MD vs UM Game Thread

[vatech1994]

Well, I just finished watching the first half on ESPNU. MD is playing OK. Michigan is shooting the ball pretty well at the moment. MD's interior players look pretty bad.

I'm shocked there is no thread already.

[21Markakis21]

All I can say is WOW. I know this team will probably get better as the season goes on but man is this team really going to struggle. Gary always usually does his best work when you leave him for dead but this team is not even close to being a college level team at the moment. I'm only 26 and I will be bald by the end of this season....

[Todd-O]

This is a great barometer of exactly how low the Maryland B-Ball program has gone:

The game is on ESPNU.

[vatech1994]

BTW, 36-29 at halftime. To be fair, there are some pretty big games going on in the ACC-Big Ten challenge tonight. I don't think it is that big of a deal that we're not on ESPN/ESPN2.

Outrebounded 20-12 in the first half. That is just awful.

Vasquez just threw a great pass that Milbourne blew. However, 3s by Vasquez and Hayes tie the game.

[vatech1994]

Vasquez is playing great right now. When he is playing well, he is just very impressive.

MD now up 41-38 with two free throws coming. They have outscored UM 12-3 in the first 3.5 minutes of the second half.

[vatech1994]

I'm shocked at how inept MD is inside. Burney was better than this last year. Same with Milbourne.

If UM continues to shoot this well, MD is in trouble. Their freshman, Novak, just hit a 25 footer.

[vatech1994]

All of a sudden Milbourne is playing better. MD continues to lead by 2-4 pts, but they are struggling to score against the 1-3-1.

[vatech1994]

I feel like I'm talking to myself.

[The Rick]

I feel like I'm talking to myself.

Sorry vatech, I don't get ESPNU, i've been reading your comments and appreciate the updates.

It seems to me like MD's ineptitude from 3 point land has been the difference from this being a more one-sided Maryland game vs. it being as close as it is. This team is in trouble if they're going to shoot 23% in 3PFG's with as challenged as they are inside.

Vatech, how is the crowd @ Comcast tonight?

[21Markakis21]

Much better of a 2nd half so far. One thing is for sure. This team can make up for its inept offense with defense and rebounding. Hopefully Gary can get them to believe winning starts with those 2 first, then we can improve as the season goes on offensively.

[AgentOrange]

Crowd is weak. A lot of empty seats in the student section. Kinda disappointing.

[vatech1994]

The crowd has been loud and boisterous. The team is playing pretty intelligently. Vasquez has played a GREAT game.

Wonderful interior defense. Up 6 with a minute to go.

[vatech1994]

Crowd is weak. A lot of empty seats in the student section. Kinda disappointing.

LOL, I thought it got pretty loud during the runs. I haven't really paid attention to see whether there are empty seats.

This UM team has played pretty well. This will be a great win if we hold on.

[vatech1994]

We have rebounded SO MUCH better in the 2nd half. MD is going to win this game. Up 6 with 27 seconds and 2 free throws coming.

[AgentOrange]

LOL, I thought it got pretty loud during the runs. I haven't really paid attention to see whether there are empty seats.

This UM team has played pretty well. This will be a great win if we hold on.

OH yea. It has been loud when they have been doing well, but not loud like usual.

I mean this is the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. I don't know if you remember last year when MD played Illinois. That was a hyped crowd that I hoped to see tonight, but at the start of the game, the stadium looked 60-70% filled and a huge gap in the student section.

[vatech1994]

Michigan is 12-27 from 3PT and MD is 5-21 yet MD is winning. That is a great sign.

UM has hit two off balance 3PT from 25+ feet in the last 20 seconds of the game. Now a 3 PT game.

[AgentOrange]

We have rebounded SO MUCH better in the 2nd half. MD is going to win this game. Up 6 with 27 seconds and 2 free throws coming.

I agree with that. I liked the aggressiveness out of Gregory tonight. Not the most fluent big man, but his effort will get some scrap heap buckets.

At one point, MD had out rebounded on the offensive glass 17-4. That is impressive considering how bad we have rebounded this year so far.

[mweb]

Anyone else find it odd that someone with a SN that features VaTech is saying "we" regarding the Terps?:D;)

Good win, great play by Greivis, which the Terps will consistently need to be a good team.

[vatech1994]

MD wins by 5. Huge game by Vasquez. Just phenomenal. He was a beast on the boards and I didn't see a stupid pass all night.

UM shot really well and MD didn't, yet MD won the game. Good news...

[vatech1994]

Anyone else find it odd that someone with a SN that features VaTech is saying "we" regarding the Terps?:D;)

Good win, great play by Greivis, which the Terps will consistently need to be a good team.

It is odd. I know that. I grew up with Albert King, Adrian Branch, Buck Williams, and Len Bias. I lived and died with MD basketball my entire childhood. I knew Lefty a bit and I've got a few stories. I just can't give them up. I still watch MD more than all other college basketball teams combined.

If you want to hear something really odd, I also like Duke (and, of course, VT). I hate UNC, NCST, Clemson, WF, and FST though. When they play each other, my interests go: MD then VT then Duke

[mweb]

It is odd. I know that. I grew up with Albert King, Adrian Branch, Buck Williams, and Len Bias. I lived and died with MD basketball my entire childhood. I knew Lefty a bit and I've got a few stories. I just can't give them up. I still watch MD more than all other college basketball teams combined.

If you want to hear something really odd, I also like Duke (and, of course, VT). I hate UNC, NCST, Clemson, WF, and FST though. When they play each other, my interests go: MD then VT then Duke

That's something terrible and inexcusable along with being really odd.:cussing:

[vatech1994]

That's something terrible and inexcusable along with being really odd.:cussing:

I know. It is terribly embarrassing to admit it, but it is what it is. At least I give MD the nod when they play heads up. :o

[Mackus]

Very solid win, especially coming back from being down at half.

Is it possible that The Real Deal could actually be the real deal?

And great to see the 2nd half that Dino put together. He's definitely gotta go right to the top of the big man rotation.

[Sports Guy]

VaTech likes Duke? His stock just went up in my book. :D

I didn't see this game but I have something to say about this team and, in particular Vazquez and it is directed at the haters.

SHUT UP!

The guy is worlds better than anyone on the team and has been extremely impressive this year.

Not sure if any of you heard it after the game but Gary said that the NBA scouts he talks all have Vazquez in top 5 in terms of 2 guards for the draft this coming season.

He may play out of control at times but the kid does it all.

It looks like he should definitely be an All ACC first teamer this year.

I just think he gets a little too much bs thrown at him by the MD fans and they don't realize how good he is.

[vatech1994]

I didn't see this game but I have something to say about this team and, in particular Vazquez and it is directed at the haters.

SHUT UP!

The guy is worlds better than anyone on the team and has been extremely impressive this year.

Not sure if any of you heard it after the game but Gary said that the NBA scouts he talks all have Vazquez in top 5 in terms of 2 guards for the draft this coming season.

He may play out of control at times but the kid does it all.

It looks like he should definitely be an All ACC first teamer this year.

I just think he gets a little too much bs thrown at him by the MD fans and they don't realize how good he is.

One thing is for sure. He is by far the best player on MD. It isn't even close. The guy can't jump a lick, but he can play ball.

[Mackus]

I agree completely about Vasquez. It does get frustrating when he struggles and he certainly plays out of control sometimes. But he's so damn good, that I don't mind. There are games like tonight where you can tell he won't let them lose. He did everything tonight. I don't doubt that he has that will every game, but some games he has both the will and seems to be at the top of his game. Tonight was a game like that.

Not since Gilchrist has Maryland had a player that can take over games, so I do really like having Vasquez around, flaws and all.

[Sports Guy]

BTW, Gary also addressed the fans after the game...He talked about how they have played the #6, #10 and #16 teams in the country already and that no one has played their schedule...He asked for the fans to give this team some time.

[BaltBird 24]

Didn't get to see the game tonight, but where was Dupree? Injured? Benched?

[markpolis]

Didn't get to see the game tonight, but where was Dupree? Injured? Benched?

He has earned his spot... on the bench.

Dino and Bruney offer so much more than Dupree. It looks like Dupree is moving in 3 feet of water on the floor... and we thought Osby had bad hands.

[Doyle Hargraves]

This was the first time I have gotten an extended look at Gregory, and he was very impressive - fast, powerful fearless, and some really nice moves around the basket. In short, he was everything we always dreamed Travis Garrison and Terrence Morris would someday grow up to be.:)

[balk]

Well I remain undefeated in my first year as a season ticket holder for Terps B-Ball. It was by far the most crowded that the Comcast Center has been this year. The crowd was late arriving but I didn't see many empty seats in the second half.

As far as the game goes, I agree with everyone that Gregory played great. It was exciting to finally see some semblance of inside presence from a big man. Dino's not actually that tall (I think he's only 6'7) but he played tough down low.
I thought it was very interesting that Bowie was running the point the majority of the time that he was in there with both Vasquez and Hayes. I like Bowie a lot and think he's going to be a very good player, but he struggled a bit tonight.

When I saw that Braxton Dupree wasn't in the starting lineup, I figured that he probably wouldn't see much P.T. It wasn't until the drive home that I heard that Gary suspended him for the game for skipping a class. Dupree's looked terrible pretty much all year, so I'd expect Gregory's possible emergence to lead to less Dupree regardless of whether or not he skips some classes.

One thing that continues to baffle me is the way Gary will bench Milbourne for such long stretches every game. He played very well in almost every stretch that he was on the floor tonight.

And I saved my final thought for Dave Neal. After four years of watching him on TV and now 5 games in person, I'm still baffled that he's on a full scholarship to play ACC basketball. He has hit a few big shots for us this year, but he usually looks completely lost on Defense and most of his rebounds seem like blind luck. I'll say one thing for old Dave though, I no longer scream "NOOOO" every time he shoots a three :D

Okay, that's all I've got. Sorry if some (or all) of this came off as rambling. I've been up since 4:45 this morning.

[Mackus]

This was the first time I have gotten an extended look at Gregory, and he was very impressive - fast, powerful fearless, and some really nice moves around the basket. In short, he was everything we always dreamed Travis Garrison and Terrence Morris would someday grow up to be.:)Terence Morris was an All-ACC caliber player. Don't even begin to compare him to Garrison or Gregory.

He definitely regressed late in his senior year and disappeared as Dixon took over, but he was an excellent player at Maryland. He is in no way similar to Garrison, and Gregory has a TON of work to do to get anywhere near how good Morris was.

[inmn]

Md played well in the second half but I wouldn't get too excited. Michigan was the perfect match up for Md defensively-even smaller than Md and just as slow. The spread offense was too easy for MD to defend-they sat out on the perimeter in the second half and didn't even need to worry about the inside. Michigan only had 12 non 3pt baskets....not they way most opponents will attack Md. On the other side their ball movement was good against a good, aggressive defense but Michigan was so small-Md will not get offensive rebounds like that against a quality opponent.

[Doyle Hargraves]

Terence Morris was an All-ACC caliber player. Don't even begin to compare him to Garrison or Gregory.

He definitely regressed late in his senior year and disappeared as Dixon took over, but he was an excellent player at Maryland. He is in no way similar to Garrison, and Gregory has a TON of work to do to get anywhere near how good Morris was.

No intention on my part to equate these guys in any way based on talent level and accomplishments. I was just admiring a 6-7, medium build guy's willingness to mix it up and play in the paint. Morris and Garrison were highly recruited, talented forwards that disappointed me and perhaps others with their relutance to play in the paint, and got worse each season -- Moreso Garrison than Morris. Some of Morris's best defense was as a freshman when they played him out at the point with that long wingspan. Maybe he had an aversion to getting banged around. Gregory reminded me more of the things Keith Booth used to do.