@Ohio State

[ArtVanDelay]

Wth Sulaimon.

[O-The-Memories]

If only Gary had this kind of talent, we would be number one in the country and maybe only have one loss. Why are we fouling there?

[Tony-OH]

If only Gary had this kind of talent, we would be number one in the country and maybe only have one loss. Why are we fouling there?

No doubt. William's X's and O's and in game management with Turgeon's recruiting. lol

[murph]

Going to pull this out. But tougher win than it should have been.

[ArtVanDelay]

Solid road win. Ohio State is probably a little bit better than we realized after we beat them by 35. They are 6-3 in the BIG (about to be 6-4).

[Tony-OH]

Sigh, I loved Gary Williams like a God, but seriously? Do you remember his last 5 years here? I swear people are never happy. This team is a national title contender after a surprise great season last year. We are not only relevant. We are constantly in the discussions on every channel. I just don't know what people expect. It is crazy.

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We expect the team to play to its talent level every game. Too many grind them out wins against teams that shouldn't be in the game. I was no Wiliams fan over his last five years or so because he got really, really lazy on the recruiting trail. Saying that, he was always a great in game coach and players developed under him all the time. Turgeon does a great job of recruiting guys to come in a perform right away and they do play hard on defense most of the time.,, but the offense is about as bland as it gets and when the team gets cold, he doesn't adjust very often.

I like Turgeon because obviously players want to play for him at Maryland and stealing guys like Stone out from under a Big Ten competitor showed the Terps will go after anyone anywhere. i just wish i'd see his team perform a little more consistently.

[Tony-OH]

We swept Ohio State this year after getting absolutely clubbed by them last year. I will take it. Ohio State has a lot of talent. They will be a bubble team this year.

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Ohio State will be lucky to get into the NIT. We played well down the stretch and that separated us, but for most of the game both team shot poorly.

[Baltoravensrule]

Lack of backcourt depth is really hurting this team right now. I didn't expect a ton from Brantley but clearly Turgeon doesnt trust him with anything. Nickens' regression is disappointing. I know Trimble's minutes per game are actually down this year but he looks tired.

[OFFNY]

Tony-OH said:

 

We expect the team to play to its talent level every game. Too many grind them out wins against teams that shouldn't be in the game.

 

vatech1994 said:

 

Good luck with that. I can't name a single college team that does that every single game, EVER. If you can, I will happily say I'm wrong, and it is possible. Virginia is well coached. They have several much worse losses. Same with Duke. Same with Michigan State.

I'm just saying that, when your team is 18-3 and has only lost 3 times on the road, twice to teams that are in the top 10 and the third time to a tourney team, maybe the expectations are a bit outlandish.

BTW, Ohio State beat Kentucky by 7 and they are 6-4 in the conference. You're seriously underselling them. They will EASILY be an NIT team and could still make the NCAA although I doubt it because their last 3 games are just nasty.

 

o

 

The only example that I can think of that comes to mind is the 1990-91 U.N.L.V. team, before they lost to Duke in the Final Four.

They obliterated every opponent that year up until that loss with the exception of one road game against #2 Arkansas in early February (112-105), and their game against Georgetown in the round of 32 (#1 U.N.L.V. vs. #8 Georgetown.) And that Georgetown team was led by Alonzo Mourning and Dikembe Mutombo, so they were a very strong #8 seed. If there was ever an underrated #8 seed and/or a trap game for a dominant team, that Georgetown team was it. The Runnin' Rebels beat them by 8 points ....... not exactly a blowout, but not right down to the wire, either.

Somewhat ironically, when they (U.N.L.V.) actually won the National Championship the year before (1989-90), they were taken right down to the final possession of the game by Ball State in the Sweet Sixteen (69-67), and were given a very good game by Georgia Tech in the Final Four before their thumping of Duke in the national title game.

Before that ...... and without looking it up ...... the only possible other college teams that I can think of that might have steamrolled all of their opponents are the teams from the sophomore and junior seasons of both Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton when they were each at U.C.L.A. I know that they both lost games in those players' respective senior seasons, so the only other possibilities would be the seasons that I mentioned.

Your point is well-taken overall, though. It is extremely rare (and almost unheard of) for a college basketball team to display their dominance in all of their games throughout an entire season. Just the fact that the last team to finish the season undefeated was four decades ago (the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers) would seem to affirm that.

 

o

[ChuckS]

The problem when you have next to nothing on your bench, your starting five really has to play well to beat good teams and dominate the poorer ones. Those Final Four Teams had Nicholas, Holden, Mardesich, and Danny Miller coming off the bench. Compare that talent to Nickens, Dodd, and Cekovsky. Dodd has one of his best games of the season today: He gave us 2 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks.

The talent level all-around the NCAA is more depleted and even than it has ever been. This squad could make it to the final four or get bounced in the second round. It all depends on how the starters perform because the bench can't be expected to pick them up when they struggle.

[Mooreisbetter27]

I don't post a lot but I tend to agree with VATech alot on Terps related things.

Everyone should enjoy the best team Maryland has had in 10+ years. I'm looking forward to the rest of this year.

[murph]

I don't post a lot but I tend to agree with VATech alot on Terps related things.

Everyone should enjoy the best team Maryland has had in 10+ years. I'm looking forward to the rest of this year.

This!

Fear the turtle!

[OFFNY]

I really enjoy reading your assessments on the Terps and college basketball in general. I find you to be knowledgeable and insightful with your comments. Your mention of those great Duke and UNLV teams brings to mind what a special time that was for college basketball. I enjoy reading your material as much as I enjoy Tony's post game analysis of the Ravens. Thanks again for your contributions,:thumbsup1:

I mentioned them ...... unless you are referring to one his his previous posts in a previous thread.

[Tony-OH]

Good luck with that. I can't name a single college team that does that every single game EVER. If you can, I will happily say I'm wrong and it is possible. Virginia is well coached. They have several much worse losses. Same with Duke. Same with Michigan State.

I'm just saying that, when your team is 18-3 and has only lost 3 times on the road, twice to teams that are in the top 10 and the third time to a tourney team, maybe the expectations are a bit outlandish.

BTW, Ohio State beat Kentucky by 7 and they are 6-4 in the conference. You're seriously underselling them. They will EASILY be an NIT team and could still make the NCAA although I doubt it because their last 3 games are just nasty.

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Let me clarify my point. It's not that I don't expect a team to have an off night or have to grind out a win here and there, that's certainly expected, but this team seems to keep teams around an awful lot because of those long cold streaks and slows starts. I like this team, but I'm worried over it's consistent inability to make adjustments when things go bad. They seem to consistently start slowly in both halves and when they get into that shooting slump, they seem slow to work out of it which let's inferior teams stick around too much.

What this team does very well though is finish out games by hitting their free throws and generally making some key shots down the stretch. Either the grinding out wins will help them come tourney time because they've been in these dogfights, or it shows that this team is really just another team that could go deep in the tourney or be an early dismissal.

[Hallas]

Let me clarify my point. It's not that I don't expect a team to have an off night or have to grind out a win here and there, that's certainly expected, but this team seems to keep teams around an awful lot because of those long cold streaks and slows starts. I like this team, but I'm worried over it's consistent inability to make adjustments when things go bad. They seem to consistently start slowly in both halves and when they get into that shooting slump, they seem slow to work out of it which let's inferior teams stick around too much.

What this team does very well though is finish out games by hitting their free throws and generally making some key shots down the stretch. Either the grinding out wins will help them come tourney time because they've been in these dogfights, or it shows that this team is really just another team that could go deep in the tourney or be an early dismissal.

While you have a valid point, it's still a win on the road against a borderline tourney team. A win on the road against any sort of competition is hard. The 2000-2001 Final Four team lost to FSU at home; that squad ended the season 9-21.