It’s a question the Cameron Crazies asked during the second half of the Terrapin men’s basketball team’s dead-man walking performance at Duke Saturday, as Greivis Vasquez had an uncharacteristically quiet 28 minutes in which he scored just four points and tallied one rebound and one assist.

You can chalk Saturday up as an aberration (as I’m sure the Terps would love to do), but Vasquez’s unproductive game is consistent with the way he’s been playing in the last five outings (the start of ACC play until now).

If you’re searching for a reason for Maryland’s recent  lull, look no further than the play of the team’s top player. That, rather than the schedule becoming more difficult, may be the reason the Terps are struggling so much in conference. It’s no surprise that Vasquez would dictate his team’s success, and in ACC play thus far, he just isn’t putting up the numbers we’re used to seeing.

It’s not as if Vasquez was feeding off poor competition and isn’t capable of doing the same in conference play; in fact, in his first two seasons at College Park, the Venezuelan guard used to have his best games against upper-echelon teams. But not in his junior season.

In 14 non-conference games this season, Vasquez was leading the Terps with 18.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg and 4.8 apg. The Terps were 11-3.

In five ACC battles, Vasquez is averaging 11.4 ppg (on 29% shooting), 4 rpg, and 4.2 apg. He’s also increased his turnovers from 2.6 per game in non-conference to 3.6 in conference play.

After Saturday’s game, the usually boisterous Vasquez was as quiet in the locker room as he was on the court. In an uncharacteristically soft tone, he addressed the media, saying: “I just got get out of this slump and try to get better. My team really needs me and I have to play with some passion. My passion, that’s what feeds me, and I’m not using that now.”

Puzzling, since Vasquez used to use the gravity of the game to fuel his passion. And a game at Duke, against the No. 2 Blue Devils, no less, was the type of affair Vasquez typically loves to play in.

We’ll see if he can find that passion for Tuesday’s game against Boston College.

Remember, it was in last year’s home game against the Eagles that Vasquez showed a little too much passion, as he slapped the basket in anger of a foul call, and received a technical, which disqualified him from the game. Without Vasquez, the Terps lost their intensity and their lead–just as the Terps have been losing games this year when Vasquez hasn’t showed up in true form.

mseligdbk@gmail.com