Woo! Awesome team victory tonight, as the Terps upset #18 Florida State 77-68. FSU remains oh for the Comcast Center after its sixth game there. To the points:
- Game MVP: one Greivis Vasquez. Twenty-two points on 8-18 shooting, including some clutch shots down the stretch to quell an FSU rally. He also played brilliant defense, including some great helping D in the post. What a motor. This is the kind of game they tend to lose…a big lead evaporates and the team loses its composure. Vasquez didn’t let that happen tonight. I’m not exactly Vasquez Superfan 21 over here, but credit where it’s due: he was numero uno out there tonight.
- The bigs did a solid job on FSU’s formidable front court. Jordan Williams and Landon Milbourne seemed quicker and more nimble than Solomon Alabi et al, and were able to get Alabi in early foul trouble. They do need to box out more consistently, though.
- Clunky is not even the word for FSU’s offense. Seriously, do they have to start it up with a hand crank before every game? Is it powered by hamsters? If one of the bigs couldn’t get a layup, they kicked it out for three. If that didn’t work, they simply tossed the ball to the referee. By the end of the season, they’re gonna lead the nation in not dribbling. And that exhausts my cache of FSU’s-offense-stinks-related zingers.
- Fiesty crowd at Comcast tonight. Terp fans seem to understand that (a) this team needs a home-court advantage, and (b) they need it every game — not just Duke and Carolina.
- FSU commits a ton of turnovers (11th in ACC), and Maryland exploited that, forcing 12 turnovers and 17 fouls. And it actually seemed like a lot more than that.
- Props to Cliff Tucker, who provided the Terps with a serious booster shot in 16 minutes off the bench. He’s out of Gary’s doghouse for now. Has Adrian Bowie (no points in 11 minutes) taken his place in there, or did Gary simply view Bowie’s slash-it-up style as a bad fit against the Noles’ Redwood forest of a frontcourt? As always, only TIME…will tell.
- The three starting guards (36 pts and 11 assists all together) did great jobs getting shots for themselves and others. FSU repeatedly fell for their pump fakes and step-backs, and they seemed committed to making the extra pass without getting gaudy abut it.
- Speaking of passing, Maryland was excellent in moving the ball around the zone, although it occasionally crossed into hot-potato territory. They backslid into freelancing at times, but by and large they showed real patience and poise — very encouraging.
- Gary shows again that he’s just better in underdog situations. (I also noticed he used the press pretty sparingly, which is good.) Dear AP voters: please do not vote for Maryland.
- Tucker and Sean Mosely put the clamps on 6′9″ Chris Singleton, who wasn’t a major factor while the outcome was still in question. I’m no Singleton expert, but “passionate” isn’t a word I’d use to describe his personality on the court.
The Terps now travel to Wake for a Tuesday night game. Will be interesting to see what their focus is like after this win and on short rest. They don’t have the luxury of letting up.
(Photo credit: Alan P. Santos/DC Sports Box)
