It was a rough first half, but the Terps have a slight lead, with Milbourne scoring a very helpful 12 points and the rest of the team making 5 of 8 three-pointers. Notice who didn't play at all the first half? Yup, Cliff Tucker. Apparently I wasn't the only one who noticed his suckiness in the Maui Invitational. I still can't wait for Dino's return; Choi won't be coming in when Milbourne gets into trouble. Let's go, second half, let's go!
Williams is a freshman, I know, but didn't he learn not to turn the ball over so much in high school? He's cost us two baskets that could have broken the Hoosiers' rhythm. Hayes, in true Steve Blake fashion, has not disappointed and it looks, however premature this may be, as if the Terps are finding their groove and are capitalizing just a teeny bit more with each possession. Shots are falling for Maryland and they are playing good defense. Keep your fingers crossed, folks, or whatever the hell you are doing to make the Terps do so well. Score's 41-37, Terps.
I didn't want to have to say it, but it is a biased blog and I can write what I want to: are these Indiana players the biggest bunch of wimps you have ever seen or what? Boy, if you sneeze hard enough, you'll knock a player over and send him sprawling. Did these guys all attend Coach K's Flop Clinic in the off-season? F*cking ridiculous! At the same time, these asses have no problem slapping and getting scrappy. The Terps' lead has dwindled down to one now. Choi nearly got an and-one (!); let's see if he knows how to make free-throws.
Choi is officially on the board, making one of his two free-throws. Too bad it's followed by a Hoosier three, and the Terps have lost their lead. Mosley makes both of his free-throws to give the Terps a one-point lead. Just need to outscore by at least ten more for me to be right in my prediction. That would mean we would have to play a little something called DEFENSE.
Bowie is in, and he makes his first one-and-one to put the Terps back up, 55-54. Too bad these refs are all former Hoosiers and just can't seem to stop themselves from seeing only Maryland fouls. I mean, if they are committed, you gotta call them, but how about on the other end? The Terps NEED to play good defense here after going up by 5 (59-54). Williams rebounds and the Terps, of course, get a foul called against them, a charge while the doofy-looking Hoosier slides five feet across the floor. Yeah, that's fair. "Oh, Indiana needed that!" I didn't think it would happen this early in the season, but "Cheating!" can be heard very loudly in my home.
You know what else can be heard in my home right now? "Horsesh*t!" God forbid a hair on the head of a Hoosier be harmed, but Vasquez gets knocked down on his butt, the balls goes to Indiana, and then Terps get another foul called on them. I don't want this to turn into a I-hate-refs blog, but... right now, I am really hating these refs. They are handing points in a basket to Indiana and doing whatever they can to keep them in the game. Okay, I've said my peace, I am going back to the game now...
the Terps are up 65-58 with just over 4 minutes left. There is still time for the game to go either way, and both teams have been streaky tonight, so it's anyone's call right now. The Terps have GOT to capitalize. This is when Vasquez has shined the last two games; this needs to be his time now. Milbourne goes to the basket and gets fouled, makes his shot, and the Terps are up by 12 with just under 2 minutes. I have officially gotten my prediction wrong, because I said the Terps would score in the 60s, but if we still get the V, I will take it.
A Hoosier intentionally fouls Williams, giving him two free-throws and the ball. Astonishingly enough, Williams makes one of them, and then Vasquez makes both of his free-throws. We are just playing the foul game now, with the Hoosiers delaying the inevitable loss they are about to suffer.
What a win! And kudos to the Terps for putting the ACC on the board in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This victory was so great for Gary (his 630th) that he even cracked a smile at the refs at the end of the game. You know it's a good game when that happens. Final score: 80-68. At least I got the spread right...
Now it's time for #3 Villanova on Sunday. Alas, few followers, I will not be blogging that day. The Biggest Little Terps Fan is going to be born this weekend, and I will be out of commission for a short while. Rest assured, I will be following the Terps at the BB&T Classic--a tournament I frequent when I can. Best of luck, Terps!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Which Maryland Team Will Show Up?
Hopefully it's the one that wins! In an interview, Vasquz claimed he didn't listen to the rantings of Gary while sitting on the bench and in practice. I am hoping he was just trying to appear manly and as if nothing bothers him, and that he's decided to heed the advice of his all-knowing coach. Will Vasquez do what he did during the Maui Invitational and only step up at the end of the game, when it's too late? Or will he dominate and be the leader he was praised to be preseason? We also need to look for a big night from key players such as Eric Hayes (who really hasn't disappointed yet, in all fairness), Jordan Williams, Adrian Bowie, and Cliff Tucker. And these guys NEED to make their free-throws! Technically, the Terps lost to the Bearcats because of those damn free-throws. I don't expect any team to make 100% of their shots, but 17 out of 31 is not good enough for a team of Maryland's caliber.
I'm going to be bold this evening and go with a prediction. I haven't been successful with this since the 2001-2002 season when the Terps took the National Championship (ironic it was against Indiana, huh?). I am going with the Terps winning by anywhere from 11 to 20 points, scoring in the 60s. I will say that I am betting on the fact that Indiana will score a million and one three-pointers tonight, because that's what they do. It's inevitable. But I still say (hope?) we get the V.
So Jeremiah Rivers gets hurt on a fancy shot, but when Maryland gets the ball on offense, somehow a timeout was called...? I am not sure what ensued for the timeout to be called when Maryland has possession, but I don't think it was allowed. Anyway, Vasquez is stinking up the place, and I hate having to report that every damn game. He made the first basket and has missed three shots. To give Indiana some credit, they are playing very good defense against the Terps.
Indiana took nine straight trips to the basket, and the score is still 9-9. At least Vasquez got the make-your-free-throws memo. These Indiana white boys keep falling on the ground, and it's nice to see the refs telling them to man up and stay on their feet rather than pussing out and flopping on the floor. It's plain to see the ref's side--these boys aren't hurt at all and are just getting in the way of good offense on the Terps' part. Bowie, one of my step-up guys, scored a nice inside basket. The only unfortunate part is that Indiana is still outscoring us and the Terps can't seem to keep from turning the ball over. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It doesn't help that these dumb Indiana fans are acting like they are beating number one Kansas. Geez.
I have to renege on a statement I made earlier. It won't be three-pointers that kill the Terps tonight; apparently it's those pesky jump-shots. Indiana is making them like it's their job, and the Terps just can't reciprocate. With Indiana losing to George Mason in Puerto Rico, I would have thought Maryland was the better team. And they are. But they can't fall into a rhythm, whereas the Hoosiers are making key shots when they need a boost of confidence, sending them further ahead. And Maryland is losing its cool, missing even the most basic layups.
Hayes looks to be the white guy scoring three-pointers; thank God he's on our side! He ended our five-minute scoring drought, making the score 28-24, Indiana. After trading a heart-breaking three-pointer back with the Hoosiers, Vasquez steps up to make another three with Williams getting a good rebound, leading to an and-one by Milbourne. Can he make it? Yes he can! (Think: Bob the Builder theme song.)
The foul-fairies are looking in our direction, and now Indiana is getting a taste of its own medicine, getting stopped in their tracks with stupid calls. Well, that lasted long. We have ELEVEN, read it, ELEVEN turnovers. We are only down by one, and if we didn't have ELEVEN turnovers, we could be winning. Thanks for the three, Vasquez, it helped. Score's 35-33, Maryland, at the half.
I'm going to be bold this evening and go with a prediction. I haven't been successful with this since the 2001-2002 season when the Terps took the National Championship (ironic it was against Indiana, huh?). I am going with the Terps winning by anywhere from 11 to 20 points, scoring in the 60s. I will say that I am betting on the fact that Indiana will score a million and one three-pointers tonight, because that's what they do. It's inevitable. But I still say (hope?) we get the V.
So Jeremiah Rivers gets hurt on a fancy shot, but when Maryland gets the ball on offense, somehow a timeout was called...? I am not sure what ensued for the timeout to be called when Maryland has possession, but I don't think it was allowed. Anyway, Vasquez is stinking up the place, and I hate having to report that every damn game. He made the first basket and has missed three shots. To give Indiana some credit, they are playing very good defense against the Terps.
Indiana took nine straight trips to the basket, and the score is still 9-9. At least Vasquez got the make-your-free-throws memo. These Indiana white boys keep falling on the ground, and it's nice to see the refs telling them to man up and stay on their feet rather than pussing out and flopping on the floor. It's plain to see the ref's side--these boys aren't hurt at all and are just getting in the way of good offense on the Terps' part. Bowie, one of my step-up guys, scored a nice inside basket. The only unfortunate part is that Indiana is still outscoring us and the Terps can't seem to keep from turning the ball over. Stupid, stupid, stupid. It doesn't help that these dumb Indiana fans are acting like they are beating number one Kansas. Geez.
I have to renege on a statement I made earlier. It won't be three-pointers that kill the Terps tonight; apparently it's those pesky jump-shots. Indiana is making them like it's their job, and the Terps just can't reciprocate. With Indiana losing to George Mason in Puerto Rico, I would have thought Maryland was the better team. And they are. But they can't fall into a rhythm, whereas the Hoosiers are making key shots when they need a boost of confidence, sending them further ahead. And Maryland is losing its cool, missing even the most basic layups.
Hayes looks to be the white guy scoring three-pointers; thank God he's on our side! He ended our five-minute scoring drought, making the score 28-24, Indiana. After trading a heart-breaking three-pointer back with the Hoosiers, Vasquez steps up to make another three with Williams getting a good rebound, leading to an and-one by Milbourne. Can he make it? Yes he can! (Think: Bob the Builder theme song.)
The foul-fairies are looking in our direction, and now Indiana is getting a taste of its own medicine, getting stopped in their tracks with stupid calls. Well, that lasted long. We have ELEVEN, read it, ELEVEN turnovers. We are only down by one, and if we didn't have ELEVEN turnovers, we could be winning. Thanks for the three, Vasquez, it helped. Score's 35-33, Maryland, at the half.
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