Where: Comcast Center, College Park, MD
When: 9pm
Where to Watch: Raycom for the locals (and those in South Carolina). Justin.tv (p/w juanjuan) for the internet crowd. At the moment neither ChannelSurfing nor ATDHE is showing it.
Line: KenPom: Maryland by 6. Vegas: Maryland by 6. (I'm sensing a pattern here...)
Notes: Second matchup of the year for the two teams. Clemson took the first one, but it was in Littlejohn Coliseum. Demontez Stitt, Clemson's starting PG, will be healthy for this game.
Keys in Cliches:
- Survive the Press - Clemson might slow down a little from the last matchup, but they'll still press. That press accounted for 26 MD turnovers back in January, so being able to survive it this time around is paramount considering Clemson has a starter back.
- Control Booker...Again - The loss of Stitt last time meant that Clemson lacked much in the way of a halfcourt offense, which is where star forward Trevor Booker thrives. At the same time, limiting him to two FGs was huge, and though I don't expect it to happen again, keeping him under wraps would force their average outside shooters to carry the load.
- Force Turnovers and Capitalize on Easy Points - Clemson has one of the best defenses in the country (5th best, actually), and are rather stifling. At the same time, they turn the ball over a lot, and that should lead to plenty of easy buckets in transition. If Key #1 doesn't happen, they'll need all the easy buckets they can muster, and the way to get them is to force turnovers.
Graph:
Looks just about identical to Georgia Tech's, huh?
Light Gameday Reading:
Clemson-Maryland could eliminate ACC intrigue - Parrish
Win this, and Maryland stays in the running. Lose, and we're out of it for the ACC title.
Jordan Williams Readying for Trevor Booker
His plan?
"Just to bump him and let him know I’m not going to be pushed around," Williams said. "I think that sometimes players think they can just come in and move you around when you’re a freshman. I just want to make a statement right away."
Prediction: Part of me says Terps by 9, but another wants me to hold back on that. I'm a cautious guy, so I'm going to say Maryland by 5 in another close game.