Where: Tallahassee, FL
When: 9:00
Where to Watch: Raycom, Justin.tv (p/w is juanjuan), ESPN360 (subject to blackout)
Line: Florida State -2.
Keys in Cliches:
- Bounce Back - The Clemson loss was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen, and it brought the Terps crashing back to earth hard. How they respond to that game will tell us a lot about the team and may decide the outcome of this game. Given the history of the team, I wouldn't worry too much.
- Turnovers, On Both Sides - Maryland can't afford 26 turnovers again. Scarily enough, FSU forces more TOs than Clemson. They'll need to turn that on its head and force the guard-less Noles into more TOs. I recently said that Derwin Kitchen hadn't evolved into a consistent PG yet, and while that's true, he's not as bad as he was at the beginning of the year. This might be a little harder.
- Balanced Play - One thing that was noticeable against Clemson was just how balanced the team was - everyone played terrible. I'd like to think that they could keep up that balanced play, but just improve as a whole. A lot of the role players - Sean Mosley, Eric Hayes, and Landon Milbourne especially - need to become factors again. That opens the floor for Vasquez and makes the entire offense run so much better.
- Forget What You Know About FSU - Okay, this one's for the fans, but Maryland got one of FSU's worst performances on the year last time. I can't see that happening again, and they've improved since then. Don't assume this team is the same as you saw last time.
Four Factors:
Prediction: Line is 2. KenPom says 1. I'll say FSU by 4. Thoughts?