GREENSBORO, N.C. – In the final minute of the first half, Georgia Tech guard Moe Miller drained a long, contested three-pointer. As he ran back up court, Miller just shook his head.
It seemed even he couldn’t believe how well things were rolling for the Yellow Jackets in tonight’s ACC quarterfinal against the Terps.
For much of the half, Murphy’s law worked against the Terps. Everything that could go wrong did.
Georgia Tech shot 62 percent, including hitting six of eight three-pointers. The Yellow Jackets asserted their dominance inside to leave the Terps struggling behind.
Big men Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal and Zachary Peacock combined for 18 points and 17 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 19 points in the half.
Landon Milbourne leads the Terps with seven points and three rebounds, but besides a minor awakening from their struggling senior, it’s been mostly bad news. Forwards Jordan Williams and Dino Gregory got into foul trouble, each picking up a pair of fouls in the first 11 minutes.
The Terps missed eight of their first nine shots and didn’t get much better. They shot 29 percent overall for the half. They missed all six of their three-point attempts.
In other words, the rematch of a thriller Feb. 20 in College Park hasn’t lived up to the hype thanks to Georgia Tech’s stellar play. This tournament has been dominated by upsets. If the first 20 minutes are any indication, we could be looking at another one.
The No. 2 seed Terps will need a bunch of things to change if they are going to run their winning streak to eight games and earn a date with the winner of the next quarterfinal in tomorrow’s semis.
Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.