Maryland-Virginia Tech Gameday Guide: Still on the Grind
by Ben Broman on Jan 20, 2011 6:00 AM EST
in Basketball
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PrintWhere: Comcast Center, College Park, MD
When: 9:00
Where to Watch: ESPN2 (nationally, I believe); ESPN3 for those that would prefer to watch online; should be some non-kosher streams closer to gametime for those out of the country
Line: Vegas: Terps -4 KenPom: Terps by 6
Storylines/Notes:
- Jordan goes for the tie. Jordan Williams is almost there. He needs just one more double-double to tie Len Elmore's record of 12 straight for the Terrapins. Virginia Tech's tallest player is 6-8, so hopefully he shouldn't struggle.
- Haters gonna hate. Malcolm Delaney called out Maryland fans yesterday. As I noted in the MM, so did Seth Greenberg, who has previously been critical of the Comcast Center ambiance. No, I'm sure that won't backfire in any way. It can't, can it?
- New defense alert! VT will likely employ a 2-3 zone today, which is somewhat new to them. They used it against UNC, and will try to use it today to limit Jordan Williams in the post. They'll try to force Maryland to force outside shots instead...and we all know how that works out.
- Injuries: Maryland's without Pankey, Virginia Tech is missing starting 2-guard Dorenzo Hudson for the rest of the year. In Hudson's place is Erick Green, a 6-4 sophomore.
- Grind it out. Maryland is #1 in the nation in defensive efficiency, while Virginia Tech is #16. Despite VT's over-reliance on Delaney offensively, they're very well-rounded defensively, especially in half-court. Meanwhile, VT is also one of the slowest-paced teams in the ACC. Points will be at a premium. Avoiding one of those long scoring droughts will be crucial.
- Do...something...with Malcolm Delaney. I don't know whether they want to let Delaney go one-on-one with Adrian Bowie and try to limit the rest of the team, or if they'd rather try to shut Delaney down, but either way, they need to do something with him. He's the lynchpin of the team, and if he's allowed to get his without a seriously concentrated effort at denying Jeff Allen, things could go south.
- Come ready. Let's be honest, based on past performances, this is a game Maryland should win. Then again, so was the BC game. They lost that one, and there's no reason they can't lose this one, too. They need to come up like they're playing a top 10 team, and there shouldn't be a problem.
Lineups:
| Maryland | VT | |
|---|---|---|
| Terrell Stoglin (6-0) | PG | Erick Green (6-4) |
| Adrian Bowie (6-2) | SG | Malcolm Delaney (6-3) |
| Sean Mosley (6-4) | SF | Terrell Bell (6-6) |
| Dino Gregory (6-7) | PF | Jeff Allen (6-7) |
| Jordan Williams (6-10) | C | Victor Davila (6-8) |
I had initially expected Mosley to cover Delaney, but upon further inspection that probably won't work. Bowie just can't give up four inches on the wing.
Green is taking over for VT at point guard for Delaney. He's played well there, but he's not an experienced PG. This seems like a gamble to me: it's giving up the very defined experience advantage that VT should've had in the backcourt.
Maryland's at a bit of a height disadvantage in the backcourt, but it's not a heinous one. Besides, VT's not a great-shooting team anyway, so I don't expect the height to be a huge deal.
Graph:
eFG% is essentially even, as is ballhandling. Maryland has a decent advantage in rebounding, while VT has an (unsurprising) advantage in FT%. This one will be close.
Prediction: I have no serious idea, so I'll just roll with KenPom and say that Maryland gets their first moderately impressive win of the season, albeit not necessarily in impressive fashion. Terps win, 73-67.
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Depth
Maryland has it and Tech does not. I think we need to use all 10 players and full court press throughout much of the game. Tech has 8 active players and 6 of them are game ready. If Jordan Williams can get either of VT’s front court players in foul trouble this game could get ugly for Tech. I hope Gary goes to his bench early and often and wear VT down. That is our best strategy.
agreed
He needs to use our depth to our advantage …..wear em out!!
Random Prediction of the Game
I think Stoglin is benched, Bowie moved to the 1 and Tucker starts. Mosley and Tucker will alternate the Dulaney assignment. Again, I have no information stating this will occur – it likely won’t. I just like predictions.
Interesting thoughts, Fushezzi
You may well be right. However, if VTech’s zone is effective Stoglin may be a spark that will help break it down. I don’t mean by firing up threes from everywhere, but by penetration.
Howard
Howard is a better defender than Stoglin. I hope Gary puts P’eshon on Delaney for stretches. Using a tag team of fresh defenders on Delaney should tire the little guy out. I know Stogs will get his time in this game and we need his scoring but defense seems more of a priority here. At least on Delaney. When you get past Delaney and Allen Tech does not have much offensive firepower.
The problem with that is.....
We dont have much firepower past Jordan Williams. Tucker is hit or miss, Stoglin takes a ton of shots and is hit or miss, Mosley is good for about 8 pts, Dino has been playing well but usually feeds of of his defender trying to be in a good help side defensive position, and bowie can be hit or miss…. he has great games when we play at a fast paced open court game but usually falls off in the half-court game.
If I was devising a game plan I would put out my most explosive offensive team minus Stoglin (takes to many ill-advised shots) and say go. The best way to wear down Delaney is to make the kid run and play some defense himself. Bowie, Tucker, Mosley, Dino, and J-Will. I use Hawk a lot in the game so that we can slide Mosley down to guard Delaney without giving up height at the SF position. Hawk can shoot from the outside and he gives us a rebounding edge if we play him at the 3 with Dino and J-Will.
by Charlotte NC Terp on Jan 20, 2011 10:18 AM EST up reply actions
Delaney
Your using the big lineup leaving Dino in and subing Hawk for Tucker. I am in agreement with that. I get worried sometimes when Hawk goes in for Dino as a big. I like Hawk as the 3 and going big like your lineup. That’s good for defense and maybe offense too. It is still a mystery which alignment will score the most points. I like using Howard in place of Stoglin or Bowie for stretches. He is better in the 1/2 court and his defense is bruising. We have to be fresher as this game wears on using more players.
Against the Grain
Reading all of these comment my prediction is that Stoglin has a big game.
Team Defense
has been pretty good all year long regardless of who is on the floor. VT backcourt has more size so I’d prefer more mosely & tucker to be on the floor together more often then not. Plus they are the more reliable shooters. Bowie/Howard/Stogs rotate the PG spot and back up guard spots and whoever turns it over less gets the time (bowie and stogs can make their FT’s though).
by Ttown Funkster on Jan 20, 2011 12:59 PM EST reply actions
atmosphere
with all the trash talk I know were expecting an especially brutal environment tonight, but aren’t students still on break? do we think the student section will still be full?
by dcsportsfanatic on Jan 20, 2011 1:31 PM EST reply actions
Students
Yes, we are still on break… first day of classes is monday… however, a good number of us are already back in CP… i don’t expect the student section to be full but i’m thinking we’ll get a fairly good turn out… certainly better than it was against Colgate
In other news
Maryland finally has a vote in the espn power rankings
My hate meter is running real high now.
I hope we destroy these clowns and their bald-ass, crybaby, cabbage-patch-kid-looking, acc-irrelevant “coach”. Let’s bring it LOUD tonight, terp family!!!!
Nicky
I can’t wait for Nick Faust to get here. Him and Jordan will run the show next year!
Must win game
Huge game tonight for the Terps. Due to their losing every marquee OOC game, ACC conference play is of the utmost importance. Especially tonight against a VT team that is similar to the Terps and may be battling them at the end of the season for an NCAA tourney bid.
The Terps are playing at home, are well rested, and have had plenty of practice time to try and figure out how to run some semblance of an effective offense.
If they can shoot 35% from 3 and 65% from the line, which shouldn’t be too much to ask since those are exceedingly mediocre numbers - they should pull out a much needed victory tonight. If not, then it’s another notch on the NIT belt…
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