Virginia faces an uphill battle this evening in College Park. The Hoos get ready to play their second straight road game in the ACC in just three days, and what will be their third game in five days (0-2). Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez (18 ppg) is NBA-ready. Some thought (myself included) that the 6-6 Venezuelan guard was ready for the NBA at the end of last season, but after putting his name out there to the pro scouts, he decided to come on back to College Park for his senior season (not sure why anyone would go there in the first place with all the battery-throwing incidents by their fans, couch-burning situations, and over-use of cologne and hair-care products by their fans).
The Wahoos’ painful, close losses are starting to mount, and if Virginia has a snowball’s chance in hell of making the NCAA’s this game is once-again a must-win. The Hoos are now 14-8 and 5-4 in the conference, one game behind Maryland in the standings. Virginia is near the bottom of the ACC is scoring average (61.0) and the Terps are near the top (79.1). Virginia has only won two ACC games on the road this year in the conference and both were to bottom-tier teams (NC State, Carolina). Man, I love saying the Tar Heels are a bottom-dweller. Very refreshing.
Maryland (16-7, 6-3) is coming off their worst loss of the year as they got blown up by Duke 77-56 Saturday in Durham. The Terrapins were only 2-13 from three-point land, and allowed Duke’s Zoubek to grab an amazing number of rebounds (17). The Terrapins lead the series all-time 103-68, but to me it feels even more lopsided that that. As a die-hard Virginia fan I grew up despising Maryland, but former Terp great Len Bias was one of my favorite players ever and can still remember exactly where I was when I learned of his passing in June of 1986.
For Virginia to win this game at the hostile Comcast Center they must not allow another Terp such as Milbourne, Hayes, or Tucker to have a career night. Let Vasquez get his average, but don’t get beat by one of their other players. Virginia must shoot the ball better from the perimeter and not get into early foul trouble. Hello Mike Scott, the Hoos need you! Jeff Jones? Anyone seen Jeff Jones? Sammy?
I think Maryland gets the win 76-61 and Vasquez scores 26 .Go Hoos!
