Maryland-Georgia Tech Gameday Guide

Where: Comcast Center, College Park, MD

When: 2pm

Where to Watch: Raycom for the locals (and those in Georgia). Justin.tv (p/w juanjuan) for the internet crowd. If adthe is showing it, the link will be in the comments or the gamethread.

Line: KenPom: Maryland by 7. Vegas: Maryland by 7.

Notes: Georgia Tech has the best freshman in the ACC in Derrick Favors. Maryland has the second best in Jordan Williams. Yes, the two will probably match-up. Also worth noting: GT has won only one ACC road game.

(Incomplete) Keys in Cliches:

• Do What They've Been Doing - Is it that simple? Probably. GT is absurdly like Florida State, whom Maryland has beaten twice. They have the same guard play issues and the same absurd height. If they handle them like they handled FSU, there shouldn't be a problem. That means hit the open shots afforded to them and play tight, solid defense.
  
• Force and Capitalize on Turnovers - Georgia Tech is extremely turnover prone. They only need a little bit of pressure to start giving the ball away at an alarming rate. Maryland should force that issue and feast on the easy points they get in transition, because Georgia Tech's half-court defense is very good.
  
• Don't Get Killed On the Boards - I fully expect Maryland to double-down on Georgia Tech's bigs when they get the ball in the post, or at least Gani Lawal. He'll kick it back out to the perimeter, and one of GT's guards will get an open shot. Some of those will go in, but as long as Maryland can keep Georgia Tech from grabbing a ton of offensive rebounds, the gamble is worth the risk. Doing that, however, will be difficult.

Graph:

Maryland has the big advantage in TO%, while GT has the big advantage in rebounding. GT also has an edge in FT rate, but getting to the line doesn't mean knocking down more FTs - the Yellow Jackets are far from automatic from the stripe, Lawal and Favors in particular. Very even graph. I guess Maryland is lucky, then, that they go in order of importance.

Prediction: I can't help but continue to see the similarities in GT and FSU. GT is, if you can believe it, even more bone-headed, but has more talent. Those just about even out. I'll say a much-needed Maryland win on homecourt lead by Greivis Vasquez. Terps by 11.