Thoughts while watching State pound Maryland
What is it, exactly about State and Maryland this year? In both games, State has looked like a sure-fire NCAA team, while the Terps have looked flatter than a tortilla.
Which brings me to another question. How exactly did Maryland beat Duke twice this season? Why are they so good against the Blue Devils and so ordinary against the rest of the league?
Which leads to another question. Should we read anything into the fact that Duke has been swept this season by an otherwise underachieving Maryland team? Does the fact that Duke is 3-3 now after a 15-0 start mean anything?
That's what the ACC season has been like so far. Every time you think you have an answer, the questions keep changing.
Here's one thing I think I can conclude: It's a shame that State missed Tony Bethel for so much of this season. They seem like a tournamen-worthy squad with him in the lineup. Granted, truly gritty teams learn to play through injuries (see Duke, not Georgia Tech) but you have to wonder what might have been had Bethel not come down with every ailment in the book short of chronic gingivitis.
Having said that, all is not yet lost for the Pack. This win puts them at 5-7 in the conference. They've got very winnable games left against Virginia Tech and at Virginia. But to reach .500 in the conference, which I think they'll need given a lack of big non-conference wins, the Wolfies will need to beat either UNC or Wake Forest. Both are at home, but I still don't like State's odds.
Then again this is the ACC ...
Comments (2)
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I'll give State credit for not folding the tents as it appeared Virginia had done earlier this season, but they don't seem to be anywhere close to the NCAA radar right now. Even if they pull one of the upsets, they'll probably drop one of the "winnable" games. Seems to be the Pack's lot in life right now.
Maryland beat Duke because they wanted it more. Plain and simple. Duke is "the" game of the year for the Terps, and they stepped it up.
Kudos for the Roddy Piper quote.
Posted on February 17, 2005 6:17 PM
I didn't even realize I was channeling Roddy at that moment - "Every time you think you have the answers, I change the questions!"
Now, if I could only come up with a way to use my favorite Roddy Piper quote, from the classic movie, "They Live." You know, the one about chewing bubble gum and kicking ... butt.
Posted on February 17, 2005 6:46 PM