Home stretch features games vs. losing teams Now comes the easy part for the Maryland basketball team. At least that’s the plan.
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Over the next four weeks, the Terrapins will play six judiciously spaced home games against small-conference teams, none of which currently have a winning record.
| Up Next |
| Mount St. Mary’s at Maryland |
| When » Wednesday, 8 p.m. |
| Where » Comcast Center, College Park |
After that, only one of Maryland’s 17 games will come outside the ACC, and only one will be against a team currently with a losing record.
First up for Maryland (4-3) on Wednesday is Mount St. Mary’s (1-6) of the Northeast Conference, followed by games with Florida International (2-6) of the Sun Belt, Radford (3-6) of the Big South, Albany (4-4) of the America East, Samford (1-5) of the Southern Conference, and Cornell (3-4) of the Ivy.
“I don’t like to play that many home games in a row to be quite honest with you,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “I think it gets mundane and you lose your focus. We’ve got Christmas and the finals, so it’s really a long stretch. But it’s really ideal for where we are.”
In four years at Texas A&M, Turgeon never lost to a non-BCS conference school. That streak went out the window with Maryland’s 89-63 loss to Iona in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off last month.
“Even though we have six in a row at home, any one of those teams could beat us,” Turgeon said. “Some days you just chalk those up as automatic victories. But I don’t think we’re in any position to do that.”
After competitive games in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and BB&T Classic, a less daunting schedule has become an annual December ritual for Maryland, getting through exams and the holidays with as less stress as possible before the conference schedule kicks in.
Sometimes the guests don’t comply, however. Teams such as Morgan State (2009), Ohio (2007), and American (2007) have refused to accept their designated role. Maryland forward James Padgett knows that local teams, such as Mount St. Mary’s, located in Emmitsburg, Maryland, pose an additional threat.
“We can’t take anyone lightly,” Padgett said. “Every game is a big game for us.”
Maryland is coming off an uplifting BB&T Classic win over Notre Dame, 78-71, in which guard Terrell Stoglin scored 31 points.
“He was in a zone the other day,” Turgeon said. “About the four-minute mark he looked over at me and like, ‘Come on coach call a play for me.’ He didn’t just go on his own and shoot a bad shot. He waited until I called it.”
Mount St. Mary’s is coached by Silver Spring-native and former Gonzaga High standout Robert Burke.
This also will be a homecoming for the Mountaineers’ top scorer and rebounder Danny Thompson (10.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg), a graduate of Flowers.
