The Terps survived a horrendous first half by coming out hot after intermission, and won 71-67 in Tallahassee yesterday. If yesterday’s win at Florida State proved anything, it proved that Maryland can win ugly. In the first half Maryland seemed stuck in the same fog they were in at Clemson earlier in the week. How did they snap out of it? Let’s go to the Porsche Keys to the Win:
- Vasquez (23), Milbourne (18), Williams (14), and Hayes (12) had 67 of the Terps 71 points. The rest of the team was 0-10 from the field for 4 PTS. This was the second game in a row where the bench was nonexistent. Luckily, Florida State performed a similar disappearing act. The Noles got 58 points out of four players and nine out of the rest. On Thursday night, Maryland’s best four outperformed Florida State’s best four.
- At the start of the game Florida State was able to dictate the pace, turning the game into a helter skelter track meet and trapping the Terps into turnovers. Maryland managed just 25 points by half time, but they were still only down four points. At halftime, Gary Williams made the adjustments necessary to get the Terps into their set offense, and the team rattled off seven unanswered points right away to take a four point lead. As is often the case, Gary Williams out-coached his opponent.
- From there, the Terps were able to maintain a lead for most of the second half, until the very end of the game when Jordan Williams had to start sitting due to foul trouble. The Seminoles tied the game with three minutes left, and suddenly, the crowd was back in it. Who was going to step up? Dino Gregory,that’s who! That’s right, Dino freaking Gregory comes out of nowhere, takes a charge, and Vasquez sinks a couple of FT’s to preserve the lead. Dino was an unlikely hero after he was largely absent for most of the game, but that key play enabled the Terps to win the game. Overall, the game was that close. It could have gone either way. Kudos to Dino for shaking off the rust and making a big stop.
- I love me some Greivis. Just when the haters started screaming at their TV’s and secretly hoping Greivis would blow it, Vasquez turns it on with a running jumper and forces a couple of fouls to keep the scoring going. His final line – 23 PTS /7 RB/7 AST – was pretty close to a triple-double. You may howl over his five turnovers but most of them came off of some tight traps, and he was better than a 1/1 AST/TO ratio on the night, so that’s a good line. I love how he incited the crowd from the opening tip. He thrives on the hate, so keep hating bitches. GREAT JOB GREIVIS! M-V-P! M-V-P!
- It was a nice night for Milbourne. He was, once again, Steady Eddie when the rest of the team started crapping themselves. 18 PTS and 6 RB (including 4 huge ORB) doesn’t tell the story of how he continually stepped up on both sides of the ball. He’s the yin to Grevis’s yang. Landon is such a tweener that I didn’t think that he had a lot of pro upside coming into this season, but the more of these clutch ACC games he has, the more looks he’s going to get from teams that have a need at the small forward position. That is how well Milbourne is playing right now.
- I’ve said before that Jordan Williams is the missing piece to the Terps puzzle for success, and this game just proved the point. With Williams (14 PTS, 7/11 FG, 6 RB, 2 blocks) in the game, Maryland looked confident in their sets, and they were able to work the ball inside out against a couple of big dudes from Florida State. Without him, the front court looked small and disorganized. How high is Williams’s upside? I the Terps will be his show by next season. Reports are that he is a humble hard worker that likes to learn. If he can continue to learn and hit the gym to chisel that big frame, I can see Williams becoming a first round NBA draft pick in a few years.
It wasn’t pretty, but a win is a win is a win is a win. The team turned it around in the second half and started shooting the ball very well. That should bode well for this Sunday’s game against UNC.
That running floater was the only shot (of the four he tried) that he made in the final three minutes. I counted. He also did the classic dribble-into-the-defender’s-chest-and-cough-it-up maneuver. I love that one.
Play of the game was Milbourne skying to board a Vasquez brick at the 3:30 mark — like he knew it was coming — and then drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. Stablizer. That was when FSU had the game down to 1 and Vasquez was slowly descending into panic. I’m not making this up, you could see it happening.
Vasquez had a great game, but let’s not turn this into the Gatorade Big Time Clutch Performance because he made one basket in the final five minutes. Because that would get a BZZZZZZZT.
Also, Chris Singleton from FSU is a bum. Except for that block, which was awesome, he did nothing except jack threes and commit dumb fouls. He should change his name to Chris I Don’t Like Basketball.
And finally, I totally agree with your Jordan Williams take (hey, agreement!). He does little things too like set screens, box out, etc. He’s gaining confidence with every game. He’s….he’s not a freshman anymore. (sniff)
The Shell Games Gatorade Big Time Clutch Performance goes to…
GREIVIS VASQUEZ! Another all around spectacular, three category leading performance for the V-MAN!
Seriously, Milbourne’s ORB was awesome, and it was at a crucial point. I’ll give him runner-up MVP.
Agreed, Singleton looked like a pro that was mailing it in just to collect his checks, except he’s not getting any checks (that I know of). He didn’t even seem to react when he got called for his fourth foul and had to sit. I would have liked to see a little more passion, or a least, indignity out of him at that point.
I feel a man crush coming on with Jordan Williams, except he’s not a man yet so I can’t go public with it. I’m a big guy. I love post play. A good post game is something you either have or don’t. By the time you’re eighteen, it can rarely be taught. He’s got it. If any of the readers are thinking of a 2010 Christmas gift for me, I’d gladly accept a yellow J-Dub jersey.
Good win for the Terps Thursday night. 5-2 in conference play. Wowwe! Wippe! I too feel a man crush coming on with Jordan Williams. This kid moves well with and without the ball and has great hands. It’s been a while since the Terps have had such a good post player, not since the car restoring Afro-man. His name eludes me at the moment. As for Vazquez, he did his job. He played a solid game, nothing more and definitively nothing special. He’s the best player on a solid D1 program playing against a middle of the pack ACC foe. This was the type of game he’s SUPPOSE to fill up the stat line. I’ll go ahead and give you a “good game”, head nod of acknowledgment. You earned that much. And, kudos to Landon Milbourne, solid game buddy. You’re rock steady, steady rockin all night long…