That first half was dreadful but the Terps really turned it around with that second half. They finally start to hit the inside/outside game with some nice contributions from Mitchell and Cleare. That opened up the perimeter for threes and drives to the basket. The 17 turnovers helped too as Maryland was able to get out and run for some easy buckets. That's the recipe for success: good defense leading to easy buckets and a healthy variety of shots coming out of the half court offense.
Now, the Terps enter a crucial four game stretch. A road game on Monday against NC State followed by home games with Pitt and Miami and finally culminating with a road game at Virginia Tech. Maryland needs to go 4-1 during this stretch. Pitt is clearly the toughest matchup but the game is at home and Maryland proved that they can play with them for a half.
A 4-1 record over this stretch will put the Terps at 15-8 overall and 7-3 in conference play. That would probably put us on the right side of the bubble at that point.
NC State on Monday is a must-win. State plays on Saturday so the Terps will be much fresher having had 5 days off to State's 2. The Terps need road wins if they hope to get their RPI in line for a bid. It's simply a game we must have. NC State is average at best. Can the Terps play well on the road? If the answer is no, the season is over.
