Thank you, UVA. Thank you. The chips were down. The Terps were feeling low. You came to town and gave them just what they needed, and then you left, no questions asked. You didn’t even resist. It’s like you knew just the right buttons to push to get Maryland back on its feet. The day after Valentine’s Day can now be a fond memory. Let’s recap it, shall we?
- GREI-VIS VAS-QUEZ! Greivis was on fire, shooting 10/13 FG in the first half. His 25 PTS in the first half were nearly as many (34) as the Cavaliers had altogether. Virginia had no answer for Greivis, and he put the dagger in early. Final line on Greivis: 30 PTS/8 RB/5 AST. Maryland needed it’s leader to step-up, and he responded by putting his foot on the throat of a conference rival, effectively ending their chances of a tournament appearance.
- The Cavalier’s defenses were down. UVA’s vaunted pack-line defense looked more like a dotted line. UVA had coach Tony Bennett said of his team’s defensive play, “There were so many holes in it tonight.” So many holes that Maryland shot 70% FG in the first half, and 56% FG for the game.
- Maryland won with a team game. The Terps finished with 22 AST on 36 FGM and 12 OREB. They were sharing the rock and crashing the boards. Combine that with lights out shooting, and Maryland was unbeatable last night.
- Jordan Williams bounced back from a Fresmanlike performance against The Unmentionables with 11 PTS and 11 RB. It was a solid effort, and it showed that the kid can forget the bad days and move on. That’s a good sign developmentally.
- It was good to be home. Maryland is now 12-1 at home, and their average margin of victory at the Comcast Center is 19 PPG. When you’re an average team in a tough conference, it is of utmost importance to defend your home court. The Terps made a living off that for years at Cole Field House. If this season is any indication, there might be the beginnings of a new tradition of excellence at home starting with2010.
Last night, Maryland succeeded in picking up the pieces from Saturday’s loss. They got their rebound. They’re back on the horse. The Terps still need a few more wins to solidify a tournament bid.
Next notch in the bedpost: NC State on Wednesday.
Credit where it’s due: Vasquez had a great game. I would also like to give props to Dino Gregory and James Padgett, who had some quality minutes off the bench. Padgett had a thunderous put-back dunk in the second half that got the crowd on its feet.
Yes, if I had more bullets I would have mentioned that there was a James Padgett sighting last night. It’s almost as rare as seeing a herd of whales articulate while you’re on a whale watching trip off the Boston Harbor.
Well, usually it’s a ten-bullet thing. Feel free to add more bullets if the feeling should, like so many articulating whales, move you.
Games on ESPN360 only get five bullets.
I’ve thought more about your skewed Grevis is like A-Rod analogy. A-Rod is A-Rod because he is the most talented guy in the game but he regularly comes up short in crunch time. At it’s base It’s not a good analogy simply because Greivis is not nearly the most talented guy in the game.
I think a more apt analogy is Grevis is like Matt Hasselbeck. Matt Hasselbeck has lost a lot of winnable games, but he also won a few seemingly unwinnable games, and he made the most out of the middle of the road talent he was given. If I had to start a franchise around a player it wouldn’t be Matt Hasselbeck, but if he was my franchise QB and he got me to the playoffs I’d say he did his job. That’s more like Greivis to me.
But I said he was the A-Rod of the ACC. Who’s more talented in the ACC? You could probably dig out a few names if you wanted to (just like you probably could for A-Rod), but there’s no one who is clearly better.
Plus, “Greivis Vasquez is the Matt Hasselbeck of the ACC” just doesn’t have the same ring. Also, Vasquez is not bald.
[...] Maryland with a much needed rebound. Maryland solved the Cavaliers’ pack-line defense by shooting over it and knifing through it. A weak Wahoos backcourt had no answer for Greivis, who finished the game with 30PTS, 8RB, and [...]