Season Over…for the men

Well when the buzzer sounded up in Syracuse Thursday night, it marked the end to what can only be described as a disappointing season for the terps…despite the departures of Strawberry, Jones and the other 4 seniors from last year’s team, many, including myself expected another NCAA tournament run. Instead we got a team that just seemed to lack the necessary on court chemistry that is needed in those games when you aren’t playing your best and to keep your momentum when you get up on a team.

Gist and Boom will be leaving, as well as possibly a mystery player if Ken Bowman does indeed come to play for the Terps next year. With all of the good that Gist brings, i’ll be happy to see him go. He is too inconsistent for me, and when he thinks hes a jump-shooter, he hurts the team more than he helps them. I will miss Boom because he is a loveable guy, but he was a garbage player, getting most of his points picking up Gist’s mistakes, not creating his own shots.

I’ll talk about the rest of the team when I get time later. I don’t think this team is hopeless, and I don’t think Gary needs to be fired. They just need to work some stuff out.

The post season is just beginning for the women however as they play their 1st and 2nd round games at Comcast Sunday and Tuesday. If you haven’t seen this team play, this is your last chance. They are loosing a lot of talent this year and while they will still be a good team, I am not sure if they will be a national champion contender next year, which they are this year, so come out and watch them at Comcast if you have some time (Duke is also playing their games at Comcast so you can come boo them while you are there).

In the housekeeping department, I will try to keep this blog updated during the women’s run through the tournament, but I am entering a demanding two week period with my classes and may not have the time. Regardless, I hope to write some women’s entries, as well as a little more about the men’s team in the weeks to come. Oh…and that spring football game is right around the corner.

My new Mastercard Commercial….

Skipping two days of classes….a few point in each class

Lunch and Dinner  on Thursday….15 dollars

Riding on a bus for 7 hours to Charlotte to see the Terps be…the Terps…and preparing for a 7 hour bus ride home tomorrow morning….Priceless

It’s simple….

The Terps need to put together some wins if they want to make the NCAA tournament. They need to win their first two games (against BC and Clemson) before they can even think about making the NCAA’s. If they get to that 3rd game, against Duke most likely, I think they need a strong showing in a loss to Duke at a minimum to make the NCAA’s. Beating Duke probably gets them in. Getting killed by Duke in the 3rd round is not enough in my opinion, especially with all these mid-major teams who are shoe-ins losing their conference tournaments.

As for my prediction, I expect us to beat BC, but I think Clemson’s full court press will be too much for us. Clemson was cold for 30 mins of the game 2 weeks ago and I just do not expect them to shoot that badly again. Thus, unfortunately, I predict an NIT birth for the Terps. Maybe the Terps will surprise me however, and maybe we will get some NCAA action later in the month.

I will be down in Charlotte for the tournament and will attempt to blog after each Maryland game so check back often this weekend for my blogs.

Let’s talk about something happy…the women

It’s ACC tourney time….female style

The women are the #2 seed in the tournament this year, and if all goes to plan, will get an opportunity to play UNC in the finals. Their first game will be against the BC/VT winner. Whichever of these teams the terps play, i do not expect much of a problem. I doubt you will see a 20 point deficit against VT if we play them like what happened during the season. Assuming they win that game, the Terps will most likely play #3 Duke. Maryland has been able to handle them this season going 2-0 against the blue devils. Duke is a good team, but I think we match up very well against them, and will probably win the game.

This brings us to the championship game. It will probably be against #1UNC, but #4 UVA, and #5 GT are all on this side of the bracket. Maryland doesn’t particularly match up well against any of these teams. UNC is just flat out good, and simply may be more talented than us. We needed two comebacks to beat UVA twice this year, and we all remember the double OT thriller at home to GT where the Terps barely escaped with a victory. The point is, we do not match up well with these teams, so thankfully we will only have to face one throughout the tournament. Assuming all goes to plan, Maryland will play #1 UNC, and will probably lose, although a win is very possible if we play a flawless game.

In terms of NCAA seedings, the terps are looking at a #2 seed no matter what they do, unless they win the tournament. UNC, Tenn, and UConn are locks for #1 seeds no matter what they do. Its between MD and Rutgers for that last #1, and for some reason, most believe Rutgers is getting that last #1 seed despite 5 losses on the season. Maryland can steal that #1 seed with an ACC tournament win, or a poor showing by Rutgers in the Big East tournament. Worst case scenario is we are a #2 seed….and a #2 seed in the NCAA is better than a #1 seed in the NIT…sorry to end that on such a sour note, but thats what the Men are probably looking at now

Speechless….

so yeah….that was kind of dejecting to say the least…i can’t say i didn’t see it coming though

seemed like we spent three minutes trying to get McAlpin some points instead of just trying to score

the referees were terrible, but i felt their were equally bad for both teams so that’s a wash

the bench scored 20 points!….and we lost? (not counting Milbourne’s 4 off the bench)

we can’t break the press, yet we run the press so the team definitely sees it in practice…someone explain this to me

the crowd sucked too…no noise when the team was up by 20…no energy from the crowd when we are killing an opponent…that needs to change if people want Maryland to be a “top” national program

this was the night we decided to miss free throws (we left 11 points at the line)

Boom was said to be fully recovered from the flu, yet he looked pretty overmatched the whole game

Terps need to beat UVA, and probably need two wins in the ACC tournament to think about maybe going to the NCAAs. I said before that losing to Clemson would not be the end of the world; however, when you give up a 20 point lead at home with 11 mins to go, on national television, well….i just didn’t see that coming when I claimed a loss to Clemson would not be the end of the world

Clemson

Another short entry, and i am writing this later than I would have liked, but better late than never, and better short than nothing.

The win against Wake Forest was huge for the Terps. They can breath a little easier now, but there is still work to be done. Beat Clemson and UVA, and you are probably in the tournament. Lose to one of those teams, and at least one win in the ACC tournmanet is a must. Clemson has a high RPI however, and Maryland has not protected its home court well this season, so a win on senior night against Clemson will really help Maryland’s situation. Clemson is a good team that can shoot the three, or power the ball inside. However, when that three ball goes cold, the whole team seems to go cold. This is another winnable game for the Terps, and probably their most important game of the season (besides notching a win over #1 UNC). A win against Clemson helps Maryland in the RPI, the ACC standings (and Maryland’s quest to finish in the top 4 of the ACC), and national impression of Maryland basketball. Is the season over if the Terps lose? probably not, but it will be in serious trouble, so why not just win and make us all happy. I expect a nail-biter finish and think this game could go either way, but I have to pick the Terps at home on senior night.