Saturday was a great day if you were a fan of the Virginia Cavaliers or great quotes from coaches. Not so much if you were a fan of the Maryland Terrapins or offense. Somehow, Maryland and Virginia were tied at the half (31-31), but Maryland scored just 13 points in the second half, which was capped by a 16-0 Virginia run.
The Good:
- Mike Scott: He was unstoppable tonight. Plain and simple. The Terps threw five different guys to guard him and no one could stop him. I was sitting next to some NBA scouts during the game and they were raving about him. Everything from his positioning to his improved jump shot. One noted that he looked like he had slimmed down and appeared quicker than he did just three weeks ago against N.C. State. Scott beat Maryland in the first half with his mid-range game against taller defenders. Against smaller defenders in the second half, he backed them down and beat them inside.
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Malcolm Brogdon: Brogdon was efficient, going 5-for-6 from the floor overall, 2-for-2 from three and a perfect 2-for-2 from the line. He finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and an assist off the bench. With Maryland paying so much attention to Scott, Brogdon was able to find open spots on the court and sink open shots.
- Mark Turgeon's Post-game Press Conference: While he was somber and downtrodden, he did still manage to produce two great quotes. First, when discussing if anyone played a good game he dropped this gem: "You can go down our whole list. If you can tell me one guy who played well today, I’ll argue that you’re wrong. We were 0-for-14." Later, when discussing the Point Guard situation: "If Terrell is our point guard, we'll have 17 possessions where no one else will touch it."
The Bad:
- Maryland's Walk-On's: They were outscored 9-2 by Virginia's end of the bench. Even Mark Turgeon took them to task by mentioning that they were selfish in their time on the court. Granted, he started that conversation by talking about how everyone was selfish. In reality, they are walk-ons for a reason.
- Nick Faust: He wasn't good, but he wasn't ugly. Faust shot 5-of-12, but did take some terrible threes, and luckily for him, two went in. Pe'Shon Howard even tweeted during the game "Nick lucky he made that or coach Turgeon would have killed him." He also had 5 turnovers and zero assists, despite running the point for most of the game. Faust struggled dribbling into double teams and making errant passes. The team is obviously missing Howard's steady hand at the point.
The Ugly:
- Maryland's Big Men: The four combined for 10 points, 13 rebounds and one assist in a combined 67 minutes. Highlighted by Alex Len and Berend Weijs combing for 27 minutes and laying a bunch of goose eggs. The two had 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 blocks and 0 assists. Len shot 0-for-2 from the floor and was 0-for-1 from three. Although he did manage to get on the stat sheet -- with 1 turnover. Ashton Pankey played the best game of all the big men with 4 points and 8 rebounds. Mike Scott and Akil Mitchell dominated the Terps' big men on the defensive end. They forced the Terps to get the ball farther away from the basket then they were comfortable with. Alex Len even took a three on Saturday.
- Maryland's Offense: Maryland had 15 turnovers to 3 assists tonight. The guy who was primarily playing point guard had 5 turnovers and 0 assists. The other starting guard took 17 shots and only scored 14 points. The Terps shot just 20.8% in the second half. Maryland had 5 turnovers during Virginia's 16-0 run alone. After Pankey scored a tip-in to end the streak, Maryland's next two possessions ended with turnovers. It was an ugly night all around for Maryland, that's no secret. Maryland's 44 points were their second-lowest on the season, and the lowest output since the 42 against Alabama in Puerto Rico.
And-One:
- This was my first experience at the John Paul Jones Arena (and first on the road covering Maryland). The arena itself was fantastic. The atmosphere was anything but. Virginia didn't have their students covering the bottom bowl, much like Comcast Center, but rather had a smaller version of the wall, and one section. Even then, most of the noise was coming from the band.
For more on the Virginia Vs. Maryland game, visit this StoryStream. For more on the Terps, visit Testudo Times. For more on the Cavaliers, visit Streaking the Lawn.