Maryland Terrapins
Atlantic Coast Conference (24-8, 10-6)
Seed: #4
Midwest Region
RPI: 16
Big Wins:
11/17 vs Michigan State (62-60), 2/25 North Carolina (89-87), 2/28 at Duke
(85-77)
Bad Losses:
1/10 Miami Fl (58-63), 2/6 Virginia (65-69), 3/8 vs Miami Fl (62-67)
Last NCAA
Appearance: 2004, Second Round loss to Syracuse
Coach:
Gary Williams (26-13 in 14 NCAA appearances)
Probable
Starters:
Greivis
Vasquez, Freshman, Guard, 9.9 ppg, 4.7 apg
D.J.
Strawberry, Senior, Guard, 15.2 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.1 spg
Mike Jones,
Senior, Guard, 13.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg
James Gist,
Junior, Forward, 12.7 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.1 bpg
Ekene Ibekwe,
Senior, Forward, 10.5 ppg, 7.6 rpg, 2.7 bpg
Key
Roleplayers:
Eric Hayes,
Freshman, Guard, 5.0 ppg, 4.0 apg
Parrish Brown,
Senior, Guard, 3.2 ppg, 1.4 rpg
Bambale Osby,
Junior, Forward, 5.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg
Will Bowers,
Senior, Center, 2.2 ppg, 1.7 rpg
Why They Can
Surprise:
Freshmen
Greivis Vasquez and Eric Hayes have done a tremendous job bringing a spark
to a team that was in desperate need of just that. Vasquez will run the show
and while he has not yet developed into the outside shooter Maryland had
hoped for, the Venezuelan can create for his teammates and get to the
basket.
Senior D.J.
Strawberry leads the team with 15.2 points per game, but his shooting has
been inconsistent at best. The good news is Strawberry provides another
capable ball handler to the perimeter and can take over a game. The outside
shooting falls on Mike Jones. The senior makes 2.3 three balls per
contest and when he gets hot, look out.
Why They Can
Disappoint:
With the youth
of Vasquez and Hayes seeing significant minutes and the uptempo style
Maryland tends to employ, it is no surprise that Maryland has some turnover
problems. However, the blame does not totally fall with the backcourt. No
individual has horrible turnover numbers, but the Terrapins commit 15.8 per
game and will need to keep that under control. The other issue is in the
rebounding department. Despite a couple capable rebounders up front,
Maryland barely outrebounds their competition. Lacking a third
rebounding option on the wing can hurt the team when the frontcourt players
find themselves out of position.
Who To
Watch:
James Gist and
Ekene Ibekwe are monsters under the basket, combining to average 4.8 blocks.
Gist has found a little bit of the consistency that plagued him earlier in
his career and is a major scoring threat. Ibekwe’s toughness makes him a
great rebounder, but can also get him into foul trouble. The athletic
Bambale Osby and the big Will Bowers bring some quality, experienced post
players off the bench for the times Ibekwe and Gist need a rest or are
afflicted with foul trouble.
Joel’s
Bracket Says: Second Round loss to Old Dominion
