The Maryland Terrapins, who are now without starting point guard Pe'Shon Howard for the season, won their first game without him in the lineup Thursday. After the tough loss at Duke on Saturday, the Terps responded in style, leading by as many as 19 against the Boston College Eagles before cruising to an 81-65 victory.
The Good:
- "Zaching" - All 12,465 in attendance started "Zaching" in honor of Zach Lederer, the Maryland student manager. The 18-year old freshman is battling brain cancer. He's an inspirational story, and everyone in Comcast Center gave him a standing ovation. During the celebration, Caps Defensemen Karl Alzner and John Carlson took pictures of themselves "Zaching" while on the road.
- Terrell Stoglin - Stoglin was phenomenal in the first half. If you go on a 14-0 run by yourself, you will inevitably wind up in this category, even if you only score five points in the second half. During his streak, Stoglin was 4-for-4 from three, and was able to hit shots despite seeing obvious extra coverage. Stoglin was asked about his play tonight and said "I was just telling myself before the game I didn't want to miss today because of the Duke game."
- Ryan Anderson - Anderson was the only bright spot for Boston College tonight. He got lucky by not seeing much of Nick Faust on the defensive end -- Faust was too busy shutting down Matt Humphrey, Boston College's leading scorer -- and finished with 22 points. Anderson went on a one-man 6-0 run to start the second half, which forced Maryland Coach Mark Turgeon to call a timeout.
- Nick Faust's Dunk - If you make Sportscenter's Top 10, I'm just saying, you're going to make it in this category 10 out of 10 times.
Faust exclamation point! (via mdtikitime)
The Bad:
- Ashton Pankey - Pankey got the quickest hook I've ever seen to start a game. After a turnover in the post on Maryland's first possession, Pankey followed that up by not paying attention on offense and missing a pass thrown right to him. Pankey lasted just 45 seconds before Mark Turgeon went to the bench and brought on Alex Len. Len didn't fare much better, due to foul trouble, but he at least contributed 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in his 17 minutes. Pankey played just 14 minutes and was barely involved.
- Boston College's Defense - The Terps are not a good three-point shooting team (270th in the nation in 3-pointers made) and they shot 50% for the game (8-for-16). Boston College also let Maryland get 15 assists on 28 baskets, well above their season average (10.5 per game). Boston College is one of the worst power conference teams in the country, but the Terps have struggled against lesser opponents this season. Steve Donahue has a very young team, one that beat Florida State, but tonight, BC simply could not stop the Terrapins.
The Ugly:
- Dennis Clifford - The Boston College center finished 3-for-12 from the field but easily missed six shots within four feet of the basket. He couldn't even manage to make two easy layups in the first half. He's young, but has a long way to go in developing an interior game -- or just making easy layups. He was dominated by the smaller James Padgett all night on the glass.
- Maryland's Point Guards - The Terps have struggled without Pe'Shon Howard manning the point when he has been out. Tonight was no different, despite what the high number of assists would suggest. Nick Faust was caught dribbling too high or simply not having a good handle on the ball a few times -- leading to his team-high 5 turnovers. Against a stronger opponent, the Terps would have been penalized with more than 13 points off the 13 turnovers Boston College managed tonight. Even when they weren't turning the ball over, I had an uneasy feeling all night watching the Maryland guards handle the ball.
And-One:
- Mychal Parker has really improved his game this season. An afterthought last year under Gary Williams, he has blossomed into a stout defender and a terror on the fast break. He threw down a thunderous alley-oop late in the game to seal the game. He usually doesn't get a lot of credit, but he did Thursday from coach Turgeon. "I thought Mike was great. Mike is going to have to be a big part of what we do here down the stretch and he knows it."