Ok, no need to sugarcoat anything after a horrifically abysmal performance for the Maryland Terrapins against Penn State on Tuesday night. As painful as it was to watch, Terp fans can take solace in one simple fact.
It’s over. We move on. There’s a huge game ahead on Saturday against Ohio State. I usually try and counsel folks that there is never a “must-win” game in February, but this sure as hell feels like one. Before we look at what lies ahead we really do need to do an autopsy on the last week in Maryland basketball.
(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)
The Purdue game last Saturday offered some of the best that college basketball will ever offer fans. We saw a game of enormous runs, scintillating shooting and the kind of All-American performance from Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan that likely solidified him as the Big Ten Player of the Year as well as a first team All-World. Watching that game I just never thought that it was “losable” for the Terps. They led the game for 39-plus minutes and fought for 40. And lost. Shit.
I’ve written before that some wins- especially hard fought road wins- feel like they’re worth more than one win. Conversely, some losses – especially gut punch losses at home- feel like they’re more critical than they actually are and they become almost impossible to rebound from.
Ask Georgetown. Almost inconceivably the Hoyas gave away a sizable last minute lead at home to the Terps in November. It was a stunning loss. What happened the next time Georgetown played? They lost at home – in McDonough gym ON CAMPUS- to Arkansas State.
Ask Penn State. Last week they lost a three overtime heartbreaker to Indiana at Assembly Hall. They had every critical call go against them and deserved better than a loss after a three hours of root canal. What happened after that loss? They went on the road and lost to Rutgers in a game where they really only played five minutes of decent ball. And they lost by two.
I’m not making excuses for Maryland. I’m simply saying these things happen. The fact is, they happen more regularly than you think during a college season but most of us never notice it because we fixate on our own teams and their specific issues. By definition, each of the teams listed above is filled with world class athletes who are gifted beyond measure. But the hardest part of dealing with guys this age is the mental/emotional part. It is completely maddening but absolutely essential that, as a coach, you try and get a handle on what is going on in the minds of your players.
You think that’s easy? Then you’ve never had teenagers running through your house and experienced the fact that their minds are often seized by alien beings and taken to a completely different planet.
To a very large degree the basketball Gods continue to smile on the Terps. Ponder the fact that on the very same night the Terps lose to Purdue both Kansas State and Oklahoma State (two teams Maryland has beaten) have huge wins against Baylor and West Virginia. The net-net of the entire day was that the Terps were in better shape in most computer rankings after losing.
Consider this. Last night, after having lost to Penn State, the Terps were given gifts from some unlikely corners. First, an Illinois team that has done nothing all year long goes and beats Northwestern on the road. Northwestern has been breathing down Maryland’s neck in the standings for the last couple of weeks. The two teams play a single game this year – next week in Illinois. Prior to that, the Wildcats play at Wisconsin this weekend. Hard as it is to fathom, I think we need to root for Wisconsin. I would love to see this Maryland team play its way into a regular season conference championship. But the only thing I would like to see more is a conference tournament championship at the Verizon Center in March. To do that the Terps need to do everything possible to get a top four seed heading into the event. Teams like Northwestern and Michigan State (don’t you feel like a Spartan run over the next few weeks is inevitable??) need to be held at bay.
Now it’s Wednesday, the day after the debacle up north. I swear to God, the sun came up today. I saw it. I took it as a reminder to look ahead, forward, prospectively. The opportunity up first is one against a talented Ohio State team. Oh yeah, small detail, the game coincides with Maryland hanging a banner for legendary coach Lefty Driesell in pregame. Do you think there will be some energy in Xfinity? Hopefully it can be bottled and used for 40 minutes. We’ve been taught that 39 aren’t enough.
Hopefully the Terps have also been taught how imperative it is for them to play up to the standards set in the first 23 games of the season. This isn’t the first rodeo for Mark Turgeon and his staff. They’ll get it figured out.
Let’s move on.
Terps Analyst
A fixture in the Washington sports scene since his days as a player and a coach, Chris Knoche has accumulated a diverse resume as a media presence in town for more than two decades. That resume has earned him opportunities on both national and local stages and made him a Washington DC staple on radio, television and in digital media.