Maryland demonstrated last night that it is possible to have a tight twelve point victory in their 80-68 win over Indiana last night. In one regard, this game was reminicent of the Maryland-IU National Championship Game in 2002: it was ugly. The Terps needed a late surge from Vasquez and company to overcome a Hoosier team that shot just 33% on the night.
From the way the announcers were talking and the headlines read today, you would have thought that Greivis Vasquez had a good night. The reality was he hit a few key shots and made clutch free throws down the stretch, but this was largely another off night for Greivis. He struggled to get his jumper going. He struggled to create for himself early on. The one thing he did do was keep pushing the ball at the basket, and that worked to get him to the line as well as create for his teammates. Vasquez finished with 23PTS on 4-14 FG shooting, with added 8 assists.
Landon Milbourne was Steady Eddie last night. He kept the ship afloat while the rest of the team seemed to go cold for stretches at a time. Landon finished with 8-11 FG shooting and 19 PTS.
It was an otherwise unremarkable night for Maryland. The Terps should have been in control wire to wire, but sloppy ball handling opened the door for IU to go back and forth with Maryland in the second half. Oxon Hill native Maurice Creek had a nice game for the Hoosiers, finishing with 19 PTS and 4 RB. Ultimately, the Terps wore down an IU team that clearly didn’t have the same level of talent on the floor, but it took the entire game to do it.
A win is a win, but I felt pretty empty about the effort last night. Mosley did not protect the ball well. The bench was nonexistent. I don’t see how Maryland is going to avoid getting blown out by Villanova on Sunday. Villanova might be missing Yarou, but they still have big Maurice Sutton. The Terps will have to focus on ball handling this week, because they’re going to need every possession to win this weekend.
Is this a little Vasquez realism I see creeping in? Awesome.
Greivis Vasquez? I hate that guy. I mean I love that guy. I mean, I’m confused.
Believe it or not, I do watch the games with my eyes open and not tightly closed while hugging a Vasquez jersey, although I should try that at least once before his senior year ends. Having said that (ref: Curb), he needs to get into a gym and shoot 500 jumpers per day a la Agent Zero (without the cuckholdery) between now and Sunday. He’s still my man. I love me some Greivis. But he needs to show up big time at Villanova. That game will be the first “true test” of whether or not he’s still getting it up for the big games.
Silence the critics, Greivis. Silencíelos.
Williams and Padget need to get to the gym and shoot 500 free throws a day, or else it’s going to become “hack-a-shaq” every time they get the ball. Williams is shooting 40% from the line, Padgett 25%. Bowie is also down there at 42%, but he isn’t getting so many trips to the line to hurt the team.
Williams and Padgett are missing free throws for the same reason that they’re missing lay-ups. They’re not comfortable in their skin yet. That’ll improve with time. I don’t think anything can prepare a player for the transition from a high school gym with 100 people watching you to a cavernous arena with 15,000 people screaming at you. As the season wears on, they’ll start making more of them,
Bowie has no excuse. He is an enigma to me. The guy looks like he has all the tools but he just can’t put it together. I don’t know if he’s hitting the bong too hard or what.