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Wow, this wasn’t as close as expected.  Greivis Vasquez is your ACC player of the year collecting 39 of the 53 votes over Jon Scheyer (12 votes) and Malcom Delaney (2 votes).  I am really surprised it wasn’t closer.  Congrats to Greivis on the WELL deserved award.

Gary Williams won Coach of the Year with 42 of 53 votes.  I am less surprised by that one.  For Gary, this really has to be a great feeling after all the hoopla last year about it being time for him to go.

One last note, Jordan Williams finished 2nd in the Rookie of the Year Award with 6 votes, behind Derrick Favors.  Honestly, there is no doubt Jordan is the second best rookie in the conference, and it is great to see him gain some votes for his huge contributions to the team this year.

Check back later for more on these awards, I just wanted to get something up so you were aware.

The Washington Post is reporting that Maryland will play Notre Dame at FedEx Field on Saturday November 12, 2011. This will be an off site home game for Notre Dame. The game will most likely be televised on national television.   Maryland last played Notre Dame in 2002 at Giants Stadium in N.Y.  They lost that game 22-0.  This is an exciting matchup for the Terps.

Not that we should be surprised, but Greivis Vasquez is one of the six finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, for the nations top point guard.  The other finalist are Jon Scheyer, John Wall of Kentucky, Evan Turner of Ohio State, Scottie Reynolds of Villanova, and Sherron Collins of Kansas.

It is nice to see Greivis getting the national recognition.  I don’t think there is anyone in the Maryland Camp, that doesn’t believe he is deserving of the honor.  I am not sure he will win it, but that is some very impressive company to be held in.  So good luck to Greivis with the Award, and for the ACC and NCAA Tournament runs.

A couple of days ago I was asked to be part of an ACC Round Table by Clark over at the ACC & SEC Blog with a few other ACC Bloggers.  With the Terps flying high, I can’t talk enough ACC Basketball right now.  So here are my answers to his questions.  After reading it I kind of sound like a homer, but I really would be shocked if my predictions on some of these things don’t come to fruition.

1. The national perception is that the ACC is down this year.  Duke has been in the top 10 all year, but no one else has come close.  Does the conference deserve this reputation?  Why or Why not?

You can look at this two ways.  First you could say the conference is down since there aren’t a couple of teams in the top 5 or 10 like so many years in the past.  The other way to look at it, and the way I see it, is the conference is not down.  There are a lot of good teams, not necessarily great teams, but good teams that could make some noise in March.  I don’t think they are the top conference this year, but top to bottom, I don’t think it is down.

2. Does Duke have what it takes to make a run to a National Championship? Why or Why not?

This year, I think you could say yes, because of the parity in the entire NCAA.  The reason they might come up short is because they get so much of their scoring from the outside, and really don’t run any offense through the bigs.  The bigs get their points off offensive rebounds, and that can be effective, but all it takes is for one off night from one or two of Scheyer, Smith, or Singler and they could be out of it in a flash.  I do expect them to make a little deeper run this year.

3. We know Duke and Maryland are in, but who else gets in from the ACC?  Will we see any surprises on Selection Sunday?

In my mind Florida State, Clemson, and Virginia Tech are in, for now.  Wake is likely in, and Georgia Tech could be the x-factor come Selection Sunday.  If they can beat UNC and Maryland in the ACC Tournament they will be a lock.  If they only beat UNC, they are going to be sweating it out.  All that said, so many bubble teams are shooting themselves in the foot, they might get in anyway, but if I was a fan, I would feel better with a couple more wins.  A bad loss here or there for someone like Virginia Tech, and they might move from in to on the bubble, but ultimately I think they get in.  I am really interested in seeing how the selection committee deals with a non conference schedule strength of over 300.  If they don’t get in, there is no doubt that will be why.

4. What is the biggest surprise of the season (good or bad)?

I think the biggest surprise for me as a Maryland fan is the play of Jordan Williams and in turn the Terps tie for the ACC Title.  There is no coincidence the Terps have gotten on a roll as the quality of Williams’ play has increased.  Without his play, the Terps are a solid team, but all of this talk of making a deep tournament run is not warranted.

At the start of the season I really thought the Terps could be a top 4 team.  Who would have predicted Carolina would be having the type of year they are having?  I also expected Wake and Clemson to be a little more consistent, so I guess you could say I was surprised they didn’t finish a little higher.

5. A couple of teams have had disappointing seasons.  Whose seat is the hottest?

I think Sidney Lowe has got to have the hottest seat.  It isn’t just this year that the Red Coats have been bottom feeders in the ACC since he was brought in.  If they weren’t happy with Herb Sendek, you have to imagine Sidney Lowe is not going please the Wolf Pack faithful.  Does the win over Duke buy him another year?  Maybe.  That certainly has been the biggest win in the program under him and maybe they want to see if he can build on it next year.

6. Who is your player and coach of the year? Why?

For Player of the Year I am going to go with Greivis Vasquez.  I think he deserves it over Scheyer because he has less of a supporting cast.  Scheyer may be one of three Duke players who wind up one of the three all conference teams.  I don’t foresee anyone other than Vasquez on the list for the Terps.  In my mind if you take Scheyer off Duke, they are still a pretty good team.  If you take Vasquez off the Terps, well, I am not ready to think about what next year might be like!

Coach of the year has to go to Gary Williams.  I don’t want to sound like a homer here, but the fact the Terps were picked to finish 5^th in the conference, and they tied for first is enough for me.  I think his defensive game plans this year have been great.  They have done a very good job keeping the opposing teams stars in check for the most part.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Coach K wins it though.  As much as I despise everything Duke and K, you have to give him credit that he finds ways to win based on what he has.  His teams change every year, and this year was no exception.  They have gone from being a dribble drive and kickout team, to more of a motion offense team.  Still, my feeling is Gary deserves it over him.

I will admit it.  I was a little nervous about this game.  Then came the news that Sylvan Landesburg had been suspended from UVA for the remainder of the year, and I let my guard down.  You can’t help but wonder if the Terps did as well.  Maryland did jump out to a 21-9 lead, but from that point on the offense seemed to sputter a bit, even thought the Terps did maintain that 11 point lead at the half.

Fast forward to the 3:53 mark, and it was only a 3 point lead as Virginia’s offense got going hitting several three pointers.  Ultimately it was a technical foul against UVA coach Tony Bennett for throwing his jacket on the court in disgust over a questionable blocking call against Virginia.  The Terps did hang on for the win thanks again to free throw shooting down the stretch.

You have to hand it to Vasquez again, kind of.  He took some really, really bad shots in the second half, but when UVA started creeping back in, Greivis was able to knock down three straight three’s to keep Maryland afloat.  With his 23 points, he now has 2112 for his career, and is only 37 behind Len Bias.  Some other key notes in this game is, the Terps had 17 offensive rebounds to UVA’s 4.  Though Virginia shot over 50% on the game, the Terps were able to stay in the game thanks to 8-18 shooting from three and 20-26 from the line.

I think it is worth noting, Adrian Bowie was 3-3 from the field (2-2 from three) for his second straight perfect shooting night.  I am not sure where this is coming from, but I hope it sticks around for the rest of the season.  You can see he has confidence right now, and maybe that is all he was lacking.

With the win, the Terps clinch a tie of the ACC regular season championship, and should Duke lose at Cameron to UNC tonight, Maryland will be alone at the top.  Like I said at the beginning, I really wasn’t concerned when I saw that Landesburg was out, but you have to give UVA credit.  They were on the verge of being blown out a couple of times, and were able to cut the lead to one late in the second half.  Luckily, for Maryland they were able to escape, and that technical call saved the day.

The hype had built to an all time high for a game at the Comcast Center. It was senior night for Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes, and Landon Milbourne. Add to the fact that arch nemesis Duke was coming to town and that added to the raucous environment. Oh and just incase you needed a little more, a first place tie was up for grabs in the ACC. And as expected the Maryland crowd was ready. There were signs o plenty. My personal favorite was the nearly life size cut outs of Vasquez With the moveable arms to make him look as if though he was doing the shimmy. I always say the Duke game makes Comcast look like a WWE event.

On the court the Terps did exactly what they had to. They took control early and kept the crowd at a fever pitch. The highlight being the Jordan Williams posterization of Scheyer on the 3 on 2 fast break. That nearly blew the roof off the building. You also have to credit Eric Hayes and Sean Mosley for the quick start that allowed the Terps to build a 14 point lead.

Of course we all knew that was not going to last and Duke would find a way back into the game. Thanks to a stingy 3-2 zone Duke cooled of Marylands red hot offense and started making some shots of their own to cut the lead to two at the half.

The second half of the game was incredible. I thought I was going to pass out. Duke went up early to about 6 I believe and I kind of wondered if maybe it wasn’t meant to be. However, the Terps had a lot more in the tank. There were two keys for me. One was the big dunk by Milbourne and the play of Adrian Bowie. First, the Milbourne dunk just absolutely gave the momentum back to the Terps and put the crowd into yet another frenzy. Then the play of Bowie was huge. It allowed Vasquez to stay on the bench a little longer to get rested for the stretch run. Bowie was perfect on the day, and was the spark Maryland needed.

The last 6 minutes or so was a great back and forth between Vasquez and Scheyer were each answered the other. Late in the game it was Vasquez’s time to shine and he did just that. He was able to get in the lane and hit those off balanced shots that put the Terps up for good. Thanks to Mosley and Jordan Williams free throw shooting, the Terps were able to knock off theDukies.

There were so many great moments in the game and some really great play. I don’t think I mentioned it but Jordan Williams was a stud coming down the stretch. He had that big put back as part of his 15 points and 11 boards. What stands out the most to me was it really was a great team win. If I run through the roster, I can find a couple of really positive things to say about each player.

So there you have it. Maryland finishes its home schedule with a perfect 8-0 conference record. Up next is the season finale at UVA. That was a great game, and I can only hope Maryland can find its way to meet Duke again in the ACC Tournament!

I was hoping to get up much earlier, but I knew I was going to need my rest so I stayed in a bed a little longer.  There is a BIG game tonight, and a pending snow storm up here in Boston as well, so needless to say, there is not going to be much sleeping going on today or tonight.

This is going to have to be short, but here are some key points for me.

1. Brian Zoubek can not be made to look like Bill Russell.  The fact is, if he is any kind of factor for Duke, the Terps could be in trouble.

2.  It will be interesting to see what the Terps try and do defensively on Kyle Singler this game.  He creates a match up problem, unless Maryland decides to play Milbourne out on the wing against him.  They haven’t done that all season, so I would expect Mosley to draw the majority of his minutes guarding him.

3.  It is after all senior night for Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne.  It is going to be crazy at the Comcast Center, so keeping all the emotions in check is going to be very important.  Duke is one of those teams you can’t get down to early against.  The Terps have done that lately against Clemson, and NCST.  If that is in the cards tonight, it will be a lot tougher to come back against the Dukies.

4.  The Terps have to value every possession.  Have to be strong with the dribble, and keep it alive.  The minute they pick up the dribble, it is like sharks in a pool of blood.  They need to be sure to run the offense like they have since the last Duke game, and things will be much better.  Plus they are at home where they seem to shoot much better.

5.  One last thought, and I hate to say it, but this team almost seems like a team of destiny and everything is clicking right now.  They have a career worth of memorable games the last few games alone.  A big win against Duke on Senior night wouldn’t surprise me the way things have gone this season.

Extra Droppings

I know this is usually Bob’s thing, but it is worth mentioning Kristin (Bob’s Wife for those of you who don’t know us personally) gave birth to a boy, Owen Jacob last night.  The newest Terp fan ways in at 7lbs 13 ounces.  So congrats to Bob, Kristin, and big sister April.  Here’s to hoping Maryland can deliver him a big gift to start his life as a Terp!

Oh how things are rolling along nicely, and some people are starting to notice.  Not only are the Terps ranked again but,  two Maryland Players : Greivis Vasquez and Jordan Williams have earned ACC Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week respectively.

Vasquez has collected his fourth on the season (I will do more research on how often that has occurred in a bit) by averaging 28 points and 9.5 assist in the two games vs Clemson (13 assists) and Virginia Tech (career high 41 points). It is interesting to note, Vasquez was a unanimous choice this week.

Williams has collected his second Rookie of the week honor I believe, by averaging 13.5 points and 10 rebounds in the two games.  I honestly feel the Terps would not be in the position they are in without the development of Williams.  He has been a tremendous player the last few weeks, and not coincidentally, Maryland is on a roll.

Give me a little time and I will look into how many times a player has been ACC Player of the week four times in a season.  My guess, is baring a collapse of any kind, we are looking at the ACC Player of the Year!

I feel like we need a catchy name for this upcoming date, like in the 90’s when they had Desert Storm, or Desert Shield, or even Watergate back in the 70’s.  If you think of anything clever let me know.  Anyway, the latest news is the release of the new polls.  Normally we don’t put much stock in these, but just to make it official, the Terps have cracked the Top 25 checking in at 22nd in the AP poll, and 23 on the ESPN poll.  I thought ESPN  might have us a little higher based soley on the fact they they are televising our game this Wednesday and #4 Duke vs. #17 Maryland would get more attention.  But maybe that’s dipping my pen a little too far down into the conspiracy ink. 

As of yet, I have not been able to see who ACC player of the week was, but you have to think Greivis would have as good a shot as anyone.   On to Bracketology, they have not updated and we are sitting as a 7th seed facing Cal in the opening round.  I sure would love another crack at them after our experience there last September, speaking of which did anyone else see the riots in Cal over rising tuition or the what the school is doing with funds, I can’t remember the real reasons behind it, but it was crazy.  Hard to imagine rioting over something that wasn’t either a great victory, or a terrible defeat.  But different strokes for different folks I guess.

Extra Droppings:

Congratulations to Team USA for their Silver Medal finish.  I know the players were disappointed to not take home the gold, but they should be very proud of what they were able to accomplish.  Team Canada was a who’s who of the NHL, team USA, though professionals themselves were not nearly as stacked, yet they handily beat every team they faced and gave the Canadians more than they could handle in one game, and took them to OT in the other.  Ryan Miller especially played outstanding.  If we had Canada’s goalie and they had Miller, we would have lost both games and the Gold Medal game probably 8-0.

Now that Duke took care of a Sylvan Landesburg-less UVA, all eyes in the ACC are going to shift to Wednesday nights Maryland Duke game. I think it safe to say this is going to be the biggest game the Comcast Center has seen. Sure there have been some great games, but not one that has had as much on the line. Add to the fact that it is senior night for Greivis Vasquez, Eric Hayes, and Landon Milbourne and things are going to be pretty nuts.

I am pumped, tickets are rumored to be going for over a grand for a pair. This is Maryland Basketball at its finest. This is what we all fell in love with and have been craving since maybe 2003 or certainly 2002. Be sure to check back often as we will be posting as often as possible. This season has had so many great games and I truly believe this is going to be a lot different then the match up at Duke. Stay tuned.