Stock Report: Maryland set for final regular season showdown with Virginia in ACC

It took a little while, and some controversy, but Maryland got past Virginia Tech and prepare for their final regular season showdown with Virginia as ACC members. Maryland's move to the Big Ten marks the likely end to the rivalry. Maryland is on the quest to get to .500 in conference play and help their seeding for the conference tournament. Now, there's a lot of help needed from teams like Boston College, so it seems likely Maryland will be locked in to the 8-9 game for the conference tournament.

That means a third showdown with UVA could be in the cards, and while UVA has played extremely well down the stretch, Maryland did play them close in Charlottesville.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Maryland went 1-1 since the last stock report. They lost on the road to Clemson and beat a bad Virginia Tech team at home. They should not have lost the game against Clemson, but collapsed in the second half, again in overtime and ultimately a final time in double overtime.

Stock Rising:

Evan Smotrycz -- Hear me out... His shot is actually falling, even if by accident, now. His 6-for-13 in the last two games from behind the arc (or "Bonusphere" if you're Tim Brant). He was 1-for-11 in the three previous games. Does he still have the same limitations on defense? Yes, but at least now his shot is falling. Go back to killing Evan, if you must, but at least recognize his shot is falling.

Mark Turgeon's starting lineups -- I like the idea of benching a guy to start the game to send a message if they had an off-game previously. Turgeon had been reluctant to do that up until this past week. Smotrycz was benched to start against Clemson and Layman got the same treatment against Virginia Tech. In both instances, it seemed to work and both players improved following the benching.

Stock Holding:

Seth Allen -- His stock may have plateaued, but he followed up a 20-point, 2-assist game against Clemson with an 8-point, 5-assist game against Virginia Tech. He played a little more in the role of a facilitator against Virginia Tech to give Dez Wells a break. Note: Since Mythbusters following the Syracuse game, his percent of possessions used has risen, ever so slightly, and that's reflected in his assist numbers lately -- an added bonus is the lack of turnovers in those extra possessions.

Second half Dez - It's a thing and it's real. He really need to find a way to play the whole game like it is the second half. I don't know how one does that, but we should all hope he finds out.

Nick Faust late-game heroics -- Maybe not late-game, but it's easier to say than "Nick Faust shot-taking abilities at the end of the first-and-second halves." If you give Nick Faust the last shot of a half, he's going to make it. He's made at least three in a row. Much like Dez, I don't know how you tell a guy to play like that the entire game, but lets find out.

Roddy Peters -- I was deemed a Roddy Peters "hater" last week. I am not. I'm looking at the play on the court, and looking at the stats and just not impressed with what I'm seeing -- for right now. Also, I'm an advocate of seeing what you have in him once you have nothing to play for. I thought he looked overmatched and rushed even against Virginia Tech. He had another ugly sequence where he had a layup attempt blocked, nearly had a turnover, but Faust saved him, and then another missed a layup. His offensive rating has also dropped since last Friday. His stock isn't dropping, but that's mostly because I think it can only go up and look for him to see extensive minutes in the NIT and in 2014-15. Unfortunately, 2013-14 will be chalked up as a lost season.

Stock Falling:

Charles Mitchell -- It's irresponsible to get into a screaming match with a coach mid-game. One of my favorite things about Mitchell is his passion and intensity, but that also has it's downside -- and we all saw it first hand against Virginia Tech.

ACC Network -- The way they covered the Mitchell situation was irresponsible. I've watched the moment a couple times now, and Cory Alexander makes it clear that it was an Elvis joke when he says he left the building, but Tim Brant continued on acting like it was a fact for a few solid minutes. Now either Brant didn't hear Alexander say "Like Elvis, he's left the building" or he just wasn't paying attention, but either way you can't have one of your broadcasters repeatedly spouting out false information about a potentially important storyline. I will miss the Bojangles ads, I won't miss much else come the move to the Big Ten.