Few Droppings on Terps Before Tip-Off with Duke
I did a little research on the Terps and this is what I came up with. First of all starting with Joe Smith’s tip in at Cameron MD is 5-8 in Durham. The last was during Vasquez and Hayes’s freshman year. Greivis had 13 points, 12 assists, and 9 rebounds. Pretty impressive. Now I am not going to take the time to figure out what the rest of the conference is during that time span, but I doubt any other team has that kind of success. If I a get a chance later, just for fun, I will try and figure out what UNC’s record is like. I think it is pretty good that we have five wins in Durham. We could be like Clemson who has NEVER won in Chapel Hill!
A Key for the Terps will be the continued solid play of Landon Milbourne. He has increased his rebounding from 5.5 overall to 7.5 in ACC games. The last few games, he seems it has really gotten comfortable playing down low.
One thing I am looking forward to is how Adrian Bowie is able to handle the pressure, and atmosphere of playing in Cameron. He has to stay on the floor, and we all know Duke will be able to get a couple of “charges”, I mean flops against him. So the slightest questionable play will most likely be called against Bowie. He has to stay in control. With Vasquez not scoring as well the last few games, Bowie has really been the catalyst.
Then we get to Mr. Vasquez. We all know he loves to play to the crowd (home and away), and there really is no place where you will feel the wrath of the fans more than at Cameron. Vasquez has always said he loves playing on the road, and relishes the chance to play in front of the crazies. See Washington Post article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/23/AR2009012303640.html
Now we get to Dave Neal. All season long I have said having him shoot 3 pointers isn’t what the Terps need. Then you look at each of the last three games and he has made a huge three in crunch time. On the season he has made 37% of his attempts. So I guess I am going to change my tune on him launching three’s. IF IT COMES IN THE FLOW OF THE OFFENSE, I will be fine with it. When he starts launching 6 a game, well that is not what the team needs.
When I started thinking about today’s defensive match-ups, I was really concerned. I see Bowie on Smith. That should be a very good one to watch. Hayes on Scheyer. Not bad. Although, it appears Scheryer is getting to the basket a little more this year. Hayes will also have to fight through the picks. That puts Vasquez on Gerald Henderson. That scares me a bit. Milbourne should be able to stay with Singler. He has enough speed, and size, so that match up should come down to who wants it more. The other interesting match-up is Neal and Zoubek. He is 7’1″ , but only averages 6 points and 5 boards. He has atleast 6″ on Neal. If neal can draw him outside, that should help the Terps on the offensive boards. Luckily Zoubek is not a huge part of Duke’s half court offense, but look for them to try and take advantage. If someone helps, that will leave someone else open, and most likely from 3.
This game on paper seems interesting. After writing this I think the Terps can hang, but they can not have a long scoring drought, and allow Duke to go on a huge run, or they will put them away very quickly. Stay tuned.
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on Saturday, January 24th, 2009 at 10:05 am and is filed under Maryland Terps Basketball.
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