More from the ACC …

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Danny O’Brien has become Maryland’s first Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year.

The freshman quarterback on Tuesday was named the league’s Overall Rookie of the Year as well as its top offensive newcomer following a vote of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA). Florida State cornerback Xavier Rhodes was the ACC’s Defensive Rookie of the Year.

O’Brien received 54 of a possible 61 votes for the overall award, while Rhodes and Wake Forest running back Josh Harris each had three votes and Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins received one vote. For the offensive award, O’Brien had 58 votes, Harris had two and Hopkins had one.

O’Brien, a 6-foot-3 redshirt freshman, threw 21 touchdown passes – four shy of the league record for freshmen.

He ranks third among freshmen nationally with a pass efficiency rating of 135.2 and averaged 188 yards passing. He started the season as the backup to Jamarr Robinson but took control of the job when Robinson injured his shoulder.

O’Brien is a key reason why the Terrapins finished 8-4, contended for the Atlantic Division title until the final weeks of the regular season and secured a bowl berth one year after finishing 2-10.

Maryland had been the only charter member of the ACC never to produce a rookie of the year since the conference began honoring newcomers in 1975.

Rhodes received 35 votes for the defensive award to finish ahead of Boston College linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, who had 21 votes, Duke linebacker Kelby Brown (4) and North Carolina defensive lineman Tim Jackson (1).

Rhodes redshirted last year and made the transition from receiver to defensive back. He leads the nation’s freshmen with 14 passes defended ) – 11 pass breakups, three interceptions.

Voting for the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year awards, as voted on by 61 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Rookie of the Year
Overall
Danny O’Brien, qb, Maryland (54)
Josh Harris, rb, Wake Forest (3)
Xavier Rhodes, cb, Florida State (3)
DeAndre Hopkins, wr, Clemson (1

Just announced. Here’s the release from the ACC:

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Maryland’s Ralph Friedgen is the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coach of the Year for the second time.

The Terrapins coach on Tuesday was named the award winner following a vote of 61 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Friedgen received 29 votes, and Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer was second with 19. NC State’s Tom O’Brien and Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher each received six votes. One ballot was left blank.

Friedgen, who also won the award in 2001, led the Terps to a turnaround season. They finished 8-4 and contended for the Atlantic Division title a year after going 2-10. That’s one of the best reversals in ACC history.

Maryland was a factor in the division race all year, falling from contention with a loss to Florida State in its next-to-last game but knocking off NC State in the finale to send the Seminoles to the ACC championship game.

Maryland’s six-win improvement is the second-best in the Bowl Subdivision, outdone only by Miami of Ohio, which went from 1-11 to 8-4.

If the Terrapins win their bowl game, they will become the first team in ACC history to go from two or fewer wins to nine or more in the following season.

Friedgen is the third Maryland coach to win multiple ACC coach of the year awards, following Jim Tatum in 1953 and 1955, and Jerry Claiborne, who won it in 1973, ‘75 and ‘76.

Friedgen is ranked 10th in ACC history with 74 victories.

Voting for the 2010 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year Award, as voted on by 61 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Coach of the Year
Ralph Friedgen, Maryland (29)
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech (19)
Tom O’Brien, NC State (6)
Jimbo Fisher, Florida State (6)
*One ballot left blank.

Some Penn State fans have started a rather unorthodox social media campaign in an attempt to build hype and increase attendance for the Nittany Lions’ game against the Terrapin men’s basketball team Wednesday night.

After averaging just 8,150 fans per home game last season in the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center, several blue-and-white devotees took it upon themselves to start the #MDHateWeek hashtag on Twitter.

Some of the tweets with the #MDHateWeek hashtag poke fun at the death of former Terp Len Bias, who overdosed on cocaine two days after being selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1986 NBA Draft.

Click the jump for some examples.

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With the Terrapin men’s soccer team advancing to the Elite Eight after scrapping by No. 15 Penn State, all but one of the top eight teams have earned trips to the NCAA quarterfinals.

While there were several scares, including North Carolina needing PK’s after tying the game with just nine seconds remaining, the top teams have advanced. The only upset came with No. 10 Michigan dispatching No. 7 South Carolina, which really isn’t that big of an upset after all.

Here are the results from Sunday:

No. 1 Louisville 2, No. 16 Ohio State 1
No. 8 UCLA 2, Dartmouth 1 (2OT)

No. 5 SMU 1, No. 12 William & Mary 0
No. 4 North Carolina 1, Michigan State 1 (5-4 PKs)

No. 3 Akron 2, No. 14 Indiana 1
No. 8 California 2, Brown 0

No. 10 Michigan 3, No. 7 South Carolina 1
No. 2 Terps 1, No. 15 Penn State 0

And next weekend’s matches:

No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 8 UCLA, 12/4 at 7 p.m.
No. 4 North Carolina vs. No. 5 SMU, 12/3 at 7 p.m.

No. 3 Akron vs. No. 8 California, 12/4 at 4 p.m.
No. 2 Terps vs. No. 10 MIchigan, 12/4 at 1 p.m.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s soccer beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

For the first time since late September, the Terrapin men’s soccer team went to halftime without a goal. The Terps are locked into a 0-0 game with No. 15 Penn State at Ludwig Field.

Despite a few early opportunities for forward Casey Townsend and a clear shot from midfielder Matt Kassel, the No. 2 Terps couldn’t find the back of the net against the Nittany Lions.

The lack of offense has forced the backline (Taylor Kemp, Alex Lee, Ethan White, Greg Young) and goalkeeper Zac MacMath to play with precision. MacMath in particular has stepped up his game and made several diving saves to stop powerful shots. He has three saves so far.

Penn State certainly has a potent attack. Forward Corey Hertzog showed why he leads the NCAA with 20 goals. He’s a pest all over the field and has put MacMath in a couple nerve raking situations.

For the Terps, forward Jason Herrick has played very well. The senior has set up Townsend on several occasions while also playing stout defense at the midfield.

The Terps have scored in each of their games, while the Nittany Lions have been shutout just once. We’re seeing a goal of some sort this half.

Halftime Statistics:
Shots – Terps 7, Penn State 8
Corners – Terps 1, Penn State 2
Saves – Terps 3, Penn State 0
Fouls – Terps 11, Penn State 11

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s soccer beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

We’ve reached the round of 16 as the Terrapin men’s soccer continues its quest of claiming a fourth national championship. It all starts this today and luckily for you, I’m here to breakdown the remaining teams.

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For yet another game, Terrapin men’s basketball forward Jordan Williams struggled in the first half and, against Elon, he wasn’t even in foul trouble.

The sophomore finished the first half with four points an couldn’t find his shot against his smaller opponents as the Terps struggled and fell behind by double digits at one point.

But the Williams and the Terps (5-2) upped their intensity right after halftime and dominated on both ends of the floor to run away from Elon, 76-57.

In the second half, Williams shot 8-10, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds and four blocks in 17 minutes. For the fifth time this season the Naismith Award candidate finished with a double-double.

“We keep doing this pretty much every game this season,” Williams said. “We have to figure out what we are doing and fix it because for the rest of the season we have to play better in the second half.”

The Terps shut down the Phoenix from the three-point line, suffocated their guards with full-court pressure and finished with a season-high 11 blocks. After a disheartening first half in which the they failed to ever match the same energy as Elon, the Terps focused on defense and scoring inside.

Guard Adrian Bowie also impressed and put together his finest game this season – 14 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers. Bowie, Williams and the rest of the Terps’ starters played the majority of the game as coach Gary Williams starts to finalize his rotation with two important tests coming next week.

For a full recap of tonight’s game, check Monday’s Diamondback.

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.

The Terrapin men’s basketball team came out flat against Elon tonight and the Phoenix have feasted on the opportunity. Elon holds a 34-31 lead through the first 20 minutes.

Elon forward Roger Dumas started the fast start for the Phoenix and registered eight of the team’s first 12 points. He made his first three shots, including two from behind the arc, to stun the Terps in Comcast Center.

While they are struggling to defend the three-point shot so far, the Terps (4-2) have looked like a mess on the offensive end, eliciting many emotional tantrums from coach Gary Williams throughout the first half. Turnovers and ill-advised shots have plagued the Terps.

For the third time in the past four games, the Terps enter the break with a deficit. Against both then-No. 4 Pittsburgh and No. 13 Illinois, the Terps were down four points. This is also the second lowest first half scoring output of the season (second only to the Pittsburgh game).

Halftime statistics:
Rebounds – Terps 22, Elon 15
Assists – Terps 6, Elon 8
Turnovers – Terps 10, Elon 5
Steals – Terps 1, Elon 1
Blocks – Terps 1, Elon 0

Shooting:
Terps – 11-28 (FG), 2-6 (3pt), 7-12 (FT)
Elon – 13-31 (FG), 6-17 (3pt), 2-2 (FT)

Chris Eckard is the Diamondback’s Terrapin men’s basketball beat reporter. Reach him at ceckard@umdbk.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ceckard.