You better get used to seeing Terrell Stoglin score, and score a lot.
The sophomore guard turned in a career-high for the second time in the last five games, dropping 33 points and a back-breaking three-pointer that sealed Maryland's 78-71 victory over Notre Dame in the BB&T Classic. The win gives Maryland a 4-3 record, a semi-impressive out-of-conference victory, and confirms Stoglin as one of the college game's most entertaining characters.
As it so often does, tonight's game often seemed like a one-man show - Stoglin turned in 11 of Maryland's first 12 points before the cavalry arrived. Stoglin's natural scoring ability rivals Greivis Vasquez's, a fact which was never more clear than his late dagger of a three-pointer, a shot that for any other player would've been terrible. For Stoglin, it was probably the drawn-up play.
But Maryland won tonight not because it was a one-man show, but because it wasn't. Other players pitched in important performances, especially in clutch moments: Sean Mosley finished with 17 points; James Padgett had a double-double with 11 and 10; and Mychal Parker had the best game of his career, scoring 9 points with a three-pointer, a 6-6 free throw shooting performance, and seven rebounds.
The free throw shooting will certainly be one of the big storylines. Maryland, who has struggled so much with it in recent games, went 25-35 from the line, good for 71%. And that was with one of their guards, Nick Faust, going 0-4.
I'm busy, so I have to end this post now. There will be more later, though, because this game deserves it. For the moment, I'll end it with this: Maryland got an important win, not because Notre Dame is good (I don't think they are) but because every win is important this year, every victory a building block. There's a practical reason, too: with a run of gimme games coming up, there's a good chance Maryland could enter the ACC schedule at 10-3, with a healthy Pe'Shon Howard and an eligible Alex Len.
They aren't an NCAAT team, but they might be an NIT team. There's no reason winter in College Park can't be a lot of fun.