Maryland vs Virginia Basketball Recap

Maryland 85, Virginia 66

On Monday night, Maryland and Virginia were both forced to play a game just two days after enduring tough Saturday losses. With bubble-worthy resumes in need of a boost, two teams had to shrug off setbacks and do their best on short rest.

Clearly, only Maryland got the memo.

In a one-sided affair that was officially decided by 19 points but felt like a 40-point thumping, the Terrapins shored up their postseason portfolio and crippled the Cavaliers' pursuit of an NCAA Tournament ticket.

Perhaps it was the fact that Maryland played an early afternoon game on Saturday at Duke, whereas Virginia endured a late-night loss at Virginia Tech. Perhaps it was the fact that the Terps enjoyed the home cooking of the Comcast Center, where they haven't lost an ACC game this season. At any rate, coach Gary Williams's ballclub - wearing its alternate gold home jerseys - felt considerably comfortable from the get-go, and walloped Tony Bennett's sliding squad, which is looking increasingly like an NIT club (but in a season that, it should be noted, has still surpassed UVA fans' wildest expectations).

There just wasn't a lot of mystery to the way this matchup unfolded. Maryland handled the quick turnaround from Saturday with far more finesse and agility than Virginia did. Any team coached by Tony Bennett, or any other member of the distinguished family of basketball Bennetts (Tony's father, Dick Bennett, served as the coach at Washington State before handing over the reins to his son in 2006), is supposed to hang its hat on defense, but the lead-footed Cavaliers lacked the vim and vigor they so desperately required at the defensive end of the floor.

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Maryland hit only four 3-pointers in this game and made only nine foul shots. With numbers like those, one would have expected a decidedly modest offensive showing. However, the Terrapins thrived in this rescheduled rendezvous. Monday night's game - originally scheduled for Feb. 10 - was postponed because of the great D.C. snowstorm, but when tip time arrived, the home folks buried their Virginia visitors in an avalanche of two-point baskets.

Yes, Maryland didn't need to load up beyond the 3-point arc or at the foul line, because the Terps were simply able to out-work the Cavaliers for easy baskets. Four of Maryland's five starters (the exception being guard Sean Mosley) hit just over 63 percent of their shots (28 of 44), and that percentage only increased to 66 percent on two-point shots (25 of 38). Maryland star Greivis Vazquez went over, around, under, and through Bennett's bewildered and slow-reacting defenders to the tune of 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting. The elite guard from Venezuela had help from his frontcourt in this conquest at Comcast: Forwards Landon Milbourne and Jordan Williams combined to produce the very same shooting scoreline - 12 of 19 - that Vasquez managed to manufacture on his own.

With that level of offensive efficiency - plus a telltale 22 assists on 36 makes, a sterling ratio - it's little wonder that Maryland scored 52 points in the first half to take an 18-point lead at intermission. From there, the Terps built their lead into the mid-twenties and coasted home without any remote sense of trouble.

Speaking of trouble, that's what the Virginia Cavaliers find themselves immersed in right now. If Tony Bennett can't make his tired players sing a little better at the defensive end of the floor, a superb season in Charlottesville will fall short of its hoped-for destination.

And as for Maryland, this win - while significant - can't be enjoyed for very long. This makeup game will be followed by a Wednesday encounter with North Carolina State. The Terps handled one 48-hour turnaround with distinction, but they're going to have to turn the trick again if they want to keep their season on the right track.


By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer