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Preview: #4 Maryland (24-8) vs. #13 Davidson (29-4)

By Barry Jacobs

Mar 14, 2007

Coaching can be an aggravating profession. Just when you think you have your team figured out, when everything appears to be clicking, you open in the ACC Tournament against the bottom seed and fall flat on your face.

That’s what happened to Maryland, which entered the tournament as the conference’s hottest team with seven straight wins, only to be outhustled and outrebounded by a weaker, smaller Miami squad. “We’ll be a better team than we were today,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said of a unit that tied for third in the ACC. “We were together all year. We’re together now.”

The Terrapins return to the NCAAs after a two-year absence that had critics wondering aloud whether Williams had gone into semi-retirement while still commanding a handsome salary. But with another mediocre season seemingly unfolding, the Terps caught fire.

Employing two and sometimes three point guards simultaneously, they went on a tear, with two wins each over Duke and N.C. State and a defeat of North Carolina at College Park. Maryland’s 10 ACC wins were the most by the program in four years.

This is a veteran team, with four upperclass starters. The leader is senior D.J. Strawberry, who tops the team in scoring (16.2) and steals. He is among the ACC’s premier defenders, chosen for all-defensive teams both by the media and league coaches, and makes 49 percent of his shots, a handsome conversion rate for a guard.

Three other teammates score in double figures -- explosive inside player James Gist (12.7 points, 7.2 rebounds), streaky shooter Mike Jones (13.4, .427 on threes), and center Ekene Ibekwe, who paces the ACC in blocked shots (85) and the Terps in rebounds (7.6).

Yet the key to the team’s fortunes may be playmaker Greivis Vasquez, a 6-5 Venezuelan who plays with aggression and flair. Vasquez has 1.7 assists for every turnover and averages a shade under 10 points per game. Sometimes he is spelled by, or plays alongside, fellow freshman Eric Hayes, who dishes out 1.9 assists for every turnover and has made 31-of-34 at the foul line this season.

The Terps prefer an uptempo game, and trail only North Carolina among ACC teams in scoring and scoring margin. Meanwhile their pressure defensive tactics make Maryland the conference leader in field goal percentage defense (.389) and 3-point percentage defense (.297) as Williams makes liberal use of eight players.

Their first round opponent, Davidson, is well-coached by veteran Bob McKillop. The Wildcats won the Southern Conference’s automatic bid after edging College of Charleston and new coach Bobby Cremins in the league tournament finals. They played a difficult nonconference schedule, with three of their four losses this season coming at Michigan, Missouri and Duke. Since facing the Blue Devils on Nov. 25, they have won 25 of 26 games. Only five other teams in the field, including all four top seeds, had more victories this season.

The Wildcats shoot well from the foul line (75.0 percent) and play solid defense. Starters Jason Richards (2.4 assist-turnover ratio), Thomas Sander and Boris Meno (a team-high 8.1 rebounds) average in double figures. All saw significant action on last year’s NCAA club, which should help with early nerves.

Davidson’s star is guard Stephen Curry, son of former Virginia Tech and NBA guard Dell Curry. The 6-1 freshman is the leading point-producer (21.2) on one of the NCAA field’s most prolific scoring teams (81.7), making 41.1 percent of his 285 shots from long range. Only Texas forward Kevin Durant scores more among Division I freshmen.

Maryland should win this game due to its superior size, depth and season-long level of competition. That is, assuming the Terps return to the mindset that propelled them into the NCAAs in the first place.

“We’re going to have to be focused on us and how we play,” Strawberry said. “That's how we got down to that seven-game winning streak at the end of the season. We really weren't focused too much on anybody else. We were focused on what we can do to win games and what we can do to improve as a basketball team. I think that's going to help us a lot going into the tournament."

Certainly Gary Williams, whose 2002 team won the NCAA title after losing in the ACC Tournament semifinals, would like to think so. The ‘07 Terps are capable of making a surprise run to the Final Four; during their streak they were outstanding. But they also are capable of losing to most any team in their region, and eventually may have to get by Florida.