Got Away With One

The Terps escaped with a win over Georgia Tech on the road. A nail-biter until the final seconds, they pulled it out due to a few lucky breaks. Final score: 88-86.

Matt Causey was fouled by Boom Osby with 2.5 seconds left, and faced 2 free throws with his team down by 3 points. He made the first and was presumably trying to miss the second so his teammates had a shot at the rebound, but it rattled in. The look on his face was priceless when Causey realized he had just lost the game by MAKING a free throw.

After that, Maryland was 2 free throws and a full-court shot away from picking up their 4th ACC victory - and a much need one at that. The Terps now sit at a very respectable 4th place in the conference, and having already played the two best teams in the conference, it appears that they're sitting pretty.

Too bad they aren't sitting pretty for the NCAA tournament. A 3-point loss to Boston College and a single-point loss to Virginia Tech now look very upsetting in terms of the big picture. I catch myself wondering all the time what might've happened if Greivis Vasquez hadn't fouled out of the BC game, or if Eric Hayes was able to play against the Hokies.

It is what it is, however - since we can't take back the past, the Terps are looking directly ahead. The next game is again on the road against Boston College. I don't think that Greivis will be punching any basket supports this time around. Maryland is hot right now, and they have a great chance to get revenge and beat a likely tournament-bound team. If they perform like they did this afternoon (minus the late near-choke), I think they'll have a decent shot.

The good things: scoring, rebounding, and great play from Bambale Osby, Landon Milbourne and Eric Hayes especially. The bad: TURNOVERS! We don't need 24 turnovers. That will kill us. Being smart with the ball is a coachable problem, so really it's up to Gary Williams to tell players to slow down the game and to find the open man on double-teams instead of taking an ill-advised shot.

If the Terps still have the desire to be a NCAA-tournament team, they should start playing like it. Beat BC, and then we'll talk.

I'm out, Go Terps.

Photo Credits: Baltimore Sun