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After a game against North Carolina on Tuesday that left a lot to be desired, the Maryland Terrapins found their groove early on en route to a 83-71 victory over the Florida State Seminoles.
In their first meeting, the Seminoles destroyed the Terps from beyond the arc, hitting 16 of their 24 three-point attempts on their way to an 85-61 victory. Maryland would only go 3-18 from beyond the arc, good for a whopping 16.% three point shooting percentage.
In the first match-up, Seth Allen was coming off of the bench, and made little to no impact in the game, finishing 0-8 from the field with one point scored. This time, "good Seth" showed up, finishing 11-15 from the field and 7-10 from beyond the arc, scoring 32 points to lead the charge for Maryland. Allen seemed unstoppable in the game, making shots with hands in his face, off-balance, and on the drive. When Seth Allen is on his game, he is a tough player to stop, and he has shown that.
The biggest issue with Allen is his tendency to disappear in some games, which is evident in his first game against Florida State this season. He can turn the ball over, take bad shots, and just go cold from the outside. But, when Seth Allen is firing on all cylinders, he is a player most coaches would like to have on their team. Allen scored 21 points in the first half, which was good enough to tie his career-high. From there, the rest is history.
Coming out of high school, Allen was a three-star recruit, and not many had heard about his game up until that point. Coach Mark Turgeon recruited him while he was at Texas A&M, so it was obvious that he would target him once he took the job at Maryland. Soon enough, Allen committed.
To put it into perspective, for a three-star recruit and through the inconsistencies of his game, Allen has come along for the Terps, and seems to only be getting better. The Terps were not the same team without him, and while the team still hasn't reached their full potential with him in the lineup, the team could be much worse off without him, and Saturday's game backs that case up.
With Allen being as strong as he has, this could also be the answer the question many have wondered in terms of Roddy Peters' playing time. Allen has seen increased playing time, leading Peters to remain on the bench more. Peters has struggled this season, and seems to have hit a wall as a freshman. While it should be expected for him to improve, the Terps are in a situation where they cannot afford to lose games, and if that means leaving Peters on the bench, that is something coach Turgeon is willing to do.
Notes:
- The Terps got beat on the boards 38-31, but did attempt 11 less shots than the Seminoles.
- Dez Wells equaled his average in points scored, scoring 15 points in the game, adding two blocks and six assists.
- As noted, Roddy Peters has seen decreased playing time, and only logged three minutes on Saturday.
