The Terps have often had difficult days at the annual BB&T Classic, but today were able to do what was needed to leave the Verizon Center with a 78-71 victory over Notre Dame.
We understand that the Fighting Irish are having trouble playing without the injured Abromaitis, but this was still a good win for the Terps. With this win, Maryland now has neutral court victories over teams from the Pac 12 (Colorado), and the Big East. Should the Terps also beat Temple in Philadelphia on January 21st, Maryland will have a solid Out of Conference resume.
Now 4-3 on the year, the Terps will now face Mt. St. Mary’s, Florida International, Radford, Albany, Samford, and Cornell prior to facing North Carolina State on January 8th. Barring a letdown, the Terps should be 10-3 when their ACC schedule begins.
The Good:
1) Over the first 8 minutes of the game, Stoglin was keeping Maryland in the game with 11 points. Only Mosley (who was credited with a basket on ND goal-tending call), and Weijs (who was 1 for 2 at the line) had joined Stoglin the scoring column at that point. Stoglin finished with 33 points (a new career high), 5 boards, and 2 assists. He was 3 of 4 from 3 point land, and 6 of 7 from the foul line.
2) Mosley made an extra pass, finding Padgett for the dunk, as Maryland tied the game at 16. The Sr. guard squared up and hit an open 3 to give the Terps the 26-25 lead. He delivered a crucial 3 pointer at the 2:30 mark to put Maryland up 10. He finished with 17 points, 6 boards, and 3 assists.
3) Faust buried a 3 to give MD the 21-20 lead, after the Terps swung the ball around to find the open guard. The spacing was excellent on that series.
4) Parker had a good dribble drive to the rim, picking up the foul, and knocking down his shots to tie the game at 23. Parker had a great looking finding Weijs for a layup, giving the Terps the 30-27 lead. Today was Parker’s 3rd straight game (and 4th game overall) with 5 or more boards. With a hand in his face, he hit a 3 to move MD ahead 46-40. He finished with 9 points, 7 boards, and 2 assists. He made all 6 of his foul shots.
5) Maryland dominated on the glass, winning 37-26.
6) Weijs had a nice put back to give MD the 39-36 2nd half lead. Weijs had 7 points, 6 boards (5 offensive), and was a factor on the court.
7) The FT shooting was not great, but was better tonight, with MD finishing 25-35 at the line.
8) Padgett finished with 11 points, 10 boards, and a block.
The Bad:
1) Pankey has had 3 games of at-least 8 boards. Today he barely played, and was a complete non-factor.
2) Faust was also a pretty much non-factor. The 3 pointer we mentioned above was his only FG, as he finished just 1 for 5 from the floor, and 0 for 4 from the line. He also had 3 turnovers, and 0 assists.
The Ugly:
None. For where MD is right now (without Howard, and Len), this is about as good as the Terps can play. Notre Dame might finish in the lower 1/2 of the Big East, but they are a major conference team, and MD was in-control for large portions of the game.
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.