Maryland vs Virginia Tech Basketball Recap

Maryland 104, Virginia Tech 100 (2OT)

A day in Blacksburg, Va., that bled into the nighttime hours simply refused to end for the Maryland Terrapins and Virginia Tech Hokies. A series of certifiably ridiculous off-court events were followed by insane on-court action.

At the end, a long wait was very much worth it for Maryland and its star player.

First, the background: Saturday's showdown at Cassell Coliseum was delayed three hours. A catering vehicle with a fair amount of beer in it - we won't do commercial placement here - struck a fire hydrant outside the arena, causing a water main to break. This rupture in the infrastructure near the Hokies' home building caused a loss of water flow throughout the facility. Bathrooms and toilets lacked running water, creating a situation that could not facilitate the staging of a game. The initial announcement was that the game - originally slated for a 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time tip - would start at 6:30. Then, a short while later, a new bulletin put the game at 7:07 p.m. It eventually started, as water service was restored and the crowd was able to be accommodated.

And then things remained wacky in what ACC fans could have dubbed an "Awesomely Crazy Contest."

Coach Gary Williams's Terps and Seth Greenberg's Hokies engaged in racehorse basketball at its finest. While keeping turnover counts fairly low (more on that in a bit), these conference foes went up and down the court at a dizzying pace, often shooting within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. It's often wise to be patient in a halfcourt set and work to create an open shot with a series of screens and cuts, but on some occasions, it makes sense to attack, attack quickly, and minimize the amount of thinking that takes place on the court. That's what Maryland and Virginia Tech did; players on both sides - particularly in the backcourt - went straight to the rim at the first opening or opportunity, and as a result, the Terps and Hokies both earned more than 80 shot attempts, a very high total. Both ballclubs hit at least 45 percent of their shots, which - for high shot attempt numbers - represents a standard of considerable quality.

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Moreover, that quality lasted not just 40 minutes or even 45, but 50 minutes.

That's right - after three hours of delays, Maryland and Tech played two extra periods to make this day even longer than the marathon session it had already come. When one realizes how many possessions these teams had over the course of 50 minutes, the final turnover totals - 11 for Maryland, 14 for Tech - are very impressive. This game offered a very relevant piece of instruction: Wild, up-and-down basketball is not necessarily synonymous with or equivalent to sloppy play.

What ultimately decided this barnburner was the awesome performance of Greivis Vasquez. The senior stud from Venezuela scored 41 points for the Terps, carrying the visitors to a victory that will allow them to tie Duke for the ACC title this upcoming Wednesday night in College Park. Vasquez scored from all angles on Saturday, singularly confounding the Hokies' defense by running around screens, driving to the lane, and shooting from a number of various release points on jumpers, runners, floaters and bank shots. Vasquez established such a standard of superiority that Virginia Tech had to pry the ball out of his hands.

In overtime, Vasquez's supporting cast was able to answer the call.

With the Hokies paying extreme attention to Vasquez on virtually every play, other Terps filled the void. Guard Eric Hayes hit a jumper at the end of regulation and then nailed 5 of 6 free throws in the two overtime periods to bring home the win. Dino Gregory (four points) and Sean Mosley (six points) also contributed in the two overtime periods to set up the dynamite matchup with Duke on March 3.

The Hokies, meanwhile, have fallen from near-certain tournament status into a position where they sit on the bubble; probably the good side of the bubble, but the bubble nevertheless. Whether the water main break disrupted their rhythm or not, no one knows; what basketball fans do know, however, is that Maryland and Virginia Tech played one of the better and more aesthetically pleasing basketball games of the year on Saturday.

The win sure looked gorgeous enough for Maryland, didn't it?





By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer