, and that his teammates were settling for looks from the outside.

5) The fact that Maryland was struggling offensively should not have also impacted the Terps defense. Virginia Tech hit 52% (16 of 31)  of their shots in the 1st half, scoring from both the interior and the outside (5 of 8 from 3 point land). In the 2nd half, the Hokies cooled off from the outside (0 for 6) but made 14 of 25 shots overall to move their field goal % for the game to 53.6%.

The Hokies get some credit for their passing, but MD has to take some of the blame for their defense.

6) Virginia Tech won on the boards 34-28, and held the Terps to 36% from the floor (20 of 56).

7) Mosley had 6 points, 5 boards, and a steal. That is not enough of a contribution for the minutes he is receiving. He also had 4 turnovers.

8) Gregory had one of his worst games of the season, with just 2 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists. I recently lauded the positive consistency he had been showing, tonight was a regression.

The Ugly:

1) You can not lose conference games at home and expect to reach your goals as a team. This Virginia Tech team has talent, but limited depth due to injuries. Losing to the Hokies at home is not good. Getting run off your home court by this Hokies team is ugly.

2) You could deal with close losses to good teams on neutral and road courts, but it is unacceptable for the Terps to be 0-2 on their home court in conference play. Boston College and Virgina Tech are ok teams. Losing to both of them at home is the definition of digging yourself a massive hole.

3) Howard and Stoglin combined to go 1-7 from the floor with 2 boards, 2 assists, and 5 turnovers. Their play was horrible tonight.

Up-Next:

As I said above, the only thing MD needs to focus on right now is finding a way to beat Clemson Saturday.  That does not mean I can not look ahead. Here is what I see left for the Terps this season:

1/22 Clemson: W
1/27 @UVA: W
1/30 @Georgia Tech: W
2/2: Duke: L
2/5: Wake Forest: W
2/9: Longwood: W
2/12: @BC: W
2/15: @VaTech: L
2/20: NCST: W
2/23: FSU: W
2/27: @UNC: L
3/2: @Miami: W
3/5: UVA: W

That would be a 10-3 run to end the year, having Maryland finish the year at 21-10, 10-6.

With no significant out-of-conference wins, and a down ACC; that finish will have Maryland on that proverbial bubble and needing to win at-least a game in the Conference tournament. Maryland could avoid the ‘bubble’ with the same 10-6 overall conference record, and a win over Duke. Or perhaps winning at VaTech, or at UNC to finish 11-5.

Maryland has shown they can play with quality teams in their neutral court losses to Pittsburgh, Illinois, Temple, and Villanova, as well as their road loss to Duke. The fact that they did not do enough to win any of those games has made every other game that much more important, and makes the home losses to Boston College and now Virginia Tech that much harder to take.

After looking at the remaining schedule, I’m going to take my own advice and focus on the only thing that currently matters. Beating Clemson Saturday in the first ‘MUST WIN’ game of the year.