In the waning minutes of the Terp men’s basketball team’s 76-73 overtime loss at Florida State, a Seminole fan’s voice rose above the crowd noise.
“They’re going to blame this on you, Greivis,” he screamed, loud enough to be audible in the televised broadcast of the game.
Correction: This loss falls squarely on the shoulders of both Mr. Vasquez and his roommate, Eric Hayes. The junior guards combined for 17 points on 5-of-24 shooting with 10 turnovers and just five assists (all by Vasquez). The Terps’ most experienced players struggled mightily and foul trouble continued to haunt the Terps’ third starting guard, Adrian Bowie.
Couple that all with a 25-point outburst from Florida State star Toney Douglas, and even solid frontcourt play and a rare rebounding advantage (44-37) could not carry the Terps (12-5, 1-2 ACC) to a victory in Tallahassee today.
The backcourt has been the Terps’ biggest strength all season, but the group struggled mightily and uncharacteristically. Shots simply would not fall for Vasquez. Bowie drew two offensive fouls and was forced to limit his driving and defense for much of the game before eventually fouling out. And Hayes struggled to do as much as the team needed from him all game, as evidenced by his five turnovers and no assists.
It also didn’t help matters that the Seminoles controlled the paint defensively, blocking nine shots to make matters even more difficult for a Terp team that added 18 turnovers.
With all that said, there still are a few positives to draw from this one. Landon Milbourne had perhaps his best game as a Terp, leading the way with 17 points and nine rebounds, both game-highs. And Sean Mosley continues to rise, scoring 13 points with five rebounds.
Look, Florida State’s a decent team with a 15-3 record that could put them on pace for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1996. Similarly, Miami is a solid team that will almost certainly pull a spot in the Big Dance as well.
It’s not that these close games are unacceptable in themselves, but the Terps are digging themselves quite a hole. It’s something they simply can’t afford if they expect to pull together a tournament bid for themselves. At this point, it’s safe to put them on the “out” side of the bubble.
It also doesn’t say a lot that the Terps have struggled so mightily against three unranked teams in a league with three top-10 squads.
We may have a long season on our hands.
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