How the Zebras stole the game

First off, the women brought it out against Temple this afternoon and killed them. Thanks, ladies, for giving us some good news to start with.

Now, let me tell you something about the men's game, an 81-78 loss to Boston College: Greivis Vasquez got 3 fouls and fouled out of the game with 10:30 left in about the time it took you to read these first few sentences. Bambale Osby earned 2 fouls in the time it took you to read this sentence alone. He had to leave the game with 6:13 left.

I have never been so angry at officiating, which some writers in the blogosphere might refer to as male cattle excrement.

Maybe this will tell you something about the game: Boston College took 41 free throw shots and got 31 points out of them (27-35 in the second half). That means they only scored 50 points outright.

Don't get me wrong; lots of things were wrong with that game. In the first half, I had never seen such poor perimeter defense and players were fumbling passes left in right. Landon Milbourne got a ball to the face in the first couple minutes. I'm really not sure why he didn't get the dish. Plus, I am told the Vasquez's final foul, a technical, was a direct violation of an NCAA rule (punching the pad on the basket support).

But if I had been called on two wimpy fouls in 14 seconds, I would want to punch something, too. Better the pad than the zebra.

What I saw was an assasination. The referees took away our most valuable, emotional player when the Terps were making a run. And you know what? BC tied the game up after the 4 free throws, took the lead soon after and never gave it back. You know how many outright baskets they scored after that? 19 points. They tied the game at 43, and ended up with 81 - and they only scored 19 outright points!!!

There is no way anyone can tell me that Boston College would have won that game with one less foul. Even playing the refs and BC, Maryland, led by Hayes (whom I definitely underestimated), made five 3-pointers at the end of the game to make it 78-77 with 5 seconds left. Without the headhunting of Vasquez and Osby, Maryland would've won this game convincingly.

Unfortunately, a loss is a loss, and that game will be a costly loss come March. Maryland already has 4 losses in 10 games, and that's not tournament material.

We saw toward the end of the game the flashes of brilliance and potential that Maryland has on this team. Put that team in for 40 minutes.