Terps-Davidson In Game Blog

0:00 - Here we go, the first game of the tourney. Not sure I like that but oh well, get over it. Terps need to get on this team early, limit them to one shot and take care of the ball. With the athletic edge across the board, just don't make mistakes. I wish the terps were playing against a more up tempo team but...

18:00 - So far as expected, Terps are trying to push the tempo and they are shooting 3's. Just gald they didn't pull a WVU and make their first 5 and make me freak out

16:00 - So after they have a possesion with 3-4 offensive rebounds, Gary immediately brings in Os and Bowers. Not sure I like the overreaction though Ibekwe has 2 fouls and you know I won't complain about Osby being in over Ibekwe

15:00...13-8 Terps. DJ and Jones causing problems for Davidson and keeping the pressure on and Osby and Bowers are being very aggressive on the boards

14:06...DJ, why you gots be fouling a guy shooting a 28 footer???

13:39...Look at Bowers on the glass! And he actually made the freebies

12:21...Ibekwe is in with two fouls. I don't really mind it because I feel ok if Osby needs to play more but hopefully he plays smart on defense. Gist is MIA so far...Man, they just nailed another 3.

11:46 - They drive and score and Vasquez commits his second foul. He will need to sit for a while and the Terps are down one. Coming out of the TV Timeout, Terps need to get Gist involved inside and take advantage of height inside. Hayes, time to step up and show us what ya got...

10ish - Mike Jones is cutting, making nice passes ( a sweet feed to Gist leads to a dunk).Where has this been the last 3 years

- Ugh. Curry nails a 3 and as the announcers are singing his praises, Hayes hoists a turnaround 3 and the Bowers gets the rebounds but has it knocked off his leg and out of bounds by the aforementioned Curry. I have a feeling I am not going to like that guy very much.

6:53...and you thought the last post was bad. Bad enough they are making 3's but now they are beating Terps on back door cuts...just came back from a CBS update and Terps down 8 before Jones nails a 3, 35-30...and hits another one so and its tied with 5:00 to go. Serenity now

Halftime - Up one at the break. Every starter with 2 fouls. Just stay composed and dont turn it over and they should be ok...By the way, hadn't posted my final 4 picks: Florida, Kansas, Georgetown and Texas A&M with Kansas beating the Hoyas. Bad draw for the Terps with the Gators, where I have them going out. Of course if this Curry kid keeps this up...

Second Half - Curry Comes out and hits a 3 and now drives for a layup. This kid is a stud, guess everyone is learning that

18:00 ish - Ibekwe goes out with his third foul and Curry just threads the needle for a fast rbeak layup and the Terps are down 8. Getting beat on the boards and maybe worse, on the break. This Terps does nothing particulary well other than run so it should be a blessing that Davidson is willing to play that way, but not so far

15:30ish- Vasquez nails a 3 with a pass out of the double team and then DJ draws a charge on Curry, Terps down 52-47

9:51 - 60-59 good guys. Os just got his second bucket and a foul...and now he makes a beautiful spin move on the baseline to score...and now he swats a shot...and now he throws a nice lob to Gist for a layin. Terps up 4 and the Os is leading the way

Final - Sorry, my buddy came over to watch the HD and pulled me away from the computer. Strong finish and clearly they wore Davidson down. Osby and DJ played strong, Jones banged down some 3's and Ibekwe played well despite the foul trouble. Also thought Hayes was a good calming influence for the most part

The team that was playing early in ACC play would likely have dropped this one but a new found resillency spurred on the win. So many games on I want to get back to the screen and now that I see the Hoyas are down 11-4 early, gots to go and see if what happens. Everyone go scout Butler-ODU and we'll see what they look like...

Aftermath

Sorry for the delay, life gets in the way at times...not much more to say for now other than either Miami has our number (eh, doubt it) or the Terps inconsistencies reared their ugly head again. For a run at the National Title, this isn't the worst thing as it brings expectations back to reality - heard waaaaaaay to many folks calling the Terps the main sleeper, even this years Florida - and they get some rest.

All Gary and the boyus can do is try and find that rythym again, especially on the emotional end because they just didn't look like they wanted to be in St. Pete for much of the game. Instead of hoping for a 3 seed, probably looking at no better than a 5 and perhaps a 6. Similar teams like Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, Texas and Pittsburgh have all advanced further in their conference tourneys.

Besides the Terps debacle, this has been ana amazing week of hoops. All dogs in the ACC win in the 1st round, NC State's comeback on UVA, Hoyas-Irish, all the OT games across the country, my TIVO is about to burst into flames.

We will learn a lot more about who will get into the dance after today but two more at-large bids went bye-bye yesterday when Nevada and Xavier lost. Florida is the only SEC school left that is a lock to make it as an at-large, same with Memphis in the C-USA.

This does not bode well for FSU (I would say they are out for sure) and WVU (terrible RPI and SOS) and I think GT and Stanford could be in trouble.

Hating Duke

Nice article on ESPN.com talking about the Dukies we all love to hate; the link is below. My personal top 5:

5- Quinn Snyder - Hey hair gel boy, nice coaching

4 - Wojo. How the hell did that little white point guard win National Defensive Player of the Year. Oh that's right, he played at Duke

3 - Duhon. A solid player but waaaaay overrated. The epitome of the hype was when during the NCAA tourney his senior year and Duhon did something, Verne Lundquist gushed "What a player, what a man!"

2 - JJ Redick. Yes he could shoot but Dukie V and the rest made him out to be better than Chris Mullin and Larry Bird.

1 - Chris Collins. The combination of overrated skills and whiny demeanor gives him the title. Plus whenever the sideline reporter interviews him before halftime because rat coach is too busy, it only adds fuel to the fire


love is a devil

- tomorrow, ACC tourney picks

Senior Day

If this season, if this senior class has a theme, it would be less is more. In their final home game, DJ, MJ and Ibekwe are the leading scorers, a fitting end to and up and down year. Going back to the start of the season, it seemed like this was going to be the class that put the Terps back on track after the debacle with Caner/Garrison class. Early on that was the case but then they hit a wall as Jones' low BBall IQ and Ibekwe's inconsistency were on full display while DJ struggled on the offensive end. Then came the potentially devasting loss to Miami and in retrospect,the tide started to turn. Less became more.

This class of role players thrust into starring roles started to turn over the on court responsibilities to the younger brood. As time went on, Gist and the frosh started asserting their will, the seniors and the team improved, culminating in a 20-point blowout of NC State and the possibility of a bye in the ACC tournament. Even though DJ and Jones in particular have been more explosive on the offensive end, it only came to be once it was clear they weren't the go-to options. Less became more.

DJ is still the vocal and emotional leader, setting the tone. To my ears he was getting criticized to harshly most of the season if not his entire career. He came in as primarily a defensive, off the ball player who was asked to play waaaaaaay out of position at the point. This season he was asked to be the go-to early on even though he his talents are more of a 2 or 3 option.

Jones has never lived up to the hype, primarily because he never seemed to learn how to play a complete floor game. Over the last couple of weeks, he seems to have learned the art of moving without the ball and now seems to get as many points inside the arc as out.

Ibekwe, forced to play the 5 despite a slender frame, finally got some late season help in the form of Osby, not to mention the evolution of Gist. He has the skills of a 20-25 minute player and now is back in his comfort zone and the improvement has been noticeable.

I would be remiss if I didn't at least mention Bowers and Brown. Both have had their (good and bad) moments and in the case of Bowers, that was an awfully long four years.

On Senior Day, lets reflect on this class and thank them for what they did - make the tourney and end the regular season as perhaps the hottest team in the nation - and for who they; guys who were led by a bunch of knuckleheads to start their career and yet when their time to lead came, they showed that they had learned from those lessons. Less is more.

Planting Seeds - March 2

As everyone continues to bask in the glory of back-to-back wins over UNC and Duke, the topic has turned to the NCAA's and where will the Terps be seeded. Bracketology boy Joe Lunardi has the Terps as a 4 seed right now. A lot will depend of course on how the final regular season game and ACC Tourney play out. I would say the ceiling, even with an ACC Tourney Title, is a 3 seed and the worst case scenario (loss to NC St, 1st round tourney loss) would be a 6 seed. Looks like Terps could actually get a bye in the ACC so hard to gauge who they will play just yet. For the purposes of this discussion, we are assuming a home win vs NC St.

- Regardless of the end of season standings, it is likely UNC, and either VT or UVA will be seeded ahead of Terps unless Terps make ACC final. VT and UVA took Terps down in reg. season and were ahead of Terps all season. Barring a 1st round collapse, UNC will still be looking at no worse than a 3 seed.

- On the national scene, the following teams would seem likely to be seeded high regardless of their conference tourney outcome: UCLA, Florida, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Kansas, Texas A&M. Memphis is there as well as long as they win their conference tourney. Pitt or Georgetown or both will be there as well. At this moment I would seed them...

1 - UCLA, Kansas, Ohio State, Wisconsin
2 - Florida, UNC, Texas A&M, Memphis
3 - UVA/VT, Pitt, Georgetown

With so many of the major conferences being top heavy (SEC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East), there probably won't be much fluctuation amongst these squads in terms of being in the top 3

- So one, maybe two slots could be open for a 3 seed. That leaves Maryland battling with the likes of Washington St., Southern Illinois, Texas, Virginia Tech and Nevada. If the Salukis win their conference tourney I think they get it for having a dominant year in a very underrated conference and a top 5 RPI. Wash St has a tough road in the Pac-10; if things go to form they would have to beat USC and UCLA and the tourney is in LA.

Texas and the stud Durant might need to beat Kansas and A&M while Nevada's loss last night to Utah State might be enough of an excuse for the committee to drop to a 5. UNLV is just one spot behind Maryland in RPI and hosts the MWC tourney but I don't buy them as a 3 seed. The Virginia squads are probably the teams the Terps are in direct competition with; the Terps have the RPI edge but are 0-3 straight up. Who advances the farthest gets seeded the highest.

I say a run to the Semi's gets the Terps a #4 seed and just making the finals puts them as a 3. While it is simply amazing we are even talking about such high seeds, I think we want to avoid a 5 seed as that is a spot where so many upsets take place.

- Georgia Tech is likely in now with that win over the Heels last night, giving the conference seven slots. Only the Big East will likely have more. FSU would probably have to make the final, if not win the ACC to get in and Clemson might as well start printing up NIT tickets

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Sweepin the Dukies (2/28, 11:35pm)

On a night where ESPN screwed the pooch in just showing us the game, it was the Terps that sent out a signal to those watching...Fear the Turtle.

Truly cannot believe how far this team has come in just a few weeks. There was a passion and confidence exhibited from the Terps not seen since the ACC Tourney run in 03-04. From Jones making everything and Osby cleaning the glass in the first half, to DJ making clutch shots all night to the General nearly posting a triple double, this was truly a team effort.

Not sure if there was a singular moment when this team's fortunes changed this season but at some point this went from a "this is a senior-led team no matter what" to a cohesive group where each player has a role to fill. Gist started to be more assertive, Vasquez went back to the aggressive way he played in pre-ACC action and the seniors seemed to accept their new roles and have flourished ever since. Jones and DJ seem to be more productive as they have been asked to do less. Ibekwe's effort has been more compelling as his minutes have fallen.

A double figure lead was erased in the second half and who amongst us didn't have flashbacks to past Duke comebacks. Instead, the Terps responded. This group that was psychtso most of the season showed maturity and resolve in arguably the toughest place in the country to play. Coming out of a time out, Vasquez hit a tough leaner in the lane, followed by a DJ 3 and a short jumper in the lane and just like that it was back to seven.

A sweep of Duke. Regardless of the circumstances, that is a feather in Gary's cap and he deserves it. He has taken a lot of crap - and I admit to being one of those doing the shoveling - and now has this team playing as well as anyone in the country.

Maybe the Miami loss was the low point of the season, perhaps eerily reminiscent of the infamous FSU loss prior to the first Final 4 run. Just a couple of weeks ago making the dance was viewed as doubtful. Now whether this team can make the same run remains to be seen but one thing is now clear; at least that is something we can truly ponder

2/28: Bubble this, ACC Tourney, Terps rewind, etc

In addition to all things Terps, Dr. B is going to be posting more often as we lead up to the ACC and NCAA tourney, having been watching even more hoops than normal, all to help you and yours with your brackets. I mean, isn't that what March is all about? So keep it here for the daily word on college hoops and if you have any questions or comments, send to bms11@hotmail.com
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Just focusing on Duke and PT allocation - This is the first time posting all year where the collective don't have to worry about the big dance. Considering that the Dukies are on tap tonight, it is great timing so we can focus all our energies on taking them down. While I won't get upset/shocked if the terps lose tonight - typically from a betting perspective I would go against the the road team who just pulled of a huge upset at home and Duke giving 6 seems to be in line with that - the hope is they at least keep the intensity up and not fall back into bad habits.

With guard play so key to success in the big dance, would like to Vasquez and Hayes post better assist/turnovers numbers. Also Osby out on the court more and more, especially when going up against guys like McRoberts (and Costner later in the week). This is the time of year where rotations are trimmed so Neal probably doesn't see the court except for foul trouble and Bowers and Brown are out there only in hunch/matchup situations. Looking at 40 minutes per position...

PF - Gist (34)
SF - DJ (34)
C - Ibekwe (25)
SG - Jones (28)
PG - Vasquez (32)
Bench - Osby (16 and rising), Hayes (18), Bowers (5), Brown (2)
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Conference Tourneys - Terps are looking at a 5 or 6 seed. Purely from a ACC Tourney perspective, not sure it matters but probably prefer the 5 seed and the Mia/BC path to the semi's . A 6 path goes through WF/UVA or VT. Plus give us a chance to seek revenge an early loss (BC) and a bitter loss (Miami)

Looking at value of ACC teams in the big dance, don't sleep on UVA and VT. Both have great guard play and seem to be mentally strong to boot. UNC is obvious but will be overvalued. Dr. B will provide some big dance nuggets over the next couple of weeks. If you want to do some prep, TIVO the A&M-Texas game tonight (same time as MD-Duke). I think both of these teams will be getting serious consideration for a Final 4 slot. Also don't sleep on some of the smaller conferences tourneys or specific teams if they are on ESPN over the next week- the Missouri Valley, CAA, Mountain West and teams like Winthrop, Appalachian St/Davidson, Oral Roberts, Xavier, Holy Cross. These are the squads that can make or break your brackets (and that isn't what March is all about)
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What happened to...? Last I heard Drew Nicholas was tearing up the Italian League but it looks like he has moved over to Turkey (http://www.tblstat.net/pd.asp?p=1295). Always had a love/hate feeling towards him and not sure any player had such extreme times at CP; from being the centerpiece of the 10 point collapse vs Duke to making the last second heave ho vs UNC-Wilmington in the Tourney. My favorite thing about college hoops is watching guys develop from scrubs to studs over the years and certainly Drew fit that category. Never thought he would become a legit stud by the time he was a senior. On some level he is the poster child for what seems to have been plaguing the program the last few years; he was a true self-starter from day one and always was strong mentally, how many guys would have rebounded from that Duke collapse to reach the levels he did

Terps-Heels In-Game Blog

Won't have much time after the game so thought I'd be productive during...

20:00 - Don't have the game in HD for me; I waited for a while to get HD because I feared just this, that non-HD will cease to be reasonable. Hope I can see through this haze.

Pre-Game thought - Even with a loss Terps still looking good for tourney, still amazed they are where they are. This game will be important for the bigger picture - can the Terps win against the big boys. The latest streak hasn't been against the top teams in the league so let's see what they can do. To be honest, thinking an a close loss but I have my lucky hat on so...

18:00 - Not much happening but Ellington just hit a 3 and the Heels are up 7-1

17:34 - Vasquez just drove past three guys for a layup and its 7-3. He has been Carmen Elektra hot in terms of driving to the hoop the last few games

17:ish - Ellington just hits another 3. I am not planning on discussing every hoop but when the Heels are making 3's, they make me very nervous as they already have the edge inside.

Timeout - talking about the terps chances of making the tourney. Yes, we all think they are in now.

14:57 - Heels pick up a loose ball and Hansbrough scores, 14-7. Bad sign if they are getting the better end of the gritty plays. Isn't that what this (and the last couple) Terps teams have really lacked, the grittiness and desire to do the little things...Think good thoughts, serenity now...and just like that they get another easy basket and Gary calls time out.

13:05 - Thompson scores and the Heels up 13. The Heels aren't missing while the Terps are ice cold. I won't even get started with the historical lack of half court offense but for now they at least need to be patient and make the Heels spend energy on D

12:ish - Bowers draws a foul on Hansbrough. That dude always has a look on his face like he caught his girlfriend cheating on him. He will cause a bench clearing brawl at some point in his career

10:55 - Ibekwe and Gist play volleyball and after 4-5 shots Gist scores, 24-13. Good energy and effort on the boards, much needed...and Gist scores again

8:03 - Hansbrough and Osby tie up. Replays shows Os nailed him in the head with his knee and the refs rushed in so Hansbrough doesn't go postal. Telling ya, he has those crazy eyes

6:55 - Three possesions out of the timeout and three turnovers but Heels haven't capitalized...

6:06 - Osby scores on back-to-back possesions and gets the second foul on Hansbrough, 32-25. Eight boards already. I won't even say I told you all so, just glad he's playing more.

5:22 - Gist with the soaring FB dunk and its 34-29. SOUNDS like the crowd has officially woken up. Wow, Jones just made the best bounce pass of his career to DJ inside and the layup and foul. Good and its 34-32. with 4:32 left

4:25 - And Miller comes down and nails a three, 37-32. It really is crazy how many people they have that are effective. So far it doesn't seem like its been a problem and the announcers are saying that Roy won't shrink his rotation but art some point that has to happen and in my opinion, should.

1:01 - DJ spots up for the 3 on the break and hits it, 44-41 Heels. Gminski says he doesn't get the crowd as they don't seem to be into the game as they should for a 3-point affair; not the first time any of us have heard that about this often front-runner crowd.

Halftime - Heels up 44-41 at the break. Considering it was an 11 point lead and felt like it was going higher, Terps are in a decent spot at the break. Per normal Terps are at there best when the tempo is fast and need Vasquez not to pick up his 3rd/4th fouls for a while to keep the rythym going. Both sides have foul issues though.

It is said that games are won and lost in the first and last four minutes of the half and game and right now its tied 1-1. While there are four sections, I think the first to two wins so here's hoping the Terps have strong energy out of the break.

19:39 - Nice steal by Jones and...How about that stat, 27-15 Terps edge on the boards. Did I hear that right? Osby, Osby...1-2 from the line, 44-42

18:42 - Hansbrough gets two baskets after being contained most of 1st half. Gary, please don't wait to get Os and Bowers in there to lay body on him.

17:24 - Ibekwe with the sweet block and the General finds DJ on the break and its tied at 48. Keep up the tempo

16:49 - Wow, Hansbrough steals and leads the break and scores, announcer makes psycho eyes comment

TV Timeout, 15:58 - DJ comes down and gets another FB layup and we are tied again. So the opening session of the second half is over, lets call it a push, 1-1-1

13:35 - 48-43 Heels. Bowers just hit the side of the back board with a shot. Not sure I would be using him now (and ok, someone is saying now 'if ever'. He tries) since the Terps are playing best up tempo. Gary keeps getting into these odd sub patterns where he has Os and Bowers on at the same time. Immediately the team gets bogged down on O because they have to slow it up with the two clods and no greyhounds on the court. Seems like every game they have a serious bad plus/minus ration yet Gary keeps it up. Am I the only who sees this?

TV Timeout - John Lucas in the crowd. Announcer says it been 30 years since he has seen a game there. I know he has been back to the school before. Wonder if this has anything to do with the Terps recruiting his other kid?

11:58 - 64-57, 11:53. Heels withstood that rush and now have a decent lead again. The D has been lacking, just seems like the Heels have open shots all over the place. Guess that is what happens when you have freekin studs all over the place. Still, keep them out of the lane! Also, why would you take Gist and Vasquez out at the same time. Get at least one of them in...

11:ish - Hansbrough steals the ball and goes down the court for the dunk, 73-61. He got off to a good start this half and now has 19. Got to get your best 5 - Gist, Osby, DJ, Vasquez, Hayes - in now Gary and go for it. Well Os is sitting with Hansbrough down so that is ok...Gist scores down low, rare post move

TV Timeout - Hayes, yeeesh. One assist and four turnovers. Those are Mario Lucas numbers

6:03 - Jones nails a 3 after Frasor misses a gimme layup and its down seven, 77-70. Turning point?

5:30 - And DJ with the 3...77-73. He is really stepping up tonight (they just say career high 25 so I guess so)

5:01 - Freekin Hayes gets the board and then loses it out of bounds and now Hansbrough scores. Lets hope that isn't a turning point the other way.

- Os gets two of the ball fouls, not the way you want to burn those. Hansbrough goes 1-2 and its 80-75 with 4:09

4:09 - Ibekwe has had at least four fouls in 10 of 14 ACC games. That isn't so hot but better than Gilchrist averaging one foul a game on the season.

3:50 - Hansbrough turns it over, Heels up 3. Here is the final 4-minute stretch. Like i said before, the first to two will win

2:46 - Jones gets back to back shots in the lane and the Terps take the lead!

2:15 - UNC scores after Jones went for the TKO and whiffed.

1:55 - Ibekwe hits two from the line and the Terps are back up one

1:11 - Hansbrough is called for the foul after DJ gave the Terps the lead again. Now Ibekwe hits two more and they are up three at 87-84. Wow, its the terps that are making the plays down the stretch

:55 - Gist makes two and its 5. Talking on the phone to my boy Carrot Terp and just as he say its over, Ellington comes down and drains the 3

:25.1 - Of course to be fair, CArrot Terps says Hayes shoud be in because Vasquez is often out of control and sure enough he turns it over. Now 18.6 left and Heels have the ball. Keep it out of Hansbrough hands as he will score or get the call for sure

:3.5 - Wright gets the ball below the line and wills his way to a foul. Eh, tough call but not a shock. Plus you have to like a 56% freshman shooter...and he misses the first, Gary calls time...and he misses the second, battle for the ball and the Terps have the win!

As much as I have ripped the seniors, got to give them credit for this one. DJ with a career high points, Jones made perhaps the key shot when his 3 cut the lead to seven. Ibekwe hits a bunch of freebies down the stretch and they did a good job on D in the last few minutes.

For the first time since ACC play, the Terps showed they can truly play with anyone in the country. Helluva comeback, not just today but the last three weeks. Seemed like this was yet another listless bunch but led by DJ's grit and Vasquez' exuberance this team has found a soul.

The bubble talk is done for good; now its how high of a seed can they get. Let's look at that this week...

Mo staying with the Terps

Lets all bow down to Yanik. He (naively I thought) showed the road map for the Terps to get to 8-8 and thus make the NCAA's and like most. I laughed. Not that it was horribly implausible because no team other than UNC at times looks unbeatable but the Terps were not showing any signs of life. The Seniors were looking like yet another disapointing class (and on many levels still do).

Then Gist starting becoming a more consistent option on offense. Vasquez, while still out of control a lot, starting to realize he could take almost any defender to the hoop. The seniors start to fill in at the supporting roles they are more adept (seriously, doesn't it seem like DJ and Jones at least have been more effective since they have been perceived to drop a rung on the go-to scale?).

A smokin hot start from 3 land got them going - they had something like 10 assists on their first ten baskets - and after a Seminole comeback before half, partly due to Terps foul trouble, DJ scores three hoops and like that the game was about over. That killer instinct was something these boys lacked for sure most of the season but that is finally showing.

And how about Dr. B's pet project Os ending up as the leading scorer. We'll see if Gary goes back to his maddening substituion pattern (even tonight he plays three minutes less than Mardesich-lite) but having a big body play along side Gist up front affords #15 to venture out of the paint a little more and nail those jumpers.

Beat NC State at home and amazingly, the Terps are locks. The analytical side of me is still not that impressed for a tourney title run and can't understand why things have been so slow to develop but at least this year (fingers crossed), these are questions we should be pondering in March as the madness will be on the court, not these chicken little boards

Not packing it in

its 11pm and sorry for the late post - was out watching the game and took a little while to get back. Here is my take and then I need to hear from the Dr. B fanatics on here and not in my inbox...

A road ACC win in February, no matter the opponent, is huge and the Terps survive another day. Just a week or so ago I would have thought this would be another loss but that strong start against Duke carried over tonight. DJ started strong as the emotional leader should and Gist, Vasquez and others joined in the fun.

Can't emphasis enough the importance of the win enough. I see the Dukies are taking it to the Eagles so the Terps will keep pace and Clemson is upset by Wake. During the game the announcers said eight ACC teams would get in right now but don't count on it. UNC, BC, UVA and VT are just about locks and a win over BC combined with their non-conference schedule and Dickie V's yodeling will get Duke in. That leaves MD, Clemson and GT battling for one, maybe two spots. A win against the Tigers likely puts the Terps on the right side of the bubble and at least gives them a decided edge over the Tigers.

Still can't get my hopes up for a long term run as this team still has no real identity but hey, anything is better than a third straight NIT. Of course they also lacked direction but seem to have bonded of late and you can see it out there.

One game at a time and yes every game at this point is a must. Win at Clemson, hold serve at home against FSU and NC State and the UNC and at Duke matchups won't matter. Deep breath boys, the future is now.