57 replies to this topic

[BSLChrisStoner]

Georgia Tech is 14-12 overall, 4-10 in the ACC.

The Yellow Jackets lost at California by 11, and at Illinois by 13.
They beat St. Mary's, and Georgia.

They have lost their last two games, including an 82-54 beating at UVA Saturday.

5 players average at-least 7.8 points. The 3 leading scorers are:

Marcus Georges-Hunt (6'5, 218lbs, Freshman G/F) 10.7 ppg, 4.8 boards
Robert Carter (6'8, 245lbs, Freshman F) 9.8 ppg, 6.8 boards
Kammeon Holsey (6'8, 231lbs, Junior F) 9.3 ppg, 4.8 boards

Carter was recruited fairly hard by Maryland.

Georgia Tech Rankings:
268th Points Per Game
51st Rebounds Per Game
188th Assists Per Game
251st Field Goal %
39th Scoring Defense
196th Turnover Margin

[Mackus]

Can't lose this game.

Personally I don't think we can lose any more regular season games and still get into the tourney without a huge upset in the ACC tournament. But even those that think we can drop one game must agree that we certainly can't have another awful loss to a 150ish RPI team and still get in unless something completely improbable happens in Greensboro.

[bnickle]

To be quite frank, I have no reason to expect this Terps team to win a road game in the ACC. Sure, they beat VT and should have beat FSU on the road but the only expectation I have is that they play down to the competition.

[BSLChrisStoner]

But even those that think we can drop one game must agree that we certainly can't have another awful loss to a 150ish RPI team and still get in unless something completely improbable happens in Greensboro.

My rationale is a little different, but ultimately I agree that MD needs to win tomorrow. Playing a poor team, you need to win that game if you want to dance. Yellow Jackets have their revitalized arena, but the team is limited. MD needs to get ahead early, and avoid Georgia Tech believing they can pull the upset.

Only thing that gives me pause for tomorrow is that GT looks to be a good rebounding team. Winning on the glass is a key to every MD game. Should GT be about even with MD rebounding wise, that could make for a closer game than one might expect.

[hslaw0905]

Absolutely cannot lose this one against a weak opponent, but with that said I can't expect this team to go on the road and win right now.

If they come out with some full court pressure like they did this weekend against Clemson then I think they can take this game relatively handily. Are they capable of doing that for the second game in a row? You play 10 deep, FORCE THE PACE! If they don't, this likely becomes another terrible game to watch just like @BC, @VT, @Miami, @FSU, etc.

[Mackus]

Absolutely cannot lose this one against a weak opponent, but with that said I can't expect this team to go on the road and win right now.

If they come out with some full court pressure like they did this weekend against Clemson then I think they can take this game relatively handily. Are they capable of doing that for the second game in a row? You play 10 deep, FORCE THE PACE! If they don't, this likely becomes another terrible game to watch just like @BC, @VT, @Miami, @FSU, etc.

They are certainly capable of pressing, but the press isn't always a good idea. As Turgeon said, it pretty much cost them the game against BC as they allowed a couple really easy buckets very late in the game off of the press.

I agree that it's hard to expect them to go and get a win on the road after how awful they've looked on the road most of the season. I still think they somehow put a good game together tonight and get a big win. I don't think this team has ripped our hearts out for the last time just quite yet. Gotta build back up that hope and optimism before suffering a ridiculous crushing defeat.

[hslaw0905]

The fact that this team often seems incapable of finding their defensive assignments on a consistent basis also makes pressing a bit more of a problem for them then some other teams. The basketball IQ on this squad just seems to be so much lower than any other MD team I can remember watching.

[Oriole85]

Can't lose this game.

Personally I don't think we can lose any more regular season games and still get into the tourney without a huge upset in the ACC tournament. But even those that think we can drop one game must agree that we certainly can't have another awful loss to a 150ish RPI team and still get in unless something completely improbable happens in Greensboro.

I think if we won out we'd definitely be in regardless of what happened in the ACC Tourney, still a fluid situation. GT would be a bad loss and would show they can't win on the road.

This game is more important than BC, but they all build on each other to some extent.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Testudo Times: Game Preview
http://www.testudoti...h-mellow-yellow

[BSLChrisStoner]

Things I'm looking for tonight...

1) Can Faust follow-up?
2) GT is a good rebounding team.. can MD impose their will anyway?
3) If MD gets up on GT, can they put their foot on the Yellow Jackets throat and not allow GT to get back into it?

[Oriole85]

So if this is a must win, is the only conceivable way for the Terps to make the Tournament if they leave Atlanta with a loss to win the ACC Tournament?

[BSLChrisStoner]

So if this is a must win, is the only conceivable way for the Terps to make the Tournament if they leave Atlanta with a loss to win the ACC Tournament?

Win at Wake, beat UNC, win at UVA... win 2 in the ACCT, and that would again have them on the bubble. But let's call it what it really is... if you can't beat GT, you don't deserve to dance.

MD will win by 15 tonight, so it won't matter.

[Oriole85]

Win at Wake, beat UNC, win at UVA... win 2 in the ACCT, and that would again have them on the bubble. But let's call it what it really is... if you can't beat GT, you don't deserve to dance.

MD will win by 15 tonight, so it won't matter.

Probably correct... like your confidence, I'm not sure they win by 15 though.

[Mackus]

So if this is a must win, is the only conceivable way for the Terps to make the Tournament if they leave Atlanta with a loss to win the ACC Tournament?

I think if they lose tonight, they could still get in if they win the rest to go 10-8, beat a mediocre team in the first round, and then pull the upset over Duke or Miami in the 2nd round.

If they win against GT and Wake, but then split the two harder games and finish 10-8, I think they would still have a very slim shot to be one of the play-in game #12 seeds if they get one ACC tournament win but then fall in the 2nd round. I wouldn't expect them to get an at-large bin in that case, but I wouldn't be 100% convinced that they were completely dead.

But if you add in another really bad loss to either GT or Wake (and both would be very bad losses, outside of the top 125 RPI), which furthers the Terps awful road record, then even with a decent win over UVa and a good win over UNC, I think we'll need to win that 2nd round game to have any hope at all. Just one tournament win won't do it.

Lose tonight (or Saturday against Wake) and any hopes of getting in without pulling a major upset in the ACC tournament are gone.

[Oriole85]

A bit OT, but does anyone know the answer to this -- Can a conference tournament champion from a BCS conference play in the opening round? I remember last year there was some debate after Colorado won it since they'd be a relatively low seed and they didn't end up playing in the opening round.

[Mackus]

A bit OT, but does anyone know the answer to this -- Can a conference tournament champion from a BCS conference play in the opening round? I remember last year there was some debate after Colorado won it since they'd be a relatively low seed and they didn't end up playing in the opening round.

I can't imagine they would have put in a rule that prevents a BCS conference champion from being in one of the play-in round games while still allowing conference tournament champions from the small conferences to be in the play-in games.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Turgeon going with the veteran starting lineup on the road. Howard, Faust, Wells, Padgett, & Len.

[BSLChrisStoner]

Raycom not correct, Layman and Cleare starting.

[Mike B]

Sloppy play at the point mostly by Nick. Game tied at the 15 minute mark 8-8. Turnovers!!!

[BSLChrisStoner]

3 turnovers in the first 5 minutes for Faust tonight.