I was lucky enough to attend the game that locked up Maryland’s bid for the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. And what a game it was. Comcast was rocking for much of this come-from-behind 88-79 victory over recent nemesis Clemson. To the points:
- YEAH, CLEMSON! WHAT! WHAT! TAKE IT! EAT IT! ENJOY YOUR VIEW FROM THE BUBBLE! YOU JUST GOT SMOKED! HOW DOES IT FEEL BABY! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRPPPPPPSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!
- Unlike the clug-ugly first game, this one was a barnburner, and Clemson was the team that came out firing. Both squads actually shot 50 percent from three in the first half. It’s just that Maryland shot six of them, while Clemson shot 16.
- As Maryland hadn’t beaten Clemson since 2007, it got pretty quiet when the Tigers took a 27-14 lead. But Maryland showed why it is such a good team — a really, seriously good team — right now: poise. Bucket. Stop. Draw a foul. Stop. Rinse, repeat. Beautiful.
- With 7:52 left and the Terps down by one, they made their run. Less than two minutes later, they were up 10. During the run, Vasquez (who had two points until then) collected two steals, two dimes, and five points, including a breakaway dunk that had Comcast going berserk. I was literally jumping up and down in the aisle. I’ve been critical of Vasquez (and, I believe, with reason), but he has learned, he has grown, and he’s the best player in the ACC. As the man himself noted in a postgame interview, “my decision-making is just unbelievable right now.” Hear hear, sir.
- Having said that, my game MVP is Sean Mosley. He scored nine of the team’s first 12, keeping us afloat during Clemson’s fireball start. He ended up with 20 points on 6-8 shooting, four boards, two steals. He seemed determined to shoot his way out of his slump, and he did. Welcome back, Sean.
- Interesting to watch the seniors operate during stoppages. Lots of high fives, lots of back pats, lots of “come on, let’s go!”s. Vasquez gets a lot of ink for this, but Hayes does it, too.
- From the Every Rose Has Its Thorn Department: I’ve stated before that the full-court trap doesn’t work like it once did. I’d like to revise that statement. It works against Maryland. And it’s not like they didn’t know it was coming. If the Terps had lost, this would have been the headline.
- From the Every Rose Has Its Thorn Department, Item #2: Landon Milbourne and Dino Gregory looked a little lost out there. Physical bigs just aren’t a good matchup for them. Plenty of teeth-gnashing over this among the Maryland faithful. I feel for these guys. This must be why every cowboy sings a sad, sad song.
- Speaking of Dino, I noticed something: there are a lot of moving parts, if you will, in his game. He’s always looking to create, to make a move, to, you know, dribble, and what not. I liked it better when it was defense, box out, board, hustle.
- Before the game, I said David Potter was Clemson’s X Factor. And with 13 points, he sort of was. But to a greater extent, it was center Jerai Grant, who killed the Terps in Clemson but fouled out last night with zero points in only 10 minutes of action. Thanks, Jerai. When those long arms go a-flailing, everybody wins. Except you and your team.
There you have it. I think this unequivocally stamps Maryland’s dance card, but still plenty left to play for. Saturday’s game in Blacksburg has major ACC implications (don’t tell anyone, but Maryland can still win this thing…technically). Next Wednesday is Senior Night versus Duke. No explanation needed.
I’m starting to get excited. I really am.
(Photo credit: AP photo via The Baltimore Sun)
