Primary Sidebar
The ACC on SBNation
Next Game
Atlantic Coast Conference Standings
(updated 2.8.2010 at 2:55 AM EST)
| Conf | Overall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | W | L | |
| Duke Blue Devils | 7 | 2 | 19 | 4 |
Maryland Terrapins
|
6 | 2 | 16 | 6 |
|
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
|
6 | 3 | 16 | 5 |
|
Virginia Tech Hokies
|
5 | 3 | 18 | 4 |
| Virginia Cavaliers | 5 | 3 | 14 | 7 |
|
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
|
5 | 4 | 17 | 6 |
|
Florida St. Seminoles
|
5 | 4 | 17 | 6 |
|
Clemson Tigers
|
4 | 5 | 16 | 7 |
|
Boston College Eagles
|
3 | 6 | 12 | 11 |
|
North Carolina Tar Heels
|
2 | 6 | 13 | 10 |
|
Miami Hurricanes
|
2 | 7 | 16 | 7 |
|
N.C. State Wolfpack
|
2 | 7 | 14 | 10 |
Interview With UMD Athletic Director, Dr. Debbie Yow - Part 2
by Dave Tucker on Feb 9, 2010 12:45 AM EST
2 comments
Today we present part two of Testudo Times' interview with Maryland's Athletic Director, Dr. Debbie Yow. You can check out part one here in case you missed it. Apologies for not having this posted sooner, I've been consumed by shoveling out of the snowpocalypse. We Hope you all enjoy this special feature! And again, our deepest thanks to Dr. Yow for agreeing to sit down with us!
Dave Tucker: Going back with the football, you sat down with coach Friedgen at the end of the year –
Debbie Yow: Two conversations
DT: Was that conversation any different than what it would have normally been, coming off a season in which Maryland hadn't lost 10 games? Does the win-loss play into it, the record from last season, versus a ten win season? Do you have to weigh different things?
DY: Sure. It’s the difference in trying to have a conversation with somebody at halftime of a game about the game. You’ve only seen half of it, you’ve got to see the whole game. Now you can talk about it in its entirety. My guideline, and I’ve always used this for all 27 teams, is I don’t talk publically, normally, until the season is over. And try to be consistent. I can remember one time I wasn’t consistent and that was last year when men’s basketball lost at Duke, and it was a bad loss.
DT: It might have been a year ago today.
DY: Well, it was the 24th (of January) it was the day my sister died, that’s how I track it. So that’s happening, my sister dies that morning and I’m trying to deal with the funeral and then I’m reading things and I’m reading people talking about job security for Gary and I look at it and go "This is nuts. This is wrong."
This man, we had a winning record at that time, when this was happening. I’ve never seen something like that; a winning record. So I decided at his media availability, as soon as I got home from the funeral and everything, to just go in and put a stake in the ground, and I did. I said he’s hear, I want to put an end to these crazy rumors. And whether or not it had anything to do with it or not, the fact of the matter is, hey, we took off. In other words, the focus shifted.
I’m sure if I were him, it would have annoyed me tremendously to think that people would even suggest that there were any job security issues. I just felt out of respect for him I needed to go in. I don’t think he expected me to and he might not have even needed me to do it but I think it was good for the players or Terrapin Nation. Let’s quit talking about this. Hey, they got a job to do, let’s just support them and see what we can get done this year.
DT: Do you have conversations through out the year with the coaches of all the teams? Are those just normal conversations? Do you worry more about sitting down and evaluating with them at the end of the season?
DY: Well out of the 27 sports, there are only two that I supervise directly; football and men’s basketball. There are senior level administrators that work day to day in partnership with the other coaches. So I see the two I work with; I was with Ralph tonight as a matter of fact. Before the game, we entertained the Maryland Chamber of Commerce over in Tyser Suite, Tyser Tower, trying to sell some suites. I see them and talk to them more than I do anybody else. But we have monthly head coaches meetings. I have lunch with them every month, all of them together. And all the assistants that want to show up. It’s usually 60 or 70 people. And we talk about whatever I want to talk about. I have an agenda and they get it ahead of time. Like we’ll have campus police show up at the next coaches meeting on Thursday. They’re going to talk some about crime on campus and statistics and whether or not they’re up or down. And they help us with the bar scene downtown, in terms of just sharing information. If they think something seems dangerous, as an example.
And there are also hallway conversations. And I go to level one, which has the majority of our coaches on it and I just walk down to level one and walk around, stick my head in the door and say how’s it going? So it’s a little bit of everything; some of its formal, some of it’s not. It’s busy.
DT: I bet it is. I don’t know how you have time at all to do anything else.
DY: I don’t much.
Check out the conclusion of our interview with Dr. Yow after the jump.
2 comments | 0 recs |
Maryland Minute 2.08.10 - Monday Power Rankings & Bracketology
by Ben Goldstein on Feb 8, 2010 7:45 PM EST
in Maryland Minute
5 comments
We got a loaded MM for you all today. Kudos to Ben B. for help on the links.
ACC Hoops Power Rankings - ACC Sports Journal
Terps come in at #3. I still think MD is the second best team in the ACC after Duke, but it's hard to argue being behind Wake after they won the head-to-head matchup.
ACC Power Poll - BetUS Locker Room
Numero tres, again.
Number two behind Georgetown. I still don't understand why a Terps/Hoyas matchup doesn't happen every season.
5 comments | 0 recs |
Greivis Vasquez Wins ACC Player of the Week; Is Player of the Year Possible?
by Ben Broman on Feb 8, 2010 4:52 PM EST
in Basketball
10 comments
If there was ever any doubt, the Greivis Vasquez for ACC Player of the Year campaign is still alive and well.
Everyone's favorite vivacious Venezuelan was named ACC Player of the Week today for the second time this year and the sixth time in his career - two 20+ point games and two big wins will do that. Vasquez and Jon Scheyer are the only players to be named ACC POW twice this year, and Sylven Landesberg has 1.5 (he shared the award one week).
But wait, there's more: Seth Davis, previous target of Terp ire, is giving Vasquez some national love, calling him "the best player in the ACC." (thanks to aMarshall and aMo for the link) Vasquez, despite a great ACC showing, hasn't been getting a lot of talk nationally outside of what was already known ("he shimmies!"), so it's good to see some people recognizing his great play recently.
So is it time to start campaigning for player of the year? Scheyer has the lead pretty well tied down, especially if Duke wins the ACC, because he was unbelievable in out-of-conference play. Going to a Tobacco Road school doesn't hurt, either. Vasquez has the uphill battle because Maryland probably won't the ACC and doesn't happen to be situated in Carolina.
That said, statistically speaking, Vasquez has as good a chance as anyone else. He's tied for 3rd in points with Scheyer and Landesberg, and is first in assists - the only player in the conference in the top 3 in two major categories (points, rebounding, assists). Since conference play has started, he's been even better - he's 2nd in points, well above of Scheyer, and has an even bigger cushion in assists.
It's tough to argue, too, that anyone is more valuable to their team than Vasquez except maybe Landesberg - Duke without Scheyer is still a tourney team. Maryland without Vasquez? Maybe, but doubtful.
To win, Maryland would probably have to be in the top 3 in the ACC, he'd have to have one big performance against a good opponent down the stretch (ala North Carolina last year), and he'd have to stay on his current pace in points and assists. All are difficult, but all are possible.
I'm not really expecting Greivis Vasquez to be ACC Player of the Year. But I'll be driving the bandwagon.
10 comments | 0 recs |
Maryland-UVA First Look: Trap Game on Horizon?
by Ben Broman on Feb 8, 2010 12:56 PM EST
in Basketball
11 comments
When Tony Bennett went cross-country from Washington State to Virginia this summer, he was really known for two things: slowing down the offense and, by doing so, improving its efficiency. Those two things have certainly happened, but Bennett has brought more to the table - intensity and coaching acumen, to be specific - and now Virginia is a surprise team and an NCAA tournament contender.
I already reviewed the ramifications of looking past a good UVA team, so I'll let that speak for itself, but just to reinforce the idea: if Maryland jumps ahead to a huge Duke game, the Cavs are good enough to make them pay for it.
11 comments | 0 recs |
Not All Good News: Sterling Gibbs Unable to Make Visit on Sunday
Darn, Gibbs is one of the prospects who Maryland looks in pretty good shape for. Visit could've been big. I'm sure he'll be able to get down some other time.
With North Carolina In Rearview Mirror, Maryland Moves On to Potentially Crucial Week of ACC Games
by Ben Broman on Feb 7, 2010 11:39 PM EST
in Basketball
20 comments
Toward the end of the North Carolina dismantling on Sunday afternoon, Maryland fans started chanting "We want Duke", expressing their desire to play the Terps' archrivals. They seemed to forget about the under-the-radar Virginia Cavaliers, whom, instead of Duke, sit next on MD's schedule. Bad idea.
It would be wrong to think that UVA is significantly less important than Duke, because, in addition to the Cavs actually being pretty good this year, from a tournament and standings standpoint, it isn't. A win over Duke would be great for a number of reasons, and it would be a quality win on the road. As it stands now, though, that just doesn't seem likely, so you take what you can get. And if they happen to lose at Cameron on Saturday, a loss earlier in the week would be a lot more crippling. A win at Cameron would be great, but if it was preceded by a loss it would do little more than make up lost ground.
It's also worth noting that the way Maryland has gotten to the point they're at is by beating teams they're supposed to beat. "Inconsistent" is a bad word around tournament time, but it goes past that: one wouldn't expect the formula to change anytime soon. In other words, I'm not as confident that Maryland would be able to pull off a surprise road upset this year as in year's past - they just don't seem as volatile, at least not in ACC play.
Back to the topic at hand: Maryland enters the week just a half game behind Duke in the standings, and only a game ahead of Virginia. Nestled right in between a darkhorse contender and a runaway favorite, the games are great heat checks for Maryland's current standing, not unlike the two previous road games against Clemson and Florida State, and are dearly important for UMD's hopes at a regular season title.
Virginia is a dangerous team this year, which is why the prospect of a trap game is more worrisome than usual. The Cavs are a different squad under Tony Bennett, more motivated and efficient offensively. Of course, they still have Sylven Landesberg, a surprising All-ACC contender, and he can make life difficult for anyone. I'll try to get some more on him tomorrow.
Like I said above, losing to UVA would either nearly negate a Duke win or compound the issues of a Duke loss. Win one of these games and they're still on the fringes of the ACC hunt and still on the good side of the bubble. Lose both and the situation gets more sticky - it'll depend on how bad the losses are. Pull off nothing short of a miracle and win both, and, well, regular season ACC champs become a possibility.
Any way you slice it, the Virginia game is as important as the Duke game at this point, and both hold extreme importance in their ACC impact - every game at this point does, but these two do especially because they're both against contenders and both against rivals.
(While we're on this topic, I'll mention one thing: if Maryland were to be in a tie with Duke for first place at the end of the year and split the head-to-head battle, the next tiebreaker would be the record against the next highest team. Seeing how N.C. State won't get up that high, Maryland will be rooting for Georgia Tech the rest of the way - except on Feb. 20, of course.)
20 comments | 0 recs |
Maryland Minute 2.7.10 - Notes from the Snow Game
by Ben Broman on Feb 7, 2010 11:10 PM EST
in Maryland Minute
0 comments
That's What You Call Dedication: Gary Sleeps In Comcast
Not a major surprise - he has an office which probably has a cot and a very nice couch - but it's still amazingly cool.
Looks Like That Snow Didn't Hurt
Sayeth Greivis:
"Loudest I’ve ever seen it since I was here," said senior Greivis Vasquez of Comcast Center during Maryland's win over UNC.
Hot Comcast crowd warms Williams' heart - Sun
By all accounts, the Comcastle was rocking. We need more massive snowstorms.
Yep, flood the place with a lot of kids who've been cooped up in their dorms for three days -- and, OK, might have had a cocktail or two beforehand -- and you've got a whole different vibe."It was amazing," Terps coach Gary Williams said of the atmosphere. "So many people said they were coming. If they had to take a dog-sled to the game, they were coming."
0 comments | 0 recs
Vasquez Double-Double Carries Maryland to Big Win Over UNC in Snow Game, 92-71
by Ben Broman on Feb 7, 2010 4:11 PM EST
in Basketball
22 comments
It might've been a snowpacalypse, but Maryland won't be complaining about it. Plenty of fans didn't show up to the afternoon game in snowy conditions, but Maryland was able to find a willing student or two to take their seats, and the Comcast Center ended up about 70% full of students despite one of the biggest snowfalls in history. Those that showed up were served a rare delicacy - dismantling North Carolina.
When Greivis Vasquez looks for career-defining games, he'll probably point to matchups against those same Heels. First came a double-double in a two point win over an undefeated, #1 ranked UNC team in Chapel Hill. Then there was the triple-double in the Comcastle last year against the #3 ranked Heels. He added another Tar Heel notch on his belt today, dropping 26 points and 11 assists for yet another double-double, and Maryland rode that super performance on Super Bowl Sunday to a big win, 92-71.
Actually, dismantling might be kind - after a short UNC comeback, the Terps turned on the jets and outplayed UNC in basically every aspect of the game. After getting within 4 a few minutes into the second half, UNC simply disappeared, and Maryland played just as well as they have at any point in the season.
Of course, UNC is really down this year, but as one commenter said in the game thread: "Destroying UNC is destroying UNC." It won't look great on the resume, but it's more than just beating an NIT-bound team at home. It's a name win - maybe just for the fans or morale, but it's UNC, and that's always something.
With that out of the way, I'll caution anyone on taking too much out of this. While its greater meaning may be bigger than beating an NIT team at home, that's precisely what it is on paper. This isn't much different than destroying Miami in terms of talent.
Now, time to bask in the greatness that is this game. Maryland was utterly lights out from deep, mostly thanks to Eric Hayes (4-5) and Vasquez (6-10). Fun fact: they shot better from three (54%) than they did from the field (52%). That won't happen a lot, but it will boost the ol' 3 point shooting percentage.
Vasquez was the undisputed star of the game, but Hayes was fantastic as well. He had 16 points on 6 shots - that's just absurd efficiency. When Hayes is hot, he just can't miss.
Dino Gregory is starting to come on strong, too - despite a few bad plays, his energy is starting to make differences. He had 8 points and 3 boards in 19 minutes, and made some big momentum boosting plays. He still couldn't outside Jordan Williams, though, who continuously showcased his soft yet strong hands. He had 8 and 6 for another great freshman performance, and threw in solid defense against Ed Davis for good measure.
The biggest differences in this game for Maryland were certainly outside shooting and transition play. They shot an absurd % from 3, which we already went over, and scored nearly half their points in transition. When the Terps can get out and run, watch out - they can score at will.
That's not to say the game was perfect: Davis grabbed a ridiculous 16 boards (UNC outrebounded Maryland by one) and MD gave up a few too many second chance points for my taste. But no game can be perfect, and any time you destroy a team made up of McDonald All-Americans, you take it without complaining.
Hope everyone has a good Super Bowl. Duke remains on the horizon, but Maryland has to get through a surprisingly good UVA team first. We'll have more on that in the coming days.
22 comments | 0 recs |
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
Featured Stories
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recent FanShots
Product of Massive Voter Fraud (Not Really)
SBNation.com Recent Stories
Terrapins Basketball Schedule
Next 5 Games
| Virginia | Wed 02/10 | 7:00 PM EST |
| @ Duke | Sat 02/13 | 1:00 PM EST |
|
@
N.C. State
|
Wed 02/17 | 9:00 PM EST |
|
Georgia Tech
|
Sat 02/20 | 2:00 PM EST |
|
Clemson
|
Wed 02/24 | 9:00 PM EST |
Last 5 Games
|
North Carolina
|
Sun 02/07 | W 92 - 71 |
|
@
Florida St.
|
Thu 02/04 | W 71 - 67 |
|
@
Clemson
|
Sun 01/31 | L 53 - 62 |
|
Miami
|
Tue 01/26 | W 81 - 59 |
|
N.C. State
|
Sat 01/23 | W 88 - 64 |
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
