Blast-Off #3

Mumpkins and Ritchie's Blast-Off #3

51-50 W vs (14) NCST

The Terps didn't want me to write a third-straight disappointing post, so they decided to pull out a win over the (14) NCST Wolfpack tonight at Comcast. What a game. Despite not making a FG for a 10-minute period in the first half, the Terps got after it on defense all night, holding the NCAA leader in team field goal percentage (52.8%) to a measly 31.1%. They played with passion and energy and looked like they wanted to win. It was quite the contrast from the team that took the court in Coral Gables on Sunday night. Dez Wells had a SICK block, Len had a sick alley-oop down the stretch, and Len bailed out Pe on the final shot. I've watched the highlights on ESPN 4 times already, and I have a feeling it won't be getting old anytime soon.

Gary was there to receive some painting at halftime (I could explain it better but don't feel like it. Still bummed he didn't fistpump) and this W was a good way to tell our former AD what's up. Thanks for bankrupting us, a-hole, but we've moved on to B1GGER and better things. I still miss Gary a lot though:

"Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me, she has never won a national championship, she has never done anything. She's an associate AD. This is just giving you guys stuff to make me look bad."

Let's get to it!

On blast:

1. Refs - I hate when fans blame refs for a loss, or complain an inordinate amount about the officiating in general. But Mike Eades, Roger Ayers, and Raymond Styons (thank you, Yahoo Sports) were not on their game tonight. In a physical game like that, I find it hard to believe that 8 of the first 11 fouls in the second half were on the Terps. One foul in particular stands out - with about 9:28 left in the game, CJ Leslie drove to the basket and was guarded by Padge. Leslie put up the contested shot, missed, fell to the floor, and Padge collected the rebound and looked up to pass. A full 2-seconds after the shot occurred, the foul was called. Ridiculous...

(Side note: Check out this site if you want to yell better,more personal insults to the refs of your favorite college basketball team!)

2. Students who stormed the court - It's not a HUGE deal to me, and I'm not embarrassed to be a Maryland fan because of it, but really? They were 14th-ranked coming into the game despite being picked pre-season to win the ACC. That means they have under-achieved, despite a win vs then (1) Duke in Raleigh on Saturday. They're not a top-10 team, not one of our rivals, and this game didn't clinch any sort of championship (regular season or otherwise).

Guys who get to ride up front for being good at sports:

1. Terps - Sounds really lame to just pick everyone, but it was a really balanced effort tonight. Dez didn't have the best game, but he still worked his butt off on the defensive end. Pe finally hit some shots, but 9 is still too many for him to take in my opinion. All in all though, great team win and hoping it builds momentum going to Chapel Hill on Saturday.

2. Coach Turgeon - Mainly for epic postgame quotes tonight:

''I didn't come here to be mediocre. I came here to do great things. We haven't done many great things since I've been here. This is a great thing.''

''We hadn't won a big game since Greivis was here."

Was this Turgeon's "Georgetown win?" (for those who don't know what that means, see #8 on this list) Time will tell...

We'll be roadtripping to Chapel Hill on Friday afternoon for the game on Saturday. More to come from the Research Triangle on Saturday... Go Terps!

Black Greivis!

Pe'Shon Howard lived up to his appointed nickname by hitting the second game winner on the Terps' last possession in as many years at Comcast (see Tucker, Cliff vs GT). I'm not forgetting GV's epic shot over Scheyer-face, which was basically a game-winner, but it wasn't on the Terp's last possession...

The game was entirely too close for comfort, with the Terps trailing almost the entire game thanks to pre-season Southern Conference POY Andrew Goudeluck who dropped 27 on MD, seeming to hit almost everything he threw up there. It didn't help that the Terps missed 13 of 18 FT, but WACJFW added 26 and 15 boards (season averages: 21.5 ppg 15 rpg) and was the only offense the Terps seemed to have at times. It looked bleak for the good guys...

"But that was before Pe'Shon Howard struck." Very reminiscent of the title of this blog, no? Pandemonium in the stands! There may or may not have been some awkward jumping up and down while embracing between good friends and loyal Terp fans in Sec114 row 5... wait what? Hell yeah! GO TERPS!

I Love Me Some Terps

Who else isn't excited by a win over Cal? We so own them this year. First Kevin Barnes and now our own Greivis just ethering those hippies from Berkeley.

Who would have thought a 13-point upset was coming from this team? Sure, they were the popular pick for an upset by most prognosticators. I myself even had this as a win in my bracket. We all "thought" that the Terps could be the Bears because we've seen how good we can be. We've also seen how awful this team can be (see: Morgan State, @Virginia). It wasn't until after the game that I realized just how amazing this win was. It wasn't that it was so startling that it happened. After all, we thought it would. It's just that this is a team that before the season I thought was going to be just awful. We had no big men, at one point we had no recruits, and I thought Greivis couldn't put Brooklyn on his back or Marcy on the map. For crying out loud, DAVE NEAL. I love that guy and I am so happy that he is in my Class of 2009 at Maryland. I'm so glad that Greivis is even better than we all thought he was. The man will have his number hanging in the rafters of Comcast some day. Believe me, he will. And during his speech he will thank "Scott" and Gary Williams. If you can find a bigger Gary homer than Greivis I'd be utterly surprised. I just love this team. I am in sheer amazement of it. And unlike Ritchie, I'm not drunk while posting this. Right now I'm counting my blessings that I get to experience this, not only as a student but also as a fan.

Thanks Maryland. Thanks Gary. Thanks Greivis. Thanks Dave. Thanks everyone.

Well, not everyone. Kathy Worthington has never won 9 straight first round games in the Lig.

Bring on Memphis.

The Terps are Back

Gary Williams is a bad motherfucker. After being left for dead earlier in the season by Kathy Worthington, the Washington Post, the internet message boards, Mumpkins, the scrillas, and various other asundry entities, Coach Gary Williams turned the season around and used every bit of his coaching juices to gain his 13th NCAA Tournament bid as the head coach of the Maryland Terrapins.

It was clinched with the team's third win over a top ten team on the season in Friday's double digit win over Wake Forest in Atlanta in the ACC Tournament. Admittedly, despite nearly knocking off the Deacs a week earlier in College Park, I gave the Terps little chance to win that game. And that's where Coach Gary Williams made me look foolish yet again.

The Terps were staring down a fourth NIT appearance in five seasons just a week ago after their loss at Virginia, but now a few days later the Terps are going back to the Big Dance for the second time in three years. That invitation also guarantees Coach Gary Williams another year at the end of his contract, extending it through the 2013 season. Thank God for that.

But that's not the end of it. Oh no. God has decided to smile on this program for once. Lance Stephenson, a top 5 recruit out of New York City, is strongly considering becoming a Terp next season. Now, everyone that reads this blog already knows him as simply Born Ready. He's already a NYC legend, one who would team with Greivis Vasquez in the backcourt to make next season's edition of the Terps a legitimate Final Four contender.

Born Ready is down to Kansas, Maryland, and the hometown school Saint John's, with the Terps maybe, perhaps holding a slight lead over Kansas with SJU a distant third. If Stephenson were to committ to Maryland in the next few weeks, it would, combined with the recent tournament berth, almost guarantee that Coach Gary Williams' career ends happily. That's the most important thing. Coach Gary Williams has thrown it back in the faces of the haters. Suck on that.

Gary and Greivis

There's been a lot of criticism lately about Gary Williams. I have agreed with a lot of it. At one point, I was even going to write a long post about why this team will never be an elite team until Gary retires.

I may have been right or wrong about that, but one thing is for sure: there is nothing more satisfying than seeing Gary lead the Maryland Terrapins to victory. He's a tough sonofabitch. The criticism is flying from every direction, yet Gary is taking a team with limited talent to the cusp of an NCAA tournament berth. This team could have quit any number of times already, but instead they are playing their best ball of the year as the calendar turns to March.

If this team makes it to the lig, it's a "Fuck You" to the haters signed by Gary Motherfucking Williams. Nothing would make me happier. It's going to happen.

----

Greivis Vasquez.

Greivis Vasquez is an amazing player. Like his coach, he's passionate and takes a lot of criticism in the darker times.

A little over a week ago, I was able to see - live and in person - one of the greatest performances in recent college basketball history when Greivis willed the Terps over #3 UNC at the Comcast Center with a 35/11/10 performance in 44 minutes of an OT win. This was a game where he led all players in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks.

Then last night Greivis had 33 of the Terps' 71 points in an 11 point win over NC State, taking over the game in the second half. He capped that performance by taking and hitting an entirely unneccesary unguarded three as time expired and the game was clearly already in the bag.

Greivis was also on his way to a third spectacular game (10/6/5 in 22 minutes against Duke) before the refs nixed that idea and ensured that Duke would come into our house and beat us.

The man is GREAT, and these past few games have cemented his place in Terps' history. I have no idea what to say here except that Greivis' jersey should be in the rafters should he decide to stay for his senior season.

The Milbourne Supremacy

Steve: "Bob, is there any difference between Landon Milbourne and James Gist?"
Me: "Uhh 2 inches, cornrows, and some arc on the jumpshot."

I was expecting somewhat minimal progress out of Landon this past offseason after seeing little change between his first two seasons. I thought the success of the Terps' 2008-09 season would rely on Gary's ability to adapt to a 4-guard offense and the inability of opponents to take advantage of our lack of depth inside.

That's why I'm not a real analyst. I thought wrong. Simply put, Landon has become a beast. He is the solid second scoring option we have been waiting for. He has developed a killer mid-range jumper which has become an automatic 2 points on the scoreboard. He hustles after every rebound and always fights for position on both sides of the floor. The most encouraging part about his recent performance has been his consistent production in conference play, against some of the best big men in the ACC:

vs GT: 6PTS on 6FGA 9REB (4OREB) 2STL 1BLK
at Miami: 8PTS on 8FGA 7REB (3OREB) 4BLK 1STL
at FSU: 17PTS on 13FGA 9REB (6OREB) 2BLK 1AST 1 STL
vs UVA: 17PTS on 9FGA 5REB (1OREB) 1STL
at Duke: 19PTS on 16FGA 5REB (2OREB) 2AST 2STL 1BLK
vs BC: 14PTS on 13FGA 7REB (6OREB) 1STL
vs Miami: 17PTS on 13FGA 6REB (3OREB) 2AST

Other than the active string of 5 consecutive double-digit scoring games, take note of Landon's efficient shot selection (averaging at least 1PT per FGA in every game), defensive hustle stats (blocks and steals), and attacking the offensive glass (averaging 3.57 OREB per game).

Lately Terps basketball has been very inconsistent to say the least. 41 point losses, disappearing double-digit second half leads, and squabbles between our head coach and the AD make me wonder what I'm going to be treated to everytime I go to Comcast or turn on the TV for a road game. I DO know, however, that everytime out, I'll be treated to Bowie and his sick finishes at the basket, Mosely out-rebounding forwards, Dino swatting balls into the fifth row, Greivis trying for a triple-double. and Landon putting on for his city. #1 has arrived.

Gary Williams Going Down Swinging

LOL

Williams also said: "Kathy Worthington doesn't speak for me. She has never won a national championship, she has never done anything. She's an associate AD. This is just giving you guys stuff to make me look bad."

Gary F Williams, baller status first class, is waging a public fight with his athletic department. Read that article for the whole context (hint: recruiting). I'm going to post soon enough about the end of the Gary era and how bad things have become, but this is one of those times when Gary Williams' reminds me why he's my favorite sports figure of all-time (yes, I said it), present situation notwithstanding.

Dave Neal Gets to Ride Up Front

because he's a good guy at sports?

Seriously, did Dave Neal just drop 17 points in 17 minutes against the #5 team in the country, on ESPN2, en route to winning the Old Spice Player of the Game? Was that a tryptophan induced hallucination?

As someone who absolutely talked TONS of shit about Dave Neal throughout the early part of the season, let me take this moment to extract my foot from my mouth and congratulate Dave "YMCA" Neal on his 27 points in the last two Terps' wins. Nice job, big man.

The Terps managed to rout Michigan State tonight by 18, even with Greivis Vasquez not playing his best game. Sure, he dished 6 dimes and grabbed a team-high 6 boards, but he also shot 5-14 from the field and played very poorly as Michigan State caught up to the Terps at the end of the first half. I am no Greivis hater, but the man needed to settle himself in the worst way for much of the game tonight.

Adrian Bowie came up huge all game, particularly in the first half, scoring 13 points in total while the other point guard, Eric Hayes, was huge with 13 points, 5 assists and 3 steals. Hayes looks a bit quicker this year and more aggressive tonight than he has in the past. The new spry Hayes can be a key asset on a contending Terps team over the next two seasons. And Adrian Bowie can shoot now (he hit three threes). His bandwagon is now filled, and I'm still in the conductor's seat (do they sit?).

I already mentioned how big the non-cyborg edition of Dave Neal was tonight, but Braxton Dupree played perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 7 points and grabbing 5 rebounds in a career high 31 minutes all while looking as active on both ends as he has at any point in his career. Michigan State is pretty damn physical (aka they play a garbage Big Ten style) so holding his own and staying on the court tonight was huge for Brax.

Now the Terps get to play another top 10 team in Gonzaga tomorrow evening, before facing either Georgetown (!!) or Tennessee on Sunday evening in either the championship or the third place game of the Old Spice Classic. Hopefully the Terps get the Hoyas because they're too scared to play us otherwise. Also - they aren't very good. They have little depth, and if the Terps got them into a track meet, Georgetown would lose.

Other stuff:

*Sean Mosley is pretty damn awesome. He might be the smartest player on the team - Dino and EHayes are also on that list, though the whole team has generally played smart ball so far this season. Twice he made plays that really don't translate well to an internets blog, one on a rebound and one on an assist. Since they won't translate well, I won't describe them. Rest assured they were real, and they were spectacular.

*Michigan State shot 44% from the FT line. LOL. That pretty much means that Tom Izzo could hire Ekene Ibekwe as his team's Shot Doctor (D.D.S) and improve them.

*Isn't Gonzaga always highly rated only to underachieve in the tournament? Why can't we win this game? Since we basically don't play anyone for the rest of the nonconference schedule after this weekend, winning one of the next two is still pretty damn important.

*Korean Durant got zero minutes tonight. I have no complaints about the rotation, but that made me sad. What's more fun than watching Korean Durant play ball?

*Is there something below the doghouse to describe where Jerome Burney is that is worse than "dog house"? Again, not that he really should have played tonight, but I feel like he might never see the court again for more than two minutes in a game.

*What is up with this bulleted list? Who do I think I am, a sportswriter? BRB, have 2 add more cliches. (The rhetorical questions were also trite and overused).

*I'm pumped. Fuck a Gonzaga.

*4-0-1 <3 Gary

Terps Terps Terps

Have you seen the preseason college basketball publications? They all seem to agree that the Terps are going to finish in the bottom half of the lig this season. The Sporting News even went so far as to pick Maryland dead last in the ACC. That's nearly unfathomable for a program that finished tied for 5th in the conference last season, even while having its worst team in about 15 years.

It's easy to be pessimistic about the coming season, but I'm not having any of that. And neither is Gary Williams, who will be saying Hi Hater to all the naysayers when March rolls around. Don't believe me? Here are five reasons why this team will dance in March.

5. Adrian Bowie is a year older and a year better.

I'm a big fan of Adrian Bowie to say the least. He can handle the ball, he can score, and he can defend. He's already one of the best finishers in the league, to the point that it's often amazing to see how he contorts his body to score in traffic. The one thing that held him back from a breakout season last year was his complete inability to shoot, but if early indications from scrimmages are correct, Bowie has worked hard to correct that flaw in his game. The threes fell for him in three intersquad scrimmages, and if that continues, he will be an All-ACC player by his Junior season.

4. The ACC sucks
Sure, there's UNC, the prohibitive favorites to win the National Championship, but then what? Duke should be very good, but they're far from a team that imposes fear in the hearts of opponents now that Ratface has stopped recruiting post players. Wake Forest is being picked by many to finish third, but they failed to even make the NIT last season. Miami should be good, but that's a one man show with Jack McClinton and no one else of note. Virginia Tech? Good one. The top two spots should be reserved for UNC and Duke, but the Terps can be better than any of the other teams in the conference this season.

3. Sugar Sean Mosley and Korean Durant
Sean Mosley is good at basketball. I hate to talk about intangibles (except when mocking Cap'n Jetes!), but Mosley has them. What I mean is that I couldn't really explain to you why he's good, at least not properly. Sure, he has certain skills, but more than that, he will be one of those guys that has a knack for making plays and doing what the team needs to win. He's an excellent scorer (second all-time among Maryland HS players) who will also hustle for 40 minutes. He's a "Gary Williams player". Think Juan Dixon. Think Greivis Vasquez.

Korean Durant (a/k/a Jin Soo Kim a/k/a Jin Soo Choi) is the greatest person ever to hail from South Korea, and the first to play DI basketball. He led all scorers (along with Landon Milbourne) with 20 points in the Terps exhibition rout of Northwood. Kim's shot was not falling (1-6 from three), but he poured in 18 points in the second half by taking the ball to the hoop. That's impressive for a guy that was supposed to be a three point specialist. Kim also showed great smarts and passing ability. Combine those attributes with a 6-8 frame and you have a potential breakout star.

2. Matchups

This team does not have good big men. Braxton Dupree shed a ton of weight, and should be much improved, but he won't be Lonny Baxter just yet. After that, things are thin at best. Dave Neal will play, but shouldn't. Jerome Burney is an athletic shot blocker, but he'll need to be more than that to play major minutes. Dino Gregory could be improved and ready to play, but he's small. Steve Goins can't crack the lineup in scrimmages.

Gary Williams has said that this team may play a "four guard" lineup with Landon Milbourne sliding to the four to get more of the team's guard depth on the floor. Now some will wonder if Milbourne can keep up with ACC power forwards, but let's turn it around - can they stay with him? Milbourne didn't have a breakout season last year, but he is a very athletic player at 6'6" or so who can hit the three very well. Going small might have its disadvantages, but ask Duke if it dooms you.

1. Greivis Vasquez

Greivis Vasquez will probably go down in Maryland history as the most under-appreciated star in program history. Coming off a 2nd team All-ACC selection (which should have been a first team selection), Vasquez might be gone after this season. But boy can he play. He hasn't yet got a triple-double, but he will. He drops dimes, grabs boards, and scores in many different ways. People who focus on the turnovers or the missed shots are missing the point like a free throw. Vasquez is skilled floor leader who gives 100% every time out. If this is his last year in the Red & White, I'm going to enjoy it.

Still not convinced?



Maryland Basketball is going to be back on the map (Your boy back in the building, Brooklyn we back on the map / Me and my beautiful beeeeeeeitch in the back of that 'Bach).

Agreed?

600

Gary Williams is a baller. That is the mantra of this blog.

On Wednesday night he won his 600th career game, becoming the 8th active Division I coach to reach that mark. Along the way there have been tons of awesome wins, including about 53,000 against #1 ranked teams. So to commemorate Coach Williams on his milestone victory, here is the Official Says Things Top Nine Gary Williams Victories. Why 9? Because Gary Williams will win 900 games. Or because I'm lazy.

9. 1/8/97 - @ North Carolina, 85-75 - Chapel Hill, NC. I think I remember this one. I might have listened to Johnny Holliday call in on the radio back in the dark days before my parents sprung for cable. The Tar Heels were led by some pretty good players at the time, including Antawn Jamison and Shammond Williams. They took a commanding 22 point lead on the Terps with less than 15 minutes to go in the game. Game over, right? Not so fast. The Terps went on a game ending 41-9 run to complete the improbable comeback, led by 21 points from sophomore Obinna Ekezie. The assholes at Youtube don't even have a clip of this game because Dean Smith ate it in a fit of petulance.

8. 11/26/93 - vs Georgetown, 84-83 - Washington, DC. The Hoyas and the Terps are the two superpowers of Washington area basketball, always competing indirectly for coverage and recruits despite being in different conferences and playing only sporadically. Up until the '93-'94 season, the Hoyas - home to players like Patrick Ewing and Alonzo Mourning - were THE dominant team in the era while Maryland struggled through the Bob Wade era and the Sanctions era. But a freshman from Virginia named Joe Smith made his debut in this game to the tune of 26 points as the Terps pulled out a last second win on the back of a Duane Simpkins game winner. Move over John Thompson, Gary Williams is the new man in charge.

7. 1/19/08 - at North Carolina, 82-80 - Chapel Hill, NC. At the time there were questions about whether or not the Terps would even make the NIT. It was a true David vs. Goliath matchup, especially with starting guard Eric Hayes limited to a bench role by injury. But Gary Williams is a baller and Roy Williams is not. The game plan was excellent and the execution was even better. Boom Osby hit a late layup to put away the top ranked Tar Heel and the season turned around as the buzzer sounded.

6. 3/19/94 - vs Massachusetts, 95-87 - NCAA Second Round - Wichita, KS. The Terrapins went finished the 1994 season at 18-12, good enough for a 10 seed and their first tournament appearance since 1988. After dispatching Saint Louis in the first round, the Terps faced the highly ranked, second seeded Minutemen. Joe Smith > Marcus Camby although Camby won the individual battle. Gary Williams >> John Calipari. The Terps were back in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in a decade.

5. 3/14/04 - vs Duke, 95-87, OT - ACC Championship - Greensboro, NC. What a game. This was Gary Williams first, and so far only, ACC tournament championship and just the third overall for the Terps. After an up and down regular season, the team went down to Tobacco Road and beat highly ranked Wake Forest and North Carolina State teams to set up another matchup with rival Duke. This game had it all as John Gilchrist and Jamar Smith led the team with 25 points apiece and even Mike Grinnon got in on the action with crucial free throws down the stretch. What a game.

4. 1/19/97 - @ Wake Forest, 54-51 - Winston-Salem, NC. One of my favorite Terp wins ever. Wake Forest was ranked number two and undefeated at the time with superstar senior Tim Duncan leading the way. Boy did I hate him. Maryland had a very good senior of its own in PF Keith Booth. Even if you became a fan in 2002 you know that name. The Deacons made a huge comeback to tie the game at 51 after being down double digits at the half. The Terps gave the ball to star Keith Booth on the last possession to work on the inside. Booth kicked it out to SF Laron Profit who hit a buzzer beating three to seal the deal and shock Wake Forest.

3. 2/17/02 - vs Duke, 87-73 - College Park, MD. Everyone with a functioning brain knew that the Terps were the top team in the country in 2002. Poll voters are apparently among those that had lobotomies as Duke was ranked #1 at the time. A 21 point win for the Blue Devils in Durham also had something to do with that perception. But the Terps were not to be denied behind a career high 23 points from Chris Wilcox. And yet somehow the #3 Terps didn't hop to number one the next week, settling in at #2 behind Kansas.

2. 3/24/01 - vs Stanford, 87-73 - Elite Eight - Anaheim, CA. Lefty Driesell coached at Maryland for nearly two decades and although he promised to make Maryland the "UCLA of the East" and had tons of success, he never made the Final Four. Gary Williams had taken his Maryland team to seven straight NCAA tournaments without getting to the final weekend. But after this day the Terps were no longer The Best Program Never to Make a Final Four. Before this game people actually thought that Casey Jacobson was a better player than Juan F. Dixon. And somehow I missed this game to play for my crappy CYO basketball team.

1. 4/1/02 - vs Indiana, 64-52 - National Championship - Atlanta, GA. Gary Williams crowning moment. The night that Maryland went from a very good program to one of the brand names in college hoops. The game itself wasn't that great. Indiana wasn't a top 5 team that year, and Terps only scored 64 points despite averaging over 80 for the season. But none of that matters to any Terp fan because the team had finally won a championship. Who can forget Johnny Holliday telling us that "THE KIDS HAVE DONE IT!"

Terps take on Pack

It's another huge game for the Maryland Terrapins tonight as they take on North Carolina State (4-4 ACC). Much like the Terps, NC State had some comically bad early season losses (East Carolina and New Orleans). They have managed to win three out of four to get back to .500 in conference play despite struggling early and struggling on the road. So how about a preview...

Backcourt - Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez vs Javier Gonzalez and Gavin Grant. Hayes and Vasquez will key the Maryland attack and split ballhandling duties which they've done very effectively in ACC play. The duo ranks 1-2 in the conference in assists in league play while averaging double digits in scoring. Grant will be one of the keys for State as he can score inside or outside while also getting to the line. The big weakness in the NCST starting five will be at the point as freshman Javier Gonzalez has struggled this season both as a ballhandler and as a scorer. Vasquez and Hayes should abuse Gonzalez on both ends of the floor.

Frontcourt - Landon Milbourne, James Gist, and BOOM Osby vs Courtney Fells, Brandon Costner and JJ Hickson. Gist and Osby have been excellent since the start of ACC play, both playing at an all-conference level. Milbourne has also emerged as a scoring option in the past month, particularly from behind the arc. Fells, a former highly touted recruit, has become a solid third scoring option while freshman JJ Hickson has been the best newcomer in the ACC this year. Costner is questionable to play tonight, which may be a good thing for the Pack as he has been awful after a very good 2007 season. Both teams should play very good post defense.

Bench - Neither team has a strong bench. Ben McCauley did have a good game for the Pack against Wake Forest (including a game winner at the buzzer) but he may be forced to start with Costner out. After that, Dennis Horner, Marques Johnson and Tracy Smith should see minutes though all are unproven at best. The Terps will likely play Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker, and Dave Neal as its top three off of the bench. All have played well at times though none have shown the consistency to instill confidence in Gary Williams.

Coaching - Sid Lowe vs Gary Williams. One has six hundred wins, the other is terrible.

What To Watch For - Can the NC State big men get Gist and Osby in foul trouble? The Pack is excellent at getting to the line and the Terps' shot blocking style could lead to fouls if they aren't careful. Can the Wolfpack contain the Terps suddenly surging offense? Their last game notwithstanding, NC State has been unable to defend nearly every team they've faced in the ACC.