Maryland 80, Michigan State 62

[Davidson09]

UMD leading MSU 55-45 with 11:20 left in the 2nd half

[DoubleDuke Dad]

Maryland won 80-62. Maybe they should call off the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.

[CameronCrazy'11]

Maryland won 80-62. Maybe they should call off the ACC-Big 10 Challenge.

The word "challenge" doesn't quite seem appropriate. This is a huge win for Maryland and the ACC.

[NDMD]

A classic Gary Williams' win.

Tough, gusty defensive combined with a lot of Steve Blake-like passes running the flex offensive.

[Olympic Fan]

The best part was listening to Doug Gottlieb belittle the magnitude of the upset after the game -- he was sneering at the idea that "poor little Maryland" was overlooked in preseason.

It took Tom Brennan (I think that's his name -- the ex-coach at Vermont) to point out that Maryland was picked 7th or 8th in the ACC, while Michigan State was picked 1st or second in the Big Ten.

The second funniest part was Gary's postgame interview, explaining that win means a lot to Maryland's NCAA hopes because by the end of the season, Michigan State will be a very good team. He didn't name the game, but he was very emphatic in his statement that he'd be pulling hard for the Spartans "next week."

Uhh ... Michigan State's big game next week is Wednesday against UNC in Detroit.

All humor aside, this was a huge win for Maryland and the ACC. Yes, Michigan State was without Suton, its best big man, and the Spartans are re-inventing themselves after leaning on Drew Neitzel the last two years ... still, an 18-point Maryland win on a neutral court -- wow! The Terps dominated the last 15 minutes of the game. Their great guard play is no surprise ... but they got some nice play up front, especially from senior David Neal.

Wake also won on Turkey Day, although their performance was a lot less impressive in a narrow win over Cal Fullerton. The Deacs were great on the boards and in transition, but couldn't generate much halfcourt offense. They still should have won by 10-15 points, but Cal-Fullerton hit some crazy shots down the stretch.

BTW, Wake gets UTEP Friday, while Maryland probably gets Gonzaga.

[roywhite]

Wake also won on Turkey Day, although their performance was a lot less impressive in a narrow win over Cal Fullerton. The Deacs were great on the boards and in transition, but couldn't generate much halfcourt offense. They still should have won by 10-15 points, but Cal-Fullerton hit some crazy shots down the stretch.

BTW, Wake gets UTEP Friday, while Maryland probably gets Gonzaga.

Very nice win for the Terps.

Saw just part of the Wake game; Jeff Teague was running the point (and ended up scoring 20+ points); didn't see Ish Smith. Is he out for some reason or has Dino gone with Teague at PG instead?

[DisplacedBlueDevil]

MSU is the only team with a winning record in the ACC-Big 10 "Challenge" - let's hope they find their game by Wednesday. Izzo's teams are notoriously slow starters, this year seems to be no exception. He's got the beef to neutralize Hasbro, depth, and quickness but they need to find a floor leader with Neitzel's departure.

I'm guessing it doesn't come together in time to beat the Heels...especially with the Detroit Lions haunting the place.

[Wander]

Saw just part of the Wake game; Jeff Teague was running the point (and ended up scoring 20+ points); didn't see Ish Smith. Is he out for some reason or has Dino gone with Teague at PG instead?

I don't remember exactly what, but Ish has some kind of foot injury.

Too bad Wake Forest (Indiana) and Virginia (Minnesota) couldn't switch opponents, it would give the ACC a quasi-almost-reasonable chance at a sweep.

[just_wondering]

The Maryland fans had largely given up on this team before the season started. They have had trouble selling tickets so this was a huge win for the team just at the right time. Dave Neal, Sean Mosley and Jin Soo Kim all have high basketball IQs. Because of that this will be a fun team to watch. They will have great games and games that you will make you scratch your head. I was glad that Braxton Dupree started building up his confidence with a good game. The three Baltimore guys - Dino Gregory, Braxton Dupree and Sean Mosley are in a position to build a new tradition at Maryland




The best part was listening to Doug Gottlieb belittle the magnitude of the upset after the game -- he was sneering at the idea that "poor little Maryland" was overlooked in preseason.

It took Tom Brennan (I think that's his name -- the ex-coach at Vermont) to point out that Maryland was picked 7th or 8th in the ACC, while Michigan State was picked 1st or second in the Big Ten.

The second funniest part was Gary's postgame interview, explaining that win means a lot to Maryland's NCAA hopes because by the end of the season, Michigan State will be a very good team. He didn't name the game, but he was very emphatic in his statement that he'd be pulling hard for the Spartans "next week."

Uhh ... Michigan State's big game next week is Wednesday against UNC in Detroit.

All humor aside, this was a huge win for Maryland and the ACC. Yes, Michigan State was without Suton, its best big man, and the Spartans are re-inventing themselves after leaning on Drew Neitzel the last two years ... still, an 18-point Maryland win on a neutral court -- wow! The Terps dominated the last 15 minutes of the game. Their great guard play is no surprise ... but they got some nice play up front, especially from senior David Neal.

Wake also won on Turkey Day, although their performance was a lot less impressive in a narrow win over Cal Fullerton. The Deacs were great on the boards and in transition, but couldn't generate much halfcourt offense. They still should have won by 10-15 points, but Cal-Fullerton hit some crazy shots down the stretch.

BTW, Wake gets UTEP Friday, while Maryland probably gets Gonzaga.

[Lavabe]

I had to watch the game with my brother, the unabashed Louisville, UNC, and Terp fan.:eek::eek:

The one bright moment: My brother mistakenly referred to Hayes twice as:

BLAKE!

On the second one, I promptly responded:

Johnny Rockets

Cheers,
Lavabe

[gw67]

Color me amazed! I tuned in with about 10 minutes left in the first half expecting to find the Terps trailing by 5-10 points and was surprised to find them leading. IMO, the keys behind their win are as follows:

They had a cold spell and a bad turnover just before halftime to fritter away an eight point lead. As the second half started, the Spartans jumped on them and took the lead. Last year's team would have given up at that point. This year's team didn't and like the Vermont game, they came back strong.
The team defense and rebounding were excellent.
One of the smartest off season moves by Williams was to turn over the point guard position to Hayes backed up by Bowie. He gets the team into their offense, protects the ball and, after recovering from last season's ankle injury, is capable of driving to the hoop and staying with his man defensively. They would up with only 10 turnovers in last night's game although they pushed the ball. Last year, they often reached this number in the first half. Using Hayes and Bowie at the point also takes a burden off Vasquez who seems much fresher at the end of the games.
They are weak in the middle but the threesome of Dupree, Gregory and Neal gives them different looks and the latter two have good basketball IQ's.


As I have posted before, their set of perimeter players are good and will carry the team this year. The key will be avoiding bad losses and playing hard in ACC games. Their RPI SOS should be enhanced by playing two more ranked teams in this tourney.

gw67

[devildeac]

I had to watch the game with my brother, the unabashed Louisville, UNC, and Terp fan.:eek::eek:

The one bright moment: My brother mistakenly referred to Hayes twice as:

BLAKE!

On the second one, I promptly responded:

Johnny Rockets

Cheers,
Lavabe

I had forgotten about that dark cloud in your family:o.

Blake? Quite a fan:rolleyes:.

[Lavabe]

One of the announcers referred to a certain Md player in the first half as:

"A poor man's DJ Strawberry."

Spit-take on my Leinie there!!!:eek: BWAHAHAHAHA!:D

I was so surprised that I didn't quite catch to whom he was referring. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Lavabe

[gw67]

Lavabe - He was referring to Adrian Bowie. Bowie is a 6-2 soph whose dad, I believe, has worked in the athletic department at Maryland for several years. He played at Montrose Christian with Durant and Vasquez and was described as a good defensive player who can drive but can't shoot coming out of high school (hence the reference to Strawberry). Last year he had the ugliest shot on the team and was as advertised. Over the summer, he has worked on his shot and he is now a very good jump shooter. He not only backs up Hayes at point but sometimes relieves him in a three-guard offense.

gw67

[just_wondering]

GW67

Cliff Tucker played 7 minutes last night. He was the player of the game in the first two games of the year.
Dino Gregory was called for a questionable 3rd foul.
Jin Soo Kim who got key moments against Vermont didn't play last night.

As the season goes on I think each of these three players will have a game or two like Dave Neal had last night. I think it is a matter of time before Sean Mosley becomes a starter.

As far as comparisons to last year -- Hayes is doing more and Vasquez is doing less. Milbourne is learning a new position and will get better as the year goes on. I think that the combo of Milbourne-Gregory-Neal-Kim looks solid. If the combo of Dupree-Burney-Goins can step up then Maryland will be competitive




Color me amazed! I tuned in with about 10 minutes left in the first half expecting to find the Terps trailing by 5-10 points and was surprised to find them leading. IMO, the keys behind their win are as follows:

They had a cold spell and a bad turnover just before halftime to fritter away an eight point lead. As the second half started, the Spartans jumped on them and took the lead. Last year's team would have given up at that point. This year's team didn't and like the Vermont game, they came back strong.
The team defense and rebounding were excellent.
One of the smartest off season moves by Williams was to turn over the point guard position to Hayes backed up by Bowie. He gets the team into their offense, protects the ball and, after recovering from last season's ankle injury, is capable of driving to the hoop and staying with his man defensively. They would up with only 10 turnovers in last night's game although they pushed the ball. Last year, they often reached this number in the first half. Using Hayes and Bowie at the point also takes a burden off Vasquez who seems much fresher at the end of the games.
They are weak in the middle but the threesome of Dupree, Gregory and Neal gives them different looks and the latter two have good basketball IQ's.


As I have posted before, their set of perimeter players are good and will carry the team this year. The key will be avoiding bad losses and playing hard in ACC games. Their RPI SOS should be enhanced by playing two more ranked teams in this tourney.

gw67

[burnspbesq]

If last night's win over Michigan State is a reliable indicator, Maryland is going to be a real pain in the derriere this year. They take care of the ball and play reasonably good defense. Vasquez is capable of taking over games. Because they are not loaded with big-name talent, Gary can go back to playing Nixonesqe paranoid, we-don't-get-any-respect head games to motivate his guys. And the mouth-breathers at Comcast are going to fall in love with the level of effort.

The Turtles are likely to win a couple more games this year that on paper they have no business winning. I don't think today will be one of them; Daye creates a matchup problem for which they have no answer. But they are going to be like the annoying little brother that you can't squash because Mom's watching.

[sue71, esq]

I had to watch the game with my brother, the unabashed Louisville, UNC, and Terp fan.:eek::eek:

The one bright moment: My brother mistakenly referred to Hayes twice as:

BLAKE!

On the second one, I promptly responded:

Johnny Rockets

Cheers,
Lavabe

That's it, take his Jersey card away from him.