Terps lose yet again...to American?

Things just keep getting worse for the Maryland Terrapins. Nine days after a home loss to Ohio that seemed like rock bottom at the time, the Terrapins were once again defeated in convincing fashion. This time the opposition wasn't even a decent mid major; it was American University of the Patriot League, the school where Gary Williams began his career as a collegiate head coach almost 30 years ago.

The game followed a pattern not unlike that of other recent disappointing losses. The Terps took an early lead, 11-7, before failing to score for a long stretch. This time it was ten minutes - fully one quarter of the game - without a single point. American did little better in putting the ball in the basket, but eventually they did score enough to put themselves up 25-20 at the half.

In the second half, American took control of the game, never relinquishing the lead. In fact, after a Bambale Osby free throw to open the second half cut the Eagles' lead to four, the Terps would get no closer. American led by as many as 12 en route to winning the game 67-59.

American used a zone defense for most of the game, but this loss cannot be blamed on the Terps' lack of outside shooting. Eric Hayes shot 4-8 from deep while Greivis Vasquez was 6-9 from beyond the arc on his way to a career high 28 points, most of them as he furiously tried to lead a second half comeback. But aside from the two starting guards, the rest of the team combined to make four field goals - one each by James Gist, Braxton Dupree, Landon Milbourne, and Dave Neal. The frontcourt was once again beaten badly on the boards on both ends by a smaller and less athletic opposing frontline. Bambale Osby grabbed just 1 rebound in 15 minutes, Dino Gregory snared none in 6 minutes, and James Gist got just 4 in 22 minutes while being mostly invisible on offense (3 points) before once again fouling out with five minutes to go in the game.

After losing five of its first eleven games, there was no doubt that this team needed both more talent and more experience before being ready to compete in the ACC (or even outside of it, apparently). But yesterday's game was not about that. American would kill to have a player as talented as James Gist or Greivis Vasquez. And it wasn't even that American played smarter like the veteran team that they are. This wasn't another example of the Terps being hounded by the costly turnovers that had been so prevalent earlier in the season - the Terps committed just 13 in a game that was in the mid 60s in possessions.

No, the Terps were simply outworked by American. They played with lethargy instead of energy. Even late in the second half there seemed to be no sense of urgency, except perhaps on the part of the always demonstrative Greivis Vasquez. The Terrapins were beaten soundly once again on their home floor by a team that even the NIT Terrapins had crushed, a team against which there could be no mistake which team had the talent advantage on paper.

It would seem that this season won't be salvaged. Certainly the NCAA Tournament appears out of the question even if the team does somehow improve enough to compete at that level. The NIT, or perhaps the new College Basketball Invitational, would likely be the new targets, along with the .500+ record that would accompany appearances in that tournament. But even a .500 finish would likely require the team to win at least 6 ACC games, and while the ACC is not nearly as strong as last year's version, that would seem to be something of a long shot for a team currently ranked #171 in the RPI.