There are going to be bad losses and upset victories during the season, but Maryland managed both last week.
Maryland (15-3) visits Virginia (9-6) tonight, one of four road games in 18 days. Only Georgia Tech on Jan. 24 is at home during the stretch. The Terrapins need at least a 3-2 mark to contend for an 8-8 ACC record that should return them to the NCAA Tournament following a two-year absence.
That means counterpunching losses with wins in the competitive conference. The Terps look awful in losing to Miami, 63-58, last Wednesday before rebounding to beat previously undefeated Clemson, 92-87, on Saturday.
“You’d like to reach a certain level every game,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams on Monday. “I think you get it at some point of the year. You better or it will hurt you as time goes on. We certainly weren’t consistent last week, but the good thing is the last game we played we really played well so you go from there.”
Miami was a bad home loss when a dozen or more balls leaked off the rim. It looked like the past two years when the Terps underachieved against teams they should have beaten. But just three days later, Maryland knocked off the nation’s final unbeaten squad No. 14 Clemson.
Oh, the Terps can really challenge their support’s faith. Sensational one game, sinners the next. Williams said the key is forgetting the past game no matter the outcome.
“This time of year you don’t dwell,” he said. “We played well against Clemson. Good, now we have Virginia. That was attitude after we lost to Miami. It doesn’t matter. We have to get ready for Clemson. Most teams during the year have to deal with a really tough loss and a really good win in your next game. You can’t be cocky because you beat Clemson. You have to know why you beat Clemson. Same way you have to know why you weren’t ready for Miami. Put that aside and get ready for Clemson.”
The Terps beat Duke twice in 2005 and lost to then-lowly Clemson three times, including a first-round ACC Tournament loss at Verizon Center that truly frosted fans. That’s how maddening the past two seasons have been around College Park.
Last week seemed to foretell the same fate. But then, the ACC is one of those leagues where Virginia Tech can knock off No. 1 North Carolina and No. 5 Duke at home and lose at Marshall. Maryland can’t escape the balance where Williams says the nation’s No. 50 team can give No. 1 a game. It’s just that the Terps have done it too often recently to escape haunting losses like Miami without tarnishing their reputation among pollsters.
The coming travels to Virginia, Virginia Tech, Florida State and Wake Forest is one of the rougher stretches among ACC teams. Yet, it gets even tougher later when Maryland plays Duke and North Carolina within three days.
The Terps avoided an 0-3 conference start by upsetting Clemson. But they could still bottom out if they do not steal a road game this coming week. The only way Maryland advances to March Madness is by repeating the past rollercoaster of a week.
“We just have to keep it on our heads that the season is at stake,” forward Ekene Ibekwe said. “All we have is each other.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
