Maryland 88, NC State 64

09-10 Basketball95

Ouch. That hurt.

I know it doesn’t sound possible, but it actually looked worse than the score. NC State, now 2-4 in league play, came out flat from the first minute Saturday and never really looked in the game with the Terps. Greivis Vasquez shoulder-shrugged his way to 19 points and five assists and Landon Milbourne, who looked All-ACC much of the day, finished with 18 points and five rebounds.

NC State never got into any sort of rhythm Saturday against the Terps, and Maryland came ready to play. The defensive effort from the Wolfpack was the worst of the season and cannot continue if NC State expects to win anymore games. Maryland got any shot it wanted and, despite having a relatively small lineup, out rebounded the Pack by two.

On a side note, the free throw disparity was absolutely deplorable. Maryland made more free throws (24) than the Wolfpack attempted (16). NC State had only five more personal fouls that Maryland, but it just seemed like every foul on the Pack put the Terps on the line. Thanks Karl Hess.

Here’s the box score. Tracy Smith had the quietest double double in history (18 and 10) and Howell tallied 10 points and seven boards. Other than that it was a pretty pedestrian night for the Pack offensively. The Pack shot just 36 percent from the field and only 62 percent from the charity stripe.

There’s not much more to say really. For some additional commentary and observations you can click here for the ACC Sports Journal’s entry and click here for some discussion on our message boards. This is the type of game you try to forget as quickly as possible. The fact that Carolina comes to town Tuesday should help.

09-10 Basketball

95 Responses to Maryland 88, NC State 64

  1. Wolfy__79 01/23/2010 at 11:26 PM #

    i would peg them as top four right now. they are pretty versatile with vasquez out there. we had him in foul trouble, its too bad they were up so much it didn’t matter. but with the smallest sight of a run, gary williams put him back in with four fouls and five minutes to go. our young team was pretty much making mistake after mistake at that point. i had hopes they would have been able to play through it a little better. i think this team wants to and can win, they just have to put in the effort.

  2. MA Wolfpack 01/24/2010 at 12:57 AM #

    I think Maryland is top 4 in the ACC. VAWolf, who do you have as your top 4 right now?

    I think the best 4 teams are Duke, Wake, Maryland, and Clemson. I would replace Clemson with GT except that Hewitt will screw it up.

  3. triadwolf 01/24/2010 at 1:17 AM #

    Maryland was too quick and experienced. Oh yeah, and they shot like 156% from the floor. We did not play our best defense, but they made quite a few tough shots and sucked the wind out of our sails.

    As much as I hate Vasquez, he is the most complete player in the league. Except for Degand we didn’t have the quickness or length to keep him at bay.

    Maryland did a great job against Wood and Horner couldn’t make up for it. He had wide open opportunities that really could have made a difference – both in score and freeing up Wood, but in the end couldn’t make the shots. He plays with a lot of heart, but just isn’t consistant enough shooter to play like he does (outside vs. inside). However, I did like that he got more aggresive and started taking it to the hole (even though he missed most his shots).

    I did notice that Wood passed on some open looks when we were early in the shot clock – with the way he shoots I don’t care where we are in the shot clock, he needs to take the shot anytime he’s close to open.

    I look for us to play well against the Heels, they lack the guard play and experience that killed us tonight. Hopefully we’ll come away with a victory, but the long layoff between games for UNC makes me a little nervous.

  4. travelwolf 01/24/2010 at 1:52 AM #

    i wrote this 2 days ago… when everyone thought for sure that we were going to the NCAA’s – in it i warned us not to get too optimistic because we really didn’t play that well against Duke.

    “after watching the duke game on espn360.com, we didn’t seem as dominant as i thought while i watched the game live. also, we screwed up a lot of transition baskets – that’s an area that needs improvement. i also noticed us missing many defensive assignments – but duke was shooting so poorly that they couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities. i believe one reason for their poor shooting was because of our high energy and aggressive defense.

    another thing that i noticed while watching the game the 2nd time was that we aren’t as good as it appeared to me watching the game live. on the other hand, we are getting better every game – and that’s something that could eventually put us into the NCAA tournament. will we lose to ACC teams in the bottom of the conference? – definitely. so be emotionally prepared for that!

    i like the fact that Lowe is using so many subs – and keeps rotating them. if we can wear Duke down, we can probably wear most other teams down. the energy that our players had yesterday was amazing!

    it’s a great win to build on. one thing that amazes me about this team is that they have yet to get blown out since the NW game. almost every team that’s not in the top 25 has a down game now and then – but we’ve doing very well since the beginning of December!”

  5. wufpup76 01/24/2010 at 4:35 AM #

    Oh well, so much for all the joy-joy feelings.

    Terrible defensive effort.

    And thanks for calling out Karl Hess. Always at least 5 bewildering calls in every game you see him call, regardless of which teams are playing.

  6. Broccoman 01/24/2010 at 6:44 AM #

    Does anyone have a restraining order against Karl Hess? If so, can we name them assistant coach just to keep him away?

  7. tuckerdorm1983 01/24/2010 at 7:49 AM #

    inconsistency, who will show up next tues? But, hey that is better than being consistently bad

  8. VaWolf82 01/24/2010 at 8:31 AM #

    I think the best 4 teams are Duke, Wake, Maryland, and Clemson. I would replace Clemson with GT except that Hewitt will screw it up.

    I would pick GT instead of UMD right now. I have absolutely no faith in Hewitt…but I’m going to wait on him to screw up, instead of just predicting it.

  9. wolfonthehill 01/24/2010 at 8:35 AM #

    UMd didn’t go 1-5 against the top 50 by playing like they did yesterday.

    Just as we didn’t lose 6 games by playing like we did on Wednesday.

    We ran into a buzzsaw yesterday… that team is an NCAA team… we’ll see if they can keep it up.

  10. Wulfpack 01/24/2010 at 9:14 AM #

    Maryland played lights out the way we played lights out against Duke. It was just their day. They’ll stink it up a game or two down the road, that’s just how this league works.

    I think the Terps are an NCAA Tournament caliber team. Will probably end up being a 7-10 seed or something like that. I dislike Vasquez’s antics as much as the next guy, but the kid is a baller. He knows how to play, and he knows when to take a game over.

    Hard to know what the ACC pecking order is at this stage of the season. So I’m not even going to try to say who’s no. 1, but I think the tournament teams are Duke, Clemson, Wake, Georgia Tech and Maryland. I do not think Virginia will continue to be in the discussion a few games from now. They’ve already surpassed last year’s win total, so kudos to coach Bennett. Now it’s time for the Cavs to take their lumps.

    If we want to stay in the discussion, Tuesday is a must win. Very big difference between 3-4 and 2-5. 3-4 and a .500 ACC record can begin to be a possibility. 2-5 and I think we’ll all be saying this is just more of the same.

  11. MA Wolfpack 01/24/2010 at 10:39 AM #

    VaWolf, I’ll take Maryland’s guards to finish ahead of GT’s front court, but we’ll see how it plays out. Also, GW compared to PH is a complete mismatch.

  12. Dogbreath 01/24/2010 at 11:01 AM #

    CJ McCullum is awful, but I understand he’s a good student. Perhaps he can transfer to Cornell or Columbia after this semester, either of which would be more suitable for his skillsets.

  13. highstick 01/24/2010 at 11:39 AM #

    I’m not trying to burst anyone’s bubble, but if the measuring stick is “this year versus last year”, OMG, the bar really is low! Is that now the acceptable measure now? Some of you folks have started sounding like Fowler’s public relations group.

  14. Thinkpack17 01/24/2010 at 12:15 PM #

    ^This has been going on for 7 months. Where have you been? Across the board people have been calling for “measurable improvement”.

  15. VaWolf82 01/24/2010 at 12:34 PM #

    I’m not trying to burst anyone’s bubble, but if the measuring stick is “this year versus last year”,

    Lord help us if that’s what we’ve become. From my point, it simply goes back to last April when a number of people were predicting an improved team for this year even though State was losing its top 3 scorers. If this prediction comes to pass, then that would suggest that State would see even more improvement with next year’s freshmen.

    It really just boils down to WTNYx2

  16. Wolfy__79 01/24/2010 at 12:49 PM #

    highstick, that’s not what i meant at all. i was very clear in my post only to ward off too many negative posts about yesterday’s outcome. i’ve watched a good majority of the games this year and was able to get down to raleigh to see the new orleans contest. its easier for me to see the diff in our play once i’ve seen it in person. despite our efforts yesterday, we are much improved. what we still lack is true leadership at the pointguard… not only with experience but with a true point guard mentality. i think juls has the highest upside in this dept, but what he lacks is confidence. javi has the confidence but lacks the vision of the whole picture. degand is a combo of the two, but adds speed and penetration.. but that in short, is what is holding back the great grand daddy long-legs progress we need.

  17. Wolfy__79 01/24/2010 at 1:03 PM #

    i’m sitting here watching the fsu/gt contest. the difference i see b/t us and them is that we have a style of play. its not too evident all the time, but they are more like a team that solely relies on athletic ability rather than a true style of play.

    in yesterday’s loss, we maintained a style of play but were mentally screwed by a more experienced back court. i don’t really think md is far superior than we are, just a little more experienced. although i was disappointed with the play. i feel that sid can bring this team along and continue to be even more competitive. his flex offense style takes advantage of what ability we have while fostering it to improve. sure we need to get better, but i kind of like the way it looks. our youth limits it somewhat, especially when lacking true leadership at the point.

    unless md has a complete meltdown, they are definetly a NCAA team. mainly due to the consistent play from vasquez they’ll receive. head to head, i think md beats gt 7/10. gt and fsu are two of our more athletic teams, but md is a tough matchup for all of the ACC.

    as for our next couple of matchups, the thought of 2-5 looks like crap to all of us. but that reality is surely not the end of the world for this season, how quickly will this team respond from the high’s then the low’s that we’ve seen over the past 10-14 days?? it may take the 2-5 reality to circle the wagons. i hope for it to be 3-4 but i will not bail because of the alternative. when this team does circle the wagons, it may very well be for a more consistent winning result. we are leaving a very tough stretch and entering what i see as a more managable part of the season.

    THOUGHTS?

  18. rtpack24 01/24/2010 at 1:22 PM #

    Just once I would like to see a line up of Degand at point, Wood at shooting guard, Horner at 3, Howell at 4 and Smith at 5. This line up is our best offense and rebounding on the floor at the same time. If Sid really would like to push the ball up the court put Degand at point. Last night most the time neither Javi or Mays got us into our offense. Horner at 4 gets killed on the boards. Looks like Sid would try this five at least once before the season is over.

  19. choppack1 01/24/2010 at 1:37 PM #

    Regarding UMd, they started slow, but have been playing very well as of late. Their only ACC loss thus far is Wake in OT. They started the year 5-3 – but I think they are rolling now.

    Frankly, I haven’t seen any team who has made us look that bad on the board AND on D.

    Kenpom currently has them @ #11 in the country and projects a 10-6 record from them…I think that’s much more likely than 7-9 or 8-8 unless Vasquez gets hurt.

  20. Sweet jumper 01/24/2010 at 1:58 PM #

    Duke concentrated on Wood and we dominated them on the inside and then from the outside. MD concentrated on Smith and we were cold from outside and then from inside. MD dominated us from the perimeter due in part to the weakness of our perimeter defense tonight. Let’s get it back together for UNX on Tues. We need the defensive effort of the Duke game and we need Smith and Wood and to a lesser degree Horner to be hot from the field. Go Pack!

  21. whope90 01/24/2010 at 2:04 PM #

    Have to blame the flat performance on the coach. I knew that the duke win would make the young guns sky high and a good coach needed to bring them down and state”we have more games to play”. But lowe is not that kind of a coach. In four years, what is his coaching style or does he have one? No adjustments at halftime and no movement of the offense and to lose to a NCAA bubble team like maryland (24 pt loss)is a disgrace.

    The UNC game tuesday is a must win,if you can call it that! I find it hard to beleive that UNC will lose 4 in a row with all this time off and a short trip to Raliegh. But our Young Guns will be anxious to play hard and have a good game,but if we lose tuesday and if it is a bad loss(blowout)then i can see this young team sinking deep to 2-14 or 3-13 in conference and a 15-17 season record.

    Would that get Lowe fired? I doubt it,not with this Athletic director.
    I mean lowe can recruit and get some pieces but as a college coach you have to have the total package and a staff and other than Larry Harris, i don’t think much of this staff if you want to call this one.

    I feel for the “young guns!” Wood,Smith,Howell Vberg are solid talented Division one ACC type players. Imagine if we had Gary Williams as coach?
    He has no talented players(Vaquez only)and he got that team to the NCAA”S last year and was thumped in the second round by MEMPHIS(best team money can by,JOHN C).

    That is what makes tuesday’s game so important. A rivalry game with UNC and a change to rebound and lift this team’s confidence. IF lowe does not get them to play at a high level and they lose and lose badly, we will have a wreck of a season as previously mentioned.

    A 2-5 start in ACC play is hard to recover and take this note, Lowe has never won an ACC opener in his four yrs here. And every coach in this league has taken his team to the NCAA”S except him. Two years ago, when State was 14-7 and 4-4, The pack went to Maryland, played a good first half and got thumped in the second, losted and did not win again.

    I am afraid the pack will do the same and it is a shame for the “young guns” and i wish they had a coach whom they could lean on and learn instead of having to overcome his shortcommings to succeed.

    But i hope the young guns will do alot tuesday, and hope for a win against those hated heels!
    Good luck Pack! Lets win Tuesday!

  22. BamaPack 01/24/2010 at 2:19 PM #

    Paul Blewitt couldn’t coach his way out of the house without a cheat sheet.

    Anyone picking GT to finish in the Top 4 is living on faith alone (which isn’t a bad thing…just not a winning sports strategy).

  23. Wulfpack 01/24/2010 at 2:23 PM #

    ^Yea, he’s a very poor coach. That was a really poorly played game all around. What the hell was GT doing at the end?

  24. BamaPack 01/24/2010 at 2:41 PM #

    Yeah…I’m not sure the “throw it up at the rim and crash on top of each other” play is going to be effective on the road. Now…you might get a call at home…but not on the road. Heck…GT was lucky to be in the position there were in to begin with and they still couldn’t close the deal. You call timeout with 10 seconds left to basically not run a play?

    FSU versus GT was the classic game of two very athletic and poorly coached teams going at each other. I’ve been very unimpressed with the coaching of Hamilton and Hewitt overall.

    Dang…people can slam Sid all they want (and some criticism is certainly valid) but he’s certainly no worse a bench coach than those two clowns that just wrapped up that “short bus” affair in Tallahassee.

  25. Wulfpack 01/24/2010 at 3:05 PM #

    That play was bad, but I’m more speaking to the last play. FSU makes 1 of 2 FTs to take a 2 point lead. GT has no TOs. They take the ball out and proceed to throw it up for grabs on a three-quarter court heave. Again, down only two with 3 seconds to play. What the hell is that? Get the ball in, race up court and get a shot off. No reason just to toss it away. Typical Yellow Jacket dumbass basketball.

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