Turtledroppings.com – Maryland Football And Basketball Blog

Ok, I was going to write something right after the game last night, but It would have been a radom bunch of woulda, coulda, shoulda’s.  It was not the type of game you would want to show someone if you were trying to introduce them to college basketball, after you have been pumping up how great it was.

First, you have to credit Clemson.  They punched Maryland in the proverbial face defensivly last night and for the most of the game, the Terps were bewildered, not tough enough, confused, etc. etc. etc.  To score only 22 first half points just goes to show how poor it was, ecspecially after the Terps have been running offense like a well oiled performance engine.

What can not be lost in the game, was the Terps defense.  Sure the offense made 25 turnovers I believe, but at the same time, they forced Clemson into 22 turnovers.  They kept Trevor Booker relatively quiet.  If only they could have had the same effect on Jerai Grant, it may have been a different story.   The defense did allow them back into the game, and as poorly as they played, they managed to take a second half lead. Even the dagger three Booker hit, I had no problem with.  Jordan Williams was flying out at him, and at crunch time that is the shot we force them into, you have to congratulate him for hitting it.  If this was last years team, they would have packed it in and lost by 40.

So while they fought hard, and never gave up, they need to show that they can win a close game on the road.  Actually they need to show they can win a close game period.   Still I feel like I am not that disappointed in the loss.  Sure it was as bad as we have seen Vasquez, Hayes, and Milbourne play, and until two minutes left they were only a possession away from winning.  I am becoming more and more impressed with Jordan Williams each night.  It really has been awhile since there was someone who was big and strong enough to battle down low all night.  Now if he can get some help on the boards things will be ok.  The good thing about the ACC is we get another chance to show what we can do on the road against a tough opponent on Thursday night in Tallahassee.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 11:12 am and is filed under Maryland Terps Basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.