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 Virginia Tech Hokies (21-6, 8-5 ACC) Maryland Terrapins (20-7, 10-3 ACC)
Saturday, February 27 4 p.m.
TV: Raycom Sports
Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA
The Opponent: Maryland comes into Blacksburg as the second-hottest team in the ACC, trailing only Duke in the conference standings. The Terps have a chance to win the ACC if they knock off the Hokies and Duke in their next game, which they could very well do. Maryland will be playing their sixth game in 14 days when they play Saturday, and with Duke looming Wednesday, no one would blame the Terrapins for looking a little bit past Tech.
The overall leader for Maryland is senior Greivis Vasquez (6-6, 200 lbs). Vasquez contemplated going pro last year, but made the right decision to come back and improve on his game. This year, the ACC player of the year candidate has averaged 18.7 points and 6.4 assists to be the far and away leader in both categories for the Terps. Besides that, Vasquez has shot 38.7 percent from beyond the arc, which is surprisingly only third on the team. Vasquez is a truly emotional player and constantly feeds off the crowd, something that will be interesting to gauge as Saturday's game progresses.
Joining Vazquez in the backcourt is senior Eric Hayes (6-4, 180 lbs) and sophomore Sean Mosley (6-4, 210 lbs). Hayes is the sharpshooter for the Terps, hitting 49% of his shots from beyond the arc in ACC play. He's also the third-leading scorer at 10.9 per game, and the second-best assist man with 3.7 per game.
Mosley, a high school friend of Malcolm Delaney, is still developing into his role this year. His 39 steals rank second on the team, but even more impressive is his average of 5.5 rebounds per game, which is also second on the Terrapins. Like the rest of the backcourt, Mosley is excellent at the three-pointer, nailing 43% of his attempts.
Senior Landon Milbourne (6-7, 205 lbs) leads the Terps frontcourt with 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Smaller than your typical power forward, Milbourne gives up some size rebounding, but is a great scorer and defender that will attempt to control the Hokies inside. Rounding out Maryland's starting lineup is freshman Jordan Williams (6-10, 260). Williams isn't an offensive juggernaut, but does convert on 56% of his shots and leads the team with 8.1 rebounds per game.
The Terps aren't that great off the bench, primarily using a nine-man rotation with limited playing time for the four backups. However, the four backups (Jordan Williams, Cliff Tucker, Dino Gregory, Adrian Bowie) do have some starting experience, if needed.
My Thoughts: So let's just say that Wednesday night didn't happen. Tech has to put that game behind them and focus on keeping their perfect home record in tact. Maryland is the best team to enter Cassell Coliseum this year, so it will definitely be a tough task for the Hokies.
The Terps are a great offensive team, averaging 76 points per game in ACC play while shooting 46% from the field. In addition, Maryland leads the conference in field goal percentage defense, three-point percentage and assist-to-turnover margin. The key for the Hokies on the defensive end will be to get back in transition and stopping the three-pointer. Tech has struggled in both of those categories recently and if that trend continues, it could be a long day for the Hokies.
Secondly, Jeff Allen needs to stay out of foul trouble. I don't care how he does it, but an average of 17 minutes per game isn't going to cut it. Earlier this year, Allen came off the bench for a couple games and it worked beautifully. I wouldn't be surprised to see that tactic put in place again. However, Allen has played extremely well when he is in the game, so that may not be an option coach Greenberg wants to risk.
Every team will have a game like the Hokies did Wednesday night, but the most important factor of that game will be how Tech responds Saturday. The Hokies are still +2 in the ACC, meaning if they win their home games they could finish no worse than 10-6 in the conference. Saturday's game is a WHITE OUT as all fans in attendance are encouraged to wear white to support the Hokies.
This game is going to be tough, but I expect to come out and defend their home court. That may last for awhile, but Maryland is going to make a run that the Hokies are going to have to counter. My hot-hand picks have not gone well as of late so I'm going to stay away from that this time around. Look for a hard fought game from both sides, that hopefully ends in a Tech victory.
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