Wow, what a game yesterday. I guess I picked the right time to watch my first college basketball game of the year. Some comments from the game.
1. Vazquez and Hayes- Both were terrible. I don't know how Lee can say that Vazquez was one of the reasons why we won the game. From watching on TV, he was terrible. Both Hayes and Vazquez combined for 11 turnovers, and they were terrible turnovers. They both looked like Vinny Testiverde when trying to dump the ball down low. Ugh. And Vazquez just running down the lane out of control was pissing me off to no end. I'm not too sure if it is a good thing or bad thing that they are just freshman.
2. Three point defense- Well its nice to see that some things never change. How do you not guard Miller? He had two wide open 3-pointers during the first half. They did clamp down in the second half which was nice.
3. Transition defense- Not too sure if this was a reflection of how good UNC was at this or how bad UM was on defense, but there sure seemed to be a lot of really easy baskets for UNC. I'm still confused on how we pulled this game out.
4. On the bright side, I have never seen a Maryland team rebound like this. Gist, Ibekwe, and Osby were outstanding. The effort on the boards was tremendous. 46-33 rebound advantage.
5. Free throws- WOW!!!! We actually made our free throws when they counted. Once again I don't remember seeing this before. Its the small things that won this game.
6. Osby- Who the hell is this guy? I love him!!! Yes he is a little goofy, but he really took Hansborough out of his game in the first half and had some huge offensive rebounds.
7. I had given up on the Terps with about 8-7 minutes left and switched to the NASCAR race, and switched back and saw that the Terps were within 3 points. Thank God I tivo'd the game, so I really didn't miss anything. What a great comeback and overall win!!! Watch for the letdown game though. Terps talking like they are an automatic bid for March Madness, traveling to Duke who is pumped up to avenge their loss to the Terps early on? This could be a really bad game for the Terps.
6 comments:
It's very obvious from your comments that:
a) you haven't watched any/much MD hoops this year
and
b) you weren't listening to what I was saying on the phone this morning.
What I said was that Vasquez has been one of the major reasons that we have this winning streak. I agree that last night was not his best game, but the last 4-5 games have been pretty good. Hayes had perhaps the worst first half I've seen from him this year, but solidified his play in the second half. Nothing spectacular, but not the bad play of the first half.
Osby's play has been HUGE for the past 3-4 games. You can just see him gaining confidence game-by-game. He still has stone-hands around the rim more often than I'd like, but he was solid last night and made free throws. He's a solid presence down low (as opposed to the Gist/Ebekwe's skinniest combo ever).
As far as a letdown game at Duke, I think that it's almost inevitable. I'm just not sure how we can sustain this level of intensity for this long and Duke is playing much better than they were before. That being said, we lose there and win at home vs NC State and we are in pretty good shape. A win or two in the ACC tourney (more realistic than you might think) and we're in very good shape.
Yup, from my comments you are correct that I haven't watched any games. I know that Vazquez had a huge game against duke, but he was terrible. And you did state clearly about Vazquez and the UNC game. Its OK to backtrack now, but you did state that he was one of the reasons why we won that game.
Secondly, how can you tell the difference between Gist/Ebekewe? Same height, body type, and weight. Did they both come from the Hipp family?
ovSounds like lovers' quarrel.
If you are pinning your success in the ACC tournament on Osby's play, make a tee time for Friday afternoon.
I was wrong about Vasquez last night--I didn't think that he had as bad of a game as he did. He had a bad game with a lot of turnovers. But I think that anyone who has watched more than one game will tell you that he has been one of the most important parts of the team over the last 5 games. That's the part that you either didn't listen to or can't argue because you haven't watched any other games.
As a card carrying member of the Vasquez fan club, I can tell you he has been HUGE in this run. His play has allowed the terps at time to go with three guys who are comfotable handling and distributing the ball (DJ, Hayes, Vasquez). The guy has racked up big assist numbers in most of the games in this run. And the fact that MD as a team is penetrating and getting to the lane is a BIG reason why we have dominated most of the teams in points in the paint. Even though we had no reason doing so against a very talented UNC front line.
Yes, he makes you hold your breath on every hard push up the floor. And every shot he takes off balance, much like Zahn in his flip flops, but damn his energy and unselfishness have been a very welcome sight on what was a dreary season.
I just find it really hard to think that he was decent in other games. But I'll take everyone's word on that.
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