Fresh off their win at the Paradise Jam, Maryland will look to continue their three game winning streak when they take on Morgan State. Morgan State was actually in St. Thomas as well, playing in the same tournament, but they didn't do as well as the Terps, finishing in 7th place and getting their first win of the season when they defeated Marist on Monday.
After struggling on the defensive side of the ball going into the Paradise Jam, Maryland really turned their defense around during their three games in the Virgin Islands. The Terps held their opponents to just 30.7% shooting during the tournament and went from allowing 70.7 points per game to allowing just 53.7.
Starting Five:
Blake Bozeman, Forward
Cedric Blossom, Forward
Ian Chiles, Center
Justin Black, Guard
Anthony Hubbard, Guard
Morgan's offense runs through two players; senior guard Justin Black and senior center Ian Chiles. Chiles is averaging 13.9 ppg and 5.6 rpg and is coming off a dominant game against Marist, when he scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds, blocked seven shots, and dished out three assists in Morgan's overtime win. Black is averaging 18.4 ppg and five rpg and scored 19 points on Monday.
Maryland's biggest challenge will be stopping Chiles, who has a big height advantage over Maryland's front court players. They'll have to focus on preventing Chiles from getting the ball in the low post, double teaming him when he does receive it, and forcing Morgan's other players shoot. Damonte Dodd could see some additional minutes, as his height is the best suited to match up with Chiles, but head coach Mark Turgeon didn't saw whether Dodd would see more minutes on Friday.
Prediction:
Maryland seemed to hit their stride in St. Thomas. This game should allow the Terps to further refine their rotation, work on some issues and prep for Ohio State. Morgan State should give Maryland some competition early in the first half, but the Terps should be able to pull away by halftime. Maryland's quickness, size and depth should allow them to easily get past the Bears. It should be a much better result from the last time they visited College Park. Jake Layman, Evan Smotrycz and Dez Wells should all excel. Nick Faust will have the opportunity to attack the basket and Roddy Peters should be able to get to the basket and work on not forcing passes that aren't available. The Terps' new, improved defense should allow them to get some easy fast break points.
Maryland 81, Morgan State 57.