Maryland Grabs Hard-Fought Road Win Over N.C. State, 67-58
by Ben Broman on Feb 17, 2010 11:03 PM EST
in Basketball
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PrintIf we witnessed the power of the homecourt and a determined team in Maryland's win over Virginia on Monday, we certainly witnessed the vengeance of an away game and a distracted, low-energy team against North Carolina State today. No one would've accused either team of playing pretty, but Maryland was especially ugly for the first half of the game, with plenty of missed shots and turnovers. Even while mounting a comeback, it was tough to describe the game as "beautiful".
Sometimes, though, that's just what it takes to grab an ACC road win.
While trailing for a better part of the first half and the first part of the second half, Maryland looked disinterested and tired. They made mental mistakes and didn't seem to have their legs when taking jumpers. Very, very little went right, and the first half ended with a 22-10 run for N.C. State, who took a 10 point lead into half.
For whatever reason, the second half was a very different story. Maryland slowly, surely, methodically got closer, and a Greivis Vasquez three that brought Maryland within a couple officially woke the Terps up. A much more efficient, energetic team fought off the occasional N.C. State run, retook the lead, and never looked back. Maryland looked beaten in the first half; in the second half, N.C. State looked downright downtrodden. They eventually pulled the lead up to 10, and finally ended with a 67-58 win in Raleigh.
Vasquez was the stat-stuffer of the day, finishing with 25 points, a good majority of which came during that second half comeback. Jordan Williams - whom I'll talk about soon - was the only other one in double-digits for Maryland on the day.
Not to make excuses for the earlier performance, but winning on the road in the ACC is extremely difficult on its own, regardless of how much rest a team has. When that team has only one day of rest in between games, the next game - regardless of whether its against the best team in the conference or the worst - will be an extremely difficult one. That partially excuses the first half performance, and it also makes the second half comeback that followed are the more impressive.
That said, at some point this team is going to need to figure out how to play on the road in the ACC. They still have to travel to Virginia Tech and Virginia, and with the way they've played away from Comcast Center recently, there is reason for worry. Those games will certainly be interesting.
If you want to look at one player that really shined in this game, yes, it could be Vasquez, but I'd choose Jordan Williams. He was simply dominant at times, and against one of the best post players in the ACC in Tracy Smith. For whatever reason, GameTracker didn't track rebounds, but he was surely pushing double-digits in that area. Oh, and he dropped 19 points, occasionally unstoppable on the offensive end. And that aforementioned Smith? Just 10.
I do believe Adrian Bowie also deserves a shout-out, too. Or, rather, Anthony Bowie. Whichever one showed up tonight came up big, hitting 2-2 from deep and netting 8 points total. He's still not PG material, but he can still score in bunches. Big game for him tonight.
Other than that, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all (*ahem* Sean Mosley *ahem*). This game wasn't pretty, but it wasn't supposed to be. All they needed was a win, and that's all they got it. Mission accomplished.
Now they get a period of (relative) rest with a full two days (!) of rest before taking on Georgia Tech back at the Comcast Center.
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Vaz-Kwez had 26 & 6
JWill 19 & 11! Hayes 0 Bowie 8. Story of the game there. What was with the rim on that side of the court? Brick city. Great win on the road that alot of teams wouldn’t have been able to gut out.
It's good to see them find a way to manufacture a win when nothing is going right.
I was impressed even if it was NCS. It should build some confidence.
I hope Jordan learns to make foul shots on the road. He stops flexing his knees and really looks stiff at times. Otherwise, I agree that he made a real difference tonight.
19 & 11
19 pts and 11 boards for Jordan. Can we just imagine this kid in his senior year for one second…..look out
expanding a little on Tiimbitz earlier post
I was on the ESPN “conversation” part of the page, and I must agree, Some Terp fans can be debbie downers. Some of our fellow fans were even saying we’d end up 8-8 in the ACC and end up missing the tourney.
I’ve definitely been a part of that in the past (2 NIT appearances my JR and SR year there after a nice little sweet 16 appearance&ACC tournament run to start college), but even after playing horridly in the first half, I had faith that this year’s team will turn it around in the second half…
How many of you guys actually gave up at the half? Just curious to see how other people view this year’s team. Thanks! (and seriously, whats with the “USA” chants?)
I never gave up on the team...
BUT I wasn’t exactly expecting us to turn it all around like that. WAY too lethargic of a first half from our guys. Glad we woke up.
It was ugly, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a win.
Overall, they haven’t played that poorly on the road. I believe this is their third road win (FSU, BC). They also lost to Wake in OT on the road. Three games in five days is a tough stretch, not to mention two of them were on the road. The Terps just buried State in an eight minute run. And it was over.
Jordan Williams is going to win us a title.
Go Terps
JWill was huge
He did miss (or make in an ugly way) all his FTs, but other than that he played almost perfect. Great on the boards and made a lot of nice shots inside. A real key to the game was not only Bowie’s points off the bench, but when he got them. That first 3 was huge to bring us close and the 2nd 3 was just as big. If he can continue to make just 1-2 big shots a game we will be in really good shape. Also, SM might have had another bad offensive game, but played good D. CT= no show
Great Win!
This win impressed me because you could see how tired they were. So we got through 3 games in 5 days at 2-1 and I am very pleased with that. That was a gutsy win that could have easily been a trap game because it is hard to win anywhere on the road in the acc. Loved the second half and I love this years squad, I will bicker about next year’s squad … next year!
A strange sense of calm...
…overcame me as I tuned in late in the second half. Saw we were down 6, EH hadn’t scored, LM looked awkward and SM was non-existant (disturbing trend of the three amigos continues). Still, I didn’t panic and had strange feeling that it wasn’t over…the Anthony Bowie hits a big three and the run commenced and victory was ours. JW is a stud – I’m a bit concerned for the depth and experience factors next year, but I can envision a scenario in 2 or 3 years when JW is a Jr or Sr captain and we have a deep, experienced squad. Let’s enjoy what’s left of this year and the ride that GV & co are about to take us on!
As the game came to a close I was glad to hear Bonner and Hogewood talk about Greivis as ACC POY.
I just cannot envision Scheyer taking over a game for Duke in the way Greivis did for us. Scheyer is technically very sound and he showed tonight that he can score when Duke needs it. However, I haven’t seen Scheyer put in a situation where he had to put the team on his back like Greivis has.
Scheyer hasnt had to with nolan and singler around.
by MurlandTerps on Feb 18, 2010 1:19 AM EST up reply actions
great coaching ... !/?
with this schedule and this road game the terps played well the 2nd half … GV continues to lead/carry and JWILL stepped up big time. Coach Williams did a great job during half time to settle the team back on track and get the win … and the next 2 home games should give us time to rest and feel the fan support .
But … I absolutely agree with ryan34 … we need the other 3 players to pick up their confidence level. We look too 1.5 dimensional … GV & JWILL … Could our next opponents just double up on GV and we’re done ? believe me a win on the road is huge but we do need to have all players step up … and that even means SM & CT …we need these 2 home games to gain some distance on the rest of the duke chasers.
These terps can do it … great come back … Go Terps !
Ryan,
First of all Ryan, some basic sports for you since you don’t have any The rule of thumb in all sports leagues is win your home games and split on the road. In the ACC, If you do that, you are 12-4. Got a problem with that?
As of RIGHT NOW RYAN, the Terps are in position to accomplish that.
I recall a post of yours on another blog where you said, and I am quoting here, “all that matters is winning.” So by your own account, it doesn’t matter if the fans at BC were on Christmas break (really, is this guy serious?), or a non call against FSU or any of your other garbage. They WON the games. Period. And besides, sports 101 dude, winning on the road is always more difficult. It’s an accepted FACT in sports, regardless of your nonsense (humping doorknobs? get a counselor)
Really, stop making an idiot out of yourself. Like that crybaby post over on the Sun site throwing in the towl at halftime. We all got a good laugh out of that.
Just for laughts, here is Ryan’s halftime post from last night.
This is MD basketball. Lose the games you need to win.
21 points in a half. What a joke.
I wouldn’t b e surprised to see this team NOT make the tourney.
I said, the last few years of mediocrity, they started slow and finished ok enough to get in.
This year they start 7-3, and I bet they finish 8-8 at BEST.
They just don’t have consistent scorers.
Gary can’t recruit them.
Sure, they win at home. But, good teams are SUPPOSED TO WIN AT HOME.
They can’t beat scrubs on the road.
Oh, and they lost to William and Mary,lol.
calm down everyone..
it’s a discussion, no need for name calling. if you disagree with something politely state that. you sound ignorant and immature when you use insult-filled, curse-laced tirades directed at one another… we’re all Terps fans that would like to see the team play it’s best every night. this is a forum to discuss the team and university amongst each other, not whatever is going on here…
haha ryan you are such a joke. kid thinks because he can say “f*g” and f**k a lot, it means he’s cooler than everyone else, and he’s right too! dude, i honestly don’t see why you said anything in the beginning. you still don’t understand that it’s harder to play on the road than it is at home. im not sure why this concept is sooooo difficult for you to grasp. obviously its harder to win on the road. but WERE NOT KENTUCKY. oh wait, even kentucky lost on the road to south carolina.
YOURE A FOOL FOR DENOUNCING MARYLAND’S ROAD PLAY. it is expected in sports that teams perform badly on the road. see my post above. if you dont understand why we dont play better on the road…look at every other team in the acc. uhhhh THEY STRUGGLE TOO. its a very common theme throughout college basketball, and you just havent caught onto that one yet (most people do when they watch maybe their 5th or 6th bball game on tv).
now, youre gonna yell and curse and say that “I’VE BEEN TO EVERY GAME SICK I WAS EFFING 3 YEARS OLD MAN, AND I WATCH EVERY EFFIN SECOND. SO THAT MAKES YOU A F*GG*T.” well, to be honest, your knowledge of basketball is pathetic haha. you yell and scream and swear to make yourself sound like a big boy, but dude you cant even make an argument cuz you dont understand one of the MOST BASIC TRENDS IN BASKETBALL. get a clue ryan.
like
i think i learned that its harder to play on the road in basketball than it is to play at home when i was about 5 years old. seriously. youre a fool.
what im saying
is youre a fool for thinking that we dont perform well on the road, and you need to take into account that we ARE DEFINITELY NOT GOING TO PERFORM AS WELL ON THE ROAD AS WE DO AT HOME. that being said, you still don’t comprehend that you should expect a dip in player’s performance on the road. you’re acting like there is concrete formula for winning on the road. having a lot of senior leadership helps, but it doesnt mean that we’ll win every game on the road.
set some serious expectations. i’ll spell this one out easily for you
basically what you’re saying is we’re not playing well on the road.
im saying that we are playing well on the road, you just need to realize that, and take the blinders off (and stop expecting that we will win every game, because that not only is a ridiculous expectation for our team, it’s a ridiculous expectation for any team).
i’m saying you need to stop blasting these guys, because, well you’re wrong. theyre performing very admirably on the road. the reason that you don’t understand this is because you think that winning road games is easier than it actually is. its incredibly hard.
do you understand now, or shall i make myself a little clearer for you?
dude youre an idiot
i live in college park. i would say the terps have done well on the road. 3-3 (good for 2nd in the ACC) is great. with the team that we have, 2nd in the ACC is a great accomplishment, is it not? i’d say it is every time, and i think you’d be a fool not to. obviously 1st is better, but i’m not sure this team has that type of caliber.
funny
“that is all u got to do, say yes or no…….I don’t care about anything else you say, because you obviously don’t get ALL the MD games up in NH………”
ignorance in a nutshell right there. “i dont care about anything else you say” = “I am ignorant and arrogant.” way to go, bud! it’s very convenient and easy to win an argument when you dont listen to 90% of what the other person says. sadly, you cant even win this argument using that strategy because YOU ARE SO DAMN WRONG.
hayes had the flu last night and tucker slipped on the ice a couple of days ago and was shaken up pretty good.
That's what I thought...
I could tell something was up with Hayes physically, and I knew he was under the weather Monday night too. Also, he was being guarded by 6’7" Scott Wood the whole night, making it harder to get his shot off.
I still like his contributions – 5 assists (compared to 1 TO), 2 steals and solid D overall.
by jellisjenius on Feb 18, 2010 2:40 PM EST up reply actions
youll let me slide?
i answered all of your points directly, go back and read it.
i answered your question directly. i’ll quote:
“Do you think Maryland MEN’s basketball has played GOOD on the road thus far in ACC play?”
my answer:
“i would say the terps have done well on the road. 3-3 (good for 2nd in the ACC) is great.”
not sure if that constitutes as a direct answer or not. here, i’ll rephrase it:
“I think Maryland MEN’s basketball has played GOOD on the road thus far in ACC play.”
now you can go through my previous posts as to why i think that, cuz i’d love to hear your rebuttles to them (seeming as how you didn’t answer/read them before).
what does me not growing a maryland fan have ANYTHING to do with ROAD PLAY this season? if i’m correct, this argument has everything to do with this season…and not 10 years ago. so what does it matter if i didnt watch every game juan dixon played in? ive watched 98% of the games greivis has played in in the last 2 years, and i watched them as often as i could the previous few years. that still takes NOTHING away from the validity of my arguments because this argument is solely based on this season
dude, again
what does me not watching the terps growing up have anything to do with this argument (that i will remind you again only pertains to THIS season)?
for the record, the only games i havent GONE to are the away games, winston-salem, FAU, and william and mary (because i was back home for the holidays haha). seeming as how i watch the rest of the games on TV, and the 3 games that i missed are all OOC games it means nothing anyway. your question specifically states “thus far in ACC play.” so, since we are talking about ACC play THIS season and i’ve seen each and every game (on tv or in person), then we are probably on the same level or maybe you missed one game on TV. regardless, youre a fool for thinking you have more knowledge than me, and that my opinion on this isn’t valid.
please take the time and read through my entire post dude.
More than embarrassing...
Anyone who turns a discussion of basketball (especially with a fellow fan of the same team) into an avenue for hate-filled, demeaning outbursts like that really should be talking to a counselor or something. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that much venom in one contained series of comments/posts before, and anyone who’s spent time on the various MD forums and blog comments sections knows that there’s no shortage of competition.
Anyway, thanks for stepping in Ben.
by jellisjenius on Feb 18, 2010 3:54 PM EST up reply actions
Dammit Ben!
I wanted to see those posts haha.
But I guess I get the gist of them from everyone’s responses.
I was so confused
I couldnt figure out who terpfromnh was talking to until I got to this post and saw that you deleted them.
i thought
it was comical. i hope my responses werent over the top, though. were they ben? i apologize if they were, i tried to keep them in line.
switching gears, what did he say to my last response??? im at work and had to (finally) do something, so i missed it! ugh!
You were fine
Nothing was really borderline, and it was clear who the instigator was. And you actually made sense.
Last response was something along these lines:
“***fromNH:
**** YOU".
I am sorry I started something like that on your blog. I see it continued on after I ran out of patience. I guess I allowed a running “feud” between Ryan and Go Terps from the Sun’s site to carry over here. That wasn’t fair to you guys. In the future, i’ll just make my own observations.
Apology accepted, but unnecessary
You didn’t start anything at all. You made a comment about how we’ve done on the road, and he responded with humping doorknobs. That’s him, not you; there’s little anyone can do about that.
whew ! sparks were flyin'
After trying to dodge the email bullets last night … I couldn’t shut down fast enough to avoid some type of obsenity virus further infecting my laptop… that ‘discussion’ which btw was way beyond out of line made me want to go and wash my hands … let’s agree that we want the terps to do their best and at times they flounder but this year, right now , being in the hunt is OK and exciting going into these next 5 games and having 2 home games coming up ‘should’ help our cause but I hope Coach W gets the terps ready to perform this Sat. 2/20 because my daughter is going to attend that game. I was ready to tell her about Cole Field house and then … she mentioned something about the Comcast Center … and the Beatles broke up … Let’s keep it clean and fun …Go Terps !
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