Ugggh. Must. Purge. Game. From. Body. Please pass the ipecac, leeches, portable sauna, and electroshock nodes. After Maryland lost to Clemson 62-53 in one of the sloppiest games in recent memory, I need a reset. To the points:
- Maryland played excellent team defense on Trevor Booker (10 points on 2-16 shooting). Too bad, though, that the focus on Booker meant Jerai Grant was wide open and free to score a career-high 18 points, many of which came on dunks.
- By and large, Maryland’s strategy of collapsing in the middle and making a Demontez Stitt-less Clemson team beat them from the perimeter was effective. After all, they did hold the Tigers to 62 points, including 22 percent shooting beyond the arc. It’s just unfortunate that Maryland only managed 53 points and 20 percent shooting from three. Kind of a slight problem there.
- This was the sloppiest game of Maryland’s season. Twenty-six turnovers, 22 fouls. What’s the holdup on the ipecac?!?!
- Clemson repeatedly — repeatedly — shredded Maryland’s press, which I suppose coach Williams decided to use because Stitt was out. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I do not like the press.
- I have a question. What good is a “veteran presence” and “senior leadership” if it goes away in big spots? Landon Milbourne (3 points, 5 rebounds) gets something of a pass because he’s not really a natural post player and struggles against physical bigs like Booker and Grant. Eric Hayes (11 pts on 4-7 shooting, 2 assts, 5 turnovers, 4 fouls) and Mr. Greivis Vasquez (10 pts on 3-11 shooting, 2 assts, 3 rebs, 4 fouls, NINE turnovers) have no such excuse.
- The That-Sums-It-All-Up Play of the game came at about the 14-minute mark in the second half. With Tanner Smith in his shorts (and credit where it’s due: Smith did a great job on Vasquez all evening), Vasquez tries a completely unnecessary behind-the-back dribble, which skitters off his foot and rolls toward the out-of-bounds line. Smith, who was hustling, dives toward the ball. Vasquez decides that simply falling on Smith is the best way to make something happen. Third personal foul.
- Which brings me to today’s rant. There’s a good Vasquez and a bad Vasquez. A Gollum and a Smeagol, if you will. And last night we had a big-time Gollum sighting. Vasquez has had a great season, no question. And sure, a guy who gets 15 points, 5 boards, and 6 assists per game is valuable. But again, how valuable is it really if it evaporates when the pressure is on? When he wasn’t sitting on the bench with foul trouble, how many times last night did Vasquez drive into the lane, leap into the air, and lob a wrap-around pass out of bounds? How many times did he (and Hayes) dribble directly into the teeth of the Clemson press? Where was the Vasquez Shimmy last night? This all clearly had a trickle-down effect for his teammates; Adrian Bowie and Dino Gregory, in particular, were basket cases out there. Don’t you think they could have benefited from some of that Vasquez fearlessness? Or does that fearlessness only exist against the Miamis and Boston Colleges of the world? Bottom line: Vasquez has some decidedly A-Roddian tendencies. If Maryland is up 15, he’s raining threes and shimmying around like he’s in a Rihanna video. And don’t talk to me about North Carolina last year…great game, but they were the underdogs. Thus, no pressure. If Maryland is going to fulfill its potential, which is considerable, Vasquez needs to put the cape on and deliver when his team needs him the most. Isn’t that what being a senior leader and All-ACC candidate is all about?
- Obviously, every game is important, and blah blah blah, but this one was a particularly good barometer for how this Maryland team will perform against legit opponents. Because of their tendency to get overwound in big games like this one, I believe there’s a ceiling on what this group can do.
- Enough bad stuff. Hey, what about Jordan Williams? A career game for the ever-improving freshman. In addition to some outstanding defense on Booker, he got 13 points and 13 rebounds, including some authoritative finishes at the rim.
- We’ll see if Maryland can get back on the horse this Thursday in Tallahassee against a Florida State team that would love to even the season series with the Terps.
I see you have the “Bad Losses” tag on this post, but I can’t put it in that category. Maryland faced a team with its back against the wall and fighting for their lives. You might say that they were not ready for the buzzsaw of physicality that awaited them, but facing that pressure they did regroup and fight until the end.
I will continue to be a Greivis apologist. There is no disputing the fact that he had a terrible night, but Tanner Smith played outstanding defense and most of the errors were forced. Trevor Booker had an equally bad night against relentless double teams, but he won so I guess he gets a pass. One thought that entered my mind was, “Why didn’t Gary leave Greivis on the bench in the first half?” He already had two fouls, so he certainly could have done it without bruising his ego. The team was playing better with Hayes at the point. That was a major coaching mistake in my opinion.
Maryland was the underdog in this game, so I can’t say that they should have won it. They were playing a ranked opponent on the road in a tough venue. The thesis of your post is right: let’s just forget this game and on to Florida State. I believe it was an anomaly.
Jordan Williams played great. The Terps might be his team as early as next year if he keeps upping his game like this.
An absolute rip yer guts out game. Sloppy as hell but still had a lead late in the game, only to choke and lose. I didn’t sleep well last night. Kept replaying the pass from Vasquez that bounced off Mosley’s hands…ouch!
Not a bad loss? Wha? If we win this game, there’s a good chance we get ranked. Clemson was playing without its second-best player. And how does Maryland respond? With 26 turnovers and one of the grossest games they’ve played in recent memory. They held Clemson to 31 percent FG shooting and STILL lost. It’s just the same old song and dance: when the going gets tough, the Terps panic.
Clemson had much more at stake coming into this game than the Terps. Any team would have had trouble against the level of intensity they showed on the defensive end. Maryland was a 6PT underdog coming into it and lost by nine to a ranked team on the road. It was a sloppy game but not a bad loss.
Well, it looks like we’ll just be agreeing to disagree on this one now doesn’t it.
That is the only amicable way for us to proceed with our friendship.
Watching last night, I kept counting to see if they had more players on the court than we did. They completely shut us down. The surge in the 2nd half was not at all reflective of the continuing dismantling that hit us with on almost every possession. The ONLY thing that I don’t blame the terps for is that late Vasquez foul where his elbow connected with Smith’s chin. That was a nonsense call and pretty much sealed the deal for the terps on their one last chance to pull out a win. But, no matter how you cut it, when you don’t play to your potential, it’s a bad loss.
MD was 3.5 pt dog…I checked on Sportsbook.com
That must have been the line at tip-off. It opened at 5.5pts. Either way, they were the underdog.
[...] happened down there in Clemson. Something bad. Something dark. It wasn’t just an ordinary loss, apparently. Perhaps the game was so [...]