Maryland(14-3) @ North Carolina(11-5)

[Slappy]

As a current UNC student:

I mostly think the Heels will win tomorrow. We were definitely overrated at the start of the season and I don't expect to achieve too much in the ACC standings or the NCAA tournament, BUT I do think we'll end up looking back at the loss to Miami at home as a sort of wake up call that caused the team to regain some of their motivation and success. That said, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Terps put up an inspired performance and win the game. I've been pretty impressed by what I've seen out of MD in the games I've watched and though I think UNC is better than some are making us out to be at the moment, we've clearly had a handful of games that were downright poor efforts.

Despite the disappointing play recently, I'm not in nearly as high a panic/apathy mode as much of the campus is. I think after so many years of Orioles fandom, rooting for a struggling or underdog team is almost more relaxing than rooting for a favorite that expects to win every game!

Yeah. Carolina still has a lot of talent. I'm actually starting to think the Terps are either not as talented or certainly not as well coached as we thought. They've gone through a 3 game slump and frankly were very lucky to beat NCSU. Turgeon hasn't shown anything special as far as scheme (esp of offense) or ability to get the most out of his players. All he really does is talk them down over and over. I wouldn't want to play for a guy like that.

[OFFNY]

.

Come on, Tar Heels.

It's 42-20 at halftime. Keep up the intensity.

[murph]

I was pretty amazed that the early responses were so confident that UMD would win this game. If a team this young beat UNC at UNC, I would have been shocked.

Beating NC state (and holding the lead most of the game) had me thinking positive, even if it was at home. They definitely look very young today (at least from what I have been able to see...missed the first half).

[murph]

Who is the female announcer on ESPN? Dick Vitale's wife?

[Munson]

The Terps have shown a lot of fight in the second half.

[ccbird]

We don't even attempt a mid range game. I mean its one thing to be poor 3 point shooters but we got a bunch of guys who dribble too far and try to get every single point at the rim. No stop and pop, if we catch the ball open inside the arc we put our head down and drive. You can't win in this league trying to get everything at the rim. Teams just collapse, they don't have to play anyone on this team outside of the paint.

Not a good team. You can't magically become good shooters, you can't magically give yourself a higher basketball IQ, you can't magically give yourself good ball handling skills. When this team does have the occasional good shooting night they'll likely win because they generally play defense well but they're too inconsistent and simply not well rounded enough to be a tourny team this year. They beat up on weaker, shorter, inferior teams because they could get to the rim at will and outrebound them. Not going to cut it most nights in the ACC. I'll be surprised if they finish over .500 in the conference.

[ccbird]

I am proud that they kept playing hard the whole game, but this team has a long way to go.

My thoughts from best to worst player (IMO):

Wells - good game, good player, some silly turnovers, but I love the effort and athleticism

Len - poor game, but played hard, tries to do the right things, has a long way to go, he should stay another year

Allen - awful shooting game, but he actually played ok; he is going to be a very good player

Faust - I'm starting to think he'll never be what he is capable of being, but he doesn't hurt us

Mitchell - Nice game overall, but he has to learn to block out his man on the boards

Cleare - Same as Mitchell

Padgett - Awful, has gotten significantly worse this year

Howard - Awful, almost to the point where Turgeon has to consider not playing him; his passing, handle and decision making have all disappeared as the shooting slump has grown

Layman - Overwhelmed today, disappointed with his effort and focus today

Aronholt - Consistently wasn't ready to shoot today when he caught the ball; poor game

Len gets doubled pretty much everytime he touches the ball. They just collapse on him, as they should. He would be much better if he had players around him that could space the floor and be a threat to shoot. A big man is going to have trouble succeeding if his teammates aren't respected. He's 100% a lottery pick this year which means he's gone. Sure, he still has flaws ,but it's irrelevant because he's gonna get payed. People need to just move on from the thought of Len being here another year.

[Munson]

Not a good team. You can't magically become good shooters, you can't magically give yourself a higher basketball IQ, you can't magically give yourself good ball handling skills.

I think a lot of this will come with experience. Most of this team are still freshman and sophomores. It might not fully come together this year, but I still have confidence that this group of players have the ability to be a great team. Even in their losses they have shown the ability to stay with more experienced teams. Maybe this team won't make the NCAA tournament, but I'm far from saying this won't be a good team.

[The Rick]

I was pretty amazed that the early responses were so confident that UMD would win this game. If a team this young beat UNC at UNC, I would have been shocked.

In my defense, UNC has been so up and down. Hard to say what team showed up for them today, but it appears the win in Tallahassee may have gotten them back on track. I also keep thinking the next game is when it "clicks" for these kids. I think I'm going to shift to a more cautious approach with my predictions moving forward. They don't look imminently poised to compete.

[olehippi]

Maryland looked abysmal in the first half, and all that not much better in the second half. Seth Allen has been inconsistent, and was really bad today........2 for 12, including 0-5 on 3's. Right now, someone has to step up and play point, and players have to drop the ball off more to an open man when driving for the basket. Just real sloppy ball handling.

[glenn__davis]

Maryland looked abysmal in the first half, and all that not much better in the second half. Seth Allen has been inconsistent, and was really bad today........2 for 12, including 0-5 on 3's. Right now, someone has to step up and play point, and players have to drop the ball off more to an open man when driving for the basket. Just real sloppy ball handling.

I actually thought Seth played OK, he's just not getting the ball in the hoop right now. He's a better shooter than what he's shown, and even his layups aren't going in right now. I think he'll be a good one.

Howard, on the other hand, played maybe the worst game I've ever seen from a MD player. 0 assists, 7 turnovers, several of which led to easy UNC baskets. Honestly, he should not be playing more than 7-8 minutes right now.

There's just no excuse for this team to be playing this poorly. Don't tell me they're young. College bball is a young man's game now. This team right now is less than the sum of its parts. Turgeon came in with a reputation as a good developer and X and O guy, it's time to start seeing some of that.

[Munson]

Don't tell me they're young. College bball is a young man's game now.

This just isn't true. Look at the teams at the top of the ACC standings and you will see the teams with the most experience for the most part. Sure there are plenty of players leaving school early for the NBA draft but not enough to say this is a young man's game. The majority of the best teams are all experienced teams. Michigan is the one team that I can think of off the top of my head that is young.

[tylerfrombelair]

I maybe in the minority here, but I think Len needs one more season to stick around and learn the American style of basketball. He could fill out his body more and be a better presence offensively down low.