Testudo Times Roundtable: A debate after basketball's first conference win

Q: Give the readers a reason to be excited about this Maryland-Marshall match-up in the Military Bowl!

Todd: Maryland's in a bowl game. That should be reason enough. But if you want more: Watch to see if the Terps can beat a quality Marshall team and reach the successful season floor of 8 wins. Watch to see if the extra weeks of practice have the impact that people think it should. Watch to say goodbye to Greg Gattuso.

Pete: Basically what Todd said, plus a game against what should be a really good team. Marshall has a balanced, explosive offense and a top-notch defense.

Brendan: It's the "dream" matchup for the Military Bowl. Which, if nothing else, makes me feel a heck of a lot better about my own dreams. Generally, when you look at bowl previews this game ranks somewhere in the bottom five, but I think it will turn out to be a good game. Maryland's offense has a month to prepare and Marshall is a good C-USA team. Not to mention, they have a guy named Gator Hoskins (who is a very good tight end).

Q: After losing back-to-back games against Ohio State and George Washington, how important was the win over Boston College?

Todd: I think it was hugely important. The early losses have made the path to the NCAA Tournament a steep hill to ascend but a 5-5 and 0-1 start would have sharpened the incline by many degrees.

Pete: I think what could be even bigger than breaking the losing streak is winning an ACC road game. None of those are easy, even if only 3,000 Boston College fans show up.

Brendan: I tweeted last night that it wasn't a big win, but a much-needed win -- and I think that's still true. Boston College was a sub-.500 team and playing in front of friends and family last night, but Maryland desperately needed the win.

Q: Did Roddy Peters performance against Boston College show you enough to start for the foreseeable future?

Todd: I didn't see the game but from reading recaps and comments I'm left with the sense that he's by far the best option the Terps have right now.

Pete: Absolutely.

Brendan: I think he has to, right? Varun Ram is a nice player, but a starting guard in the ACC he is not.

Q: Who is Maryland's go-to guy: Dez Wells or Jake Layman?

Todd: The only thought I gave this was trying to remember how to spell Dezmine.

Pete: I think it depends on the situation. Maryland's lucky enough to have both of these guys as legitimate options, with their games working well together. If a team has good help defense on the inside, you go to Layman. If not, Wells.

Brendan: I agree with Pete on this, they really have two go-to guys and it is on a situational basis. Thankfully, they both complement each other perfectly, and Evan Smotrycz is a great third option. I think it's a great advantage for Maryland to have this "problem" and can exploit it throughout the season -- provided Roddy Peters is playing like he played last night.