Coming into their quarterfinal ACC tournament game against the No. 8 Wake Forest Demon Deacons, the Maryland Terrapins were determined to attack the basket.
Four players reached double figures as the Terrapins (20-12) marched through the Demon Deacons’ zone defense for a stunning 75-64 win at the Georgia Dome.
Junior guard (and NBA prospect) Greivis Vasquez led the Terrapins with a game-high 22 points.
Vasquez can be a streaky performer. In past games, he has stepped up to answer his team’s prayers, and in others, he has let them down.
Thankfully, the Terps have lived another day with him leading the charge.
Maryland’s most impressive stat of the night was their allowed field goal percentage; they held Wake Forest (25-6) to their lowest shooting clip of the season.
Wake shot just 29.7 percent from the field, making 22 of 74 of their attempts.
And to make matters worse for the Deacs, they could not contain Maryland’s drives into the offensive zone.
Maryland took advantage of their 36-31 halftime lead and increased their advantage to double figures early in the second half.
Terrapins coach Gary Williams believes these back-to-back wins (a first-round 74-69 victory over N.C. State preceded this game on Thursday) should convince the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee that his gutsy squad deserves an at-large bid.
Jokingly, he had “Win 2” t-shirts made up before the ACC tournament began. The garments' real purpose was to provide motivation for his players and to help them understand that their mission for postseason success is not over.
“I just wanted our players to understand that if we won two, we would be in pretty good shape,” said Williams. “Now, if we don’t win tomorrow, it’s not because we came with 'Win 2' t-shirts.”
Maryland moves on to play ACC rival Duke on Saturday.
In Friday's contest, James Johnson led the Demon Deacons with 20 points, but the team’s poor offensive showing overall may have hurt their chances at making a solid run in the Big Dance.
“This was a wake-up call for us,” said Johnson. “We deserve to be in the tournament, and we can prove ourselves there. I know our guys our going to bounce back.”
Easier said than done, James.
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