If you're a Maryland Terrapin fan, the 2010-2011 so far has had a familiar theme. It goes like this: The Terps play a good team on the road very tough for most of the game, with sophmore center Jordan Williams showing why he's one of the best players in the ACC. Then, for whatever reason, the Terps completely crumble in the late moments, and all they are left with is moral victories about how they played against a ranked team.
You can pretty much say that's what happened when the Terps fell to the Villanova Wildcats this afternoon. They took a solid lead well into the second half, with Williams scoring 25 points and getting 14 rebounds (his 11th straight double double).
And then in an instant, they collapsed.
With Maryland up 12 points with just under 9 minutes to go in the second half, the Wildcats went on a 19-0 run to take the lead for good.
Yes, a 19-0 run.
The Terps were unable to hit any of their shots or take care of the basketball during the decisive run, while Villanova was able to hit all of their field goals and free throws.
And with that, the Terps fell to the Wildcats 74-66.
There are no moral victories here for the Terps, just disappointment and heartbreak. They simply cannot get a key victory this season. They have played good teams very tough only to lose, and it looked like they were finally going to break through against Villanova. But it was not to be, and the Terps will be left reeling.
The young Terps have shown flashes of why they can be a good team in the future, but have also shown flashes of why they are not ready to compete for an NCAA tournament bid at this moment.
Gary Williams will have to back to the drawing board with his team, as they have to find a way to finish games.