Terps Pass First Big 10 Test
Ok, nothing in that title is true, but I’m still rolling with it. As much as I am still reeling about the abandonment of the ACC, I will try to put those feelings a side for a moment. Because if this is the Big 10 we are going to be joining, sign me up! Granted, we didn’t exactly match up with the cream of the conference, but Northwestern has been a program that has been heading in the right direction for the past year or so. And now we REALLY want them to head in the right direction so that we can put this on our NCAA resume.
My other hope is that Alex Len enjoyed matching up against Northwestern so much, that he would be willing to stay for his entire college career just to see them again. Len put together 13 points to match his 13 rebounds, and looked…well not to get too technical, but pretty damn good!
But he wasn’t the main story of the night, Dez Wells set a career high with 23 points (4-4 at the line). Wells, despite the taunts from the Northwestern faithful (just for the record, sometimes taunting can be counterproductive…this goes for Maryland fans as well) played his best game in a Terps uniform and showed what he is going to be capable of moving forward this season.
Some other facts to point out, overall Maryland was 14 of 17 from the line. I don’t need to spell out what this means in terms of helping to win basketball games, but just as a fan, when Maryland has a squad that can shoot free throws, it makes watching so much less frustrating. Besides the Shimmy Shake, I’ll always remember the Greivis and Hayes era for the free throws, and the relief I always felt watching them go to the line. Maybe I’m weird that way.
Another great stat for the Terps was 47 rebounds! On the other side of the gym, the Wildcats chipped in for 19. What was also interesting to me, was the TO/Assist ratios. The Terps were 15-15, while the Wildcats were 14-4, yet the Terps won easily. I guess turnovers can be overcome when you grab 26 more rebounds.
What does this mean for Maryland, well a lot. Next up we have George Mason on Sunday, but after that it is cup cake alley until we face Virginia Tech at home (great job by the Hokies yesterday representing the conference). If the Terps get by Mason, 12 and 1 going into conference play isn’t out of the question. Now if that will be enough to get us to crack the top 25, I don’t know. But rest assured we’d be in much better shape than we are today, and as of today, things are looking pretty good.
So congratulations to Mark Turgeon and the Terps on chalking up their first Big 10 win, in the post ACC era. That is unless I get my wish of a Terp coup that overthrows the current regime and reverses the decision to leave the ACC. Sigh…
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 at 7:02 pm 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.
