Apparently I was a bit too hasty with my last post on the Terps. Following a tough loss to a pretty good BC team, the Terps laid an egg at home against Ohio University (not Ohio State, Ohio U). They came out flat and unemotional, had trouble scoring points all night, and lacked a sense of urgency until the game was already decided. Maryland didn't even attempt a free throw until the second half, which shows a clear lack of aggression.
Even so, they had their chances to win the game. From 5:00 left in the game until 0:28 left, Ohio didn't score a single point. In that time, Maryland only managed to take the lead down from 12 points to 3 points. When an opponent keeps leaving the door open like that, a good team will rise to the occasion and make them pay.
The loss can't be pinned on any one player, the whole team looked bad for the entire game. It wasn't as if Ohio got lucky and shot the lights out, or that the Terps got screwed by foul trouble. The Bobcats simply outplayed the Terps for 35 minutes, and then held on for the win.
At this point, an NCAA tournament berth for Maryland looks like a long shot. They're 6-5 with 4 losses to unranked teams, and two losses at home. They don't have a road/neutral win. They still have to play a good Holy Cross team and travel to Charlotte before starting the ACC schedule. After last night, I'm not sure how the Terps are going to find 8 conference wins, and even that might not even be enough.
This would all be easier to take if we could say how young the team is and look ahead to next year, but that's not the case. There are a lot of underclassmen on the team, but the two biggest inside threats (Gist and Boom) are both seniors, and I'm not sure how we're going to replace them next season.
[As we likely will point out every game, check out It Never Rains in College Park for additional game analysis.]
December 13, 2007
Ohio: 61 - MD: 55
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12 Responses:
I'm sure Maryland will have a late season surge to get into the tournament as a hot team. They will be a popular pick to go to the Sweet 16 and then lose in the first weekend.
Unrelated:
John Kerry is on ESPN First Take. He just called Major League Baseball the National Baseball League.
By the way, in case anyone missed it, BC lost to UMass last night as well at BC, so I don't think BC is going to make our loss look any better.
I did see that Russell.
It would be a lot easier to take if we hadn't scored only 55 points. Plus, Ohio was not playing any kind of slowdown.
God must have heard me last Sunday during the VCU game. I told someone "A Maryland should never lose to a state school that has anything other than the name of the state, the word State, A&M; or Tech in the name." There are exceptions, such as "Southern California", but you get the idea. I guess God heard me and let the appropriately named Ohio University have a win at our expense.
Then again, USC isn't a state school. Still, there must be an exception.
Come on, J-Red, are you really going to make me do this?
Clemson, Miami, Boston College, Memphis, UCLA, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Syracuse
If you allow city names, that takes care of most of them, but it's still a bad rule.
I don't think I explained it well. Those names and private schools don't fit. I'm looking for a state school with the state's name in it, but no State, Tech, A&M;, etc.
I guess one of the so called "Directional schools". I can't think of a directional school that one should ever lose to, even if schools like Central Michigan and Western Kentucky are good from time to time.
UCLA might be the best example of an exception.
OK, so now you're defining the rule extremely narrowly. What schools are exluded? Maryland-Eastern Shore? UMBC? VCU? Directioanl schools? That's not a long list.
Yeah, at the time I was just trying to create a category of teams you should not lose to. I don't think it can be easily circumscribed.
VCU is definitely on the list, as is Ohio, especially on neutral/home court.
it sucks to write about a team that seems already dead in the water.
that was easily one of the worst games i've ever seen last night. did you know we took 23 shots beyond 3-point range and made 7? honestly, ohio just took away the inside and that was good enough against a team that can't shoot.
Seven times three is 21. That means we only scored 34 points inside the arc.
It's generally not good for 38% of your points to come from behind the arc.
Not when you're shooting around 30% from out there.
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