COLLEGE PARK, MD. - The ninth-ranked Maryland men’s lacrosse team (5-2) wraps up its ACC regular-season slate when it welcomes No. 2 Virginia (8-1) to Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium for a noon start on Saturday, March 31.

• The game will be televised live nationally on ESPNU with Joe Beninati handling the play-by-play and Matt Ward and Ryan Boyle will provide the analysis.

• Maryland (5-2, 1-1 ACC) is coming off of an emotional 11-10 loss at No. 12 North Carolina last Saturday. Senior Joe Cummings led the Terps with four points on two goals and two assists. Junior Billy Gribbin netted his first hat trick as a Terp, while junior Owen Blye added three assists. Sophomore goalie Niko Amato made 10 saves in defeat with freshman defender Goran Murray scoring his first collegiate goal and setting career highs with three groundballs and three caused turnovers.

• For the season, Cummings leads the Terps in points and goals with 19 and 12, respectively. Freshman Jay Carlson is the only other Terp with double-digit goals with 10. Blye leads the team with eight assists. Defensively, Amato has stopped 61.5 percent of the shots put on goal by opponents and has a 6.61 goals-against average, which each leads the ACC. Junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt leads the team with 29 groundballs and 14 caused turnovers.

• The Cavaliers are 8-1 on the year after dropping their first game of the year last Saturday at home to then-No. 2 Johns Hopkins, 11-10 in overtime. Prior to that Virginia had won 13 straight games, dating back to last season’s 19-10 loss at Duke in the ACC semifinals. This season the Wahoos are led again by 2011 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Steele Stanwick, who has 39 points on 11 goals and 28 assists. Chris Bocklett leads the Cavaliers, who have a total of seven double-digit goal scorers, with 22 goals. Rob Fortunato has started all nine games in cage for Virginia and ranks second among ACC goalies with a .599 save percentage and a 7.57 goals-against average.

Honorary Captain
John Schofield, a two-time All-American at Maryland who played from 1963-65, will be the Terps’ honorary captain for the Virginia game. During his career from 1963 to 1965, Schofield received prestigious Maryland awards such as the Edwin E. Powell Trophy as the team MVP and the Deckman-Silber Memorial Award as the team’s most outstanding defensemen. In 1965 he made 190 saves and was the recipient of the C.M. Kelly Memorial Cup, which is presented annually to the nation’s most outstanding goalie. He still ranks among the top 10 on the school’s all-time saves list.

1950′s Decade Reunion
Saturday will also be the 1950′s Decade Reunion for Maryland Terrapin men’s lacrosse teams from 1950-59. The 1950′s featured three USILA National Championship teams (1955, 1956 and 1959) and five ACC title teams (1955-59) under the guidance of lengendary Hall of Fame coaches Jack Faber and Al Heagy. The 1950′s Maryland teams combined for an 84-18-1 (.820) record and featured a total of 64 All-Americans. The 1955 National Championship team featured four Terps who would go on to be inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame – James Kappler, James Keating, John Simmons and Charles Wicker.

National Award Winners from the 1950′s
Turnbull Memorial Award (nation’s top attackman): C. Rennie Smith (1954), Richard Corrigan (1958)
Schmeisser Memorial Cup (nation’s top defenseman): William Hubbell (1952), John Simmons (1956)
Kelly Memorial Cup (nation’s top goalie): William Larash (1952), James Kappler (1955, 1956, 1957)
USILA Coach of the Year: John Faber

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 87 of the 95 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .916 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 104-23 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .819 winning percentage.
8 … John Haus has eight career points vs. Virginia in four meetings.
7 … Seven Terps have double-digit points so far in 2012.
6 … Maryland is ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 7.43 goals per game.
5 … Owen Blye had five points in last season’s regular season game at Virginia.
4 … Maryland (2004, 2008) and Virginia (2006, 2010) have split the last four regular season games played in College Park.
3 … Three Terps have caused at least 10 turnovers in 2012 - Jesse Bernhardt (14), Brian Cooper (11) and Michael Ehrhardt (11).
2 … This is the second-straight season that both Maryland and Virginia come into this game with each team having lost the previous week. Prior to last year, that hadn’t happened since 1993.
1 … Four of the last 10 meetings between Maryland and Virginia have been decided by one goal.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his fifth season as a head coach, and second with the Terps, with a 38-26 career record for a 59.4 winning percentage. Tillman is 18-7 (.720) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Dom Starsia, who is in his 30th season as a head coach, has won 73.9 percent of his games at Brown and Virginia (337-119 overall record). His 337 wins are the most all-time at any four-year college or university.

• Tillman has a 1-1 career record against Virginia. In the 2011 regular season meeting Maryland won 12-7 in Virginia’s Scott Stadium. The Wahoos the won a 9-7 decision in the 2011 NCAA title game.

Series History vs. Virginia
• The Maryland-Virginia rivalry is the third-longest in Terrapin lacrosse history with Maryland holding a 45-42 (.517) advantage, dating to the first game — a Terps’ 10-1 victory on April 24, 1926. The 45 wins are the third-highest number of victories Maryland has against any team. The Terps have defeated Duke 59 times and Navy 51 times.

• Virginia and Maryland met in an all-ACC NCAA title game with the Wahoos winning the championship, 9-7. Grant Catalino and John Haus led the Terps with three points apiece. Niko Amato made eight saves in the game.

• In the 2011 regular season, the Cavaliers hosted the Terps in UVa’s Scott Stadium prior to the annual Orange/Blue Spring Football game. A crowd of 10,545 came out and saw Maryland defeate Virginia, 12-7. Ryan Young led all scorers with six points in the win on two goals and four assists, while Joe Cummings and John Haus each scored four goals for the Terps. Niko Amato proved once again that he plays his best on a big stage with a 12-save effort.

• The two teams met again in the championship game of the 2010 ACC Tournament and again it was the Cavaliers coming out on top, 10-6. Maryland couldn’t solve Virginia goalie Adam Ghitelman, who was named the Tournament MVP after making 16 saves vs. the Terps. Grant Catalino led Maryland on offense with a goal and an assist, while Max Schmidt had two groundballs and three caused turnovers to pace the defensive effort.

• The meeting in the 2010 regular season had a silimar theme to the previous two games between Maryland and Virginia – controversy. The Wahoos raced out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter and held a 10-5 lead early in the fourth. But Maryland rallied to score four unanswered goals in the fourth to cut the deficit to one. The game appeared to be tied when Ryan Young batted a loose ball into the Cavalier goal with 2:00 left in the game. But, the goal was waved off when the cross-field official whistled Young for being in the crease. The controversy came when TV replays of the play failed to show Young step in the crease conclusively. Virginia went up 11-9 on the transition following the call. Will Yeatman, who led Maryland with four goals and an assist in the game, scored with less than a minute to go to cut the lead to 11-10, but the Terps couldn’t get the tying goal before the clock expired. Brian Phipps was terrific in net for the Terps, stopping 16 Wahoo shots.

• In 2009 it took seven overtimes (the longest Division I men’s lacrosse game in history) for Virginia to eek out a 10-9 victory in Charlottesville. The win was not without controversy as an official’s inadvertant whistle wiped off a goal by Grant Catalino just nine seconds into the first overtime. Will Yeatman was a dominant force in the game, accounting for two goals and three assists. Brian Phipps was spectacular in cage, stopping 11 Wahoo shots.

• The two teams played three times in 2008. In the regular-season game the then-No. 4 Terps knocked off the newly minted No. 1 Cavaliers, 13-7, at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. Freshman Travis Reed had a breakout performance, scoring a hat trick, assisting on two other goals and grabbing three groundballs. Not to be outdone, goalie Jason Carter made a career-best 15 saves to help seal the victory for the Terrapins.

• The two teams then hooked-up in the 2008 ACC tournament for the fifth straight season and the Cavaliers prevailed with an 11-8 win on their home field in Charlottesville. Grant Catalino led the Terps with three points on a pair of goals and an assist.

• The Wahoos also took the rubber match, a controversial 8-7 overtime thriller in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Annapolis. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Maryland holding a 7-6 lead, Travis Reed appeared to give Maryland a two-goal cushion, but a Cavalier defender pushed Ryan Young into the crease before the goal, nullifying the score. The Cavaliers went on to tie the game in regulation before scoring the game-winner with just 34 seconds left in the first overtime period.

• These two teams locked up in a classic in the semifinals of the 2007 ACC tournament. Maryland jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but the Cavaliers rallied to take a four-goal lead at 10-6 in the fourth quarter. That’s when Maryland stormed back, but the comeback fell short and Virginia was able to hold on for an 11-10 win. Dan Groot led Maryland with five points on four goals and an assist.

• In 2007′s regular season meeting, the second-ranked Cavaliers defeated the No. 8 Terps 12-8 in Charlottesville. Wahoo attackman Ben Rubeor scored five goals to pace Virginia, while Max Ritz (3-0) and Michael Phipps (1-2) each had three points for the Terps.

• On April 1 of last season, the No. 1 Cavaliers jumped out early, scoring just 15 seconds into the game, and never looked back, handing Maryland a 15-5 loss at Byrd Stadium. The Ritz brothers, Max and Xander, each scored two goals with Max also picking up a pair of assists. Bill McGlone scored the other goal for the Terps.

• The two schools hooked up again in the ACC title game and again it was Virginia taking the game, this time by an 11-5 margin. Brendan Healy and Bill McGlone each had three points in the loss.

• The 2005 regular season game was tough for the fourth-ranked Terps as they were handed a 10-2 loss at No. 3 Virginia on April 2. The Cavaliers held Maryland scoreless until the 4:51 mark of the third quarter when Joe Walters scored. It was the first time Maryland had been held without a goal in a half since a 7-2 loss at Virginia in 2001.

• Things were a little different in the rematch on April 29, 2005 in the ACC Semifinals. Brendan Healy gave Maryland a 1-0 lead in the first, but the ‘Hoos scored three unanswered to take a 3-1 lead. But the Terps stormed back with a 3-0 run of their own on goals from Max Ritz, Healy and Xander Ritz to take a 4-3 lead into the half. The Cavaliers took a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter, but Andrew Schwartzman and Bill McGlone scored the final to goals in regulation to send the game into sudden death. In the overtime period, freshman Max Ritz proved to be the hero for Maryland, but putting back a rebound off of a Mcglone shot to sent the Terps into the ACC finals with an 8-7 win.

• The 2004 regular season meeting between Maryland and Virginia saw the Terps enter the game as the No. 1 team in the country, the first time Maryland had earned the top ranking since 2001. Maryland lived up to its billing, pounding the Cavaliers 11-2 in College Park. Xander Ritz scored three goals and assisted on another three, while Joe Walters added a goal and three assists. The game was never really in doubt as the Terps opened the game with a 5-0 run. The Maryland defense was stellar all afternoon, holding Virginia’s top seven scorers without a single point.

• The Cavaliers would not go so quietly in the 2004 ACC title game. The Terps built a 12-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter, behind a career-high six goals from Joe Walters, who would be named Tournament MVP. But the Wahoos scored four goals in the fourth and shutdown the Maryland offense to close the gap to 12-11.

• Maryland has won three of six meetings in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps topped the Cavaliers in a pair of first round games in 1978 and 1983 and won a 1997 quarterfinal game, 10-9, played at Byrd Stadium. In that last NCAA meeting, Virginia broke its three-game post-season losing streak to the Terps with a 14-4 win in the NCAA semifinals in Baltimore en route to the 2003 national championship. Virginia then took the 2008 quart erfinal game, 8-7, in overtime at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. The Cavaliers continues its winning streak over the Terps in the NCAA tournament with a 9-7 win in the 2011 NCAA title game..

The Stretch: Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Hopkins
• Since 1978 Maryland’s schedule has been highlighted by a four-game stretch in the middle of its season: North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins. In the 35-year span only four times has the stretch been interrupted with another game added in between one of these traditional four (1981, 1997, 2001, 2003).

• Overall, Maryland is 62-75 (.453) since 1978 vs. those four teams during that time.

• The Terps have swept the four games only once – in 1987. Only twice (1981 & 1988) has Maryland lost all four games. Six times (1978, 1979, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001) the Terps have won three of the four games. Johns Hopkins broke up the Terps’ bid for a perfect stretch four times, while Carolina and Virginia broke it up one time each.

The Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 39 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 22-17 (.564) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• This will be the first of at least four games (at UNC, vs. Virginia, at Johns Hopkis, at ACC tournament) Maryland will play on ESPNU in 2012.

Cooper To Serve One-Game Suspension
• Junior midfielder Kevin Cooper will serve a one-game suspension this Saturday. Cooper was ejected from the March 24 North Carolina game and will serve the NCAA’s mandatory one-game suspension for an expulsion foul. The ACC reviewed all available video footage of the on-field altercation and determined no additional suspension was warranted.

Going Purple
· Once again this season, the Terps will be wearing purple “MY” stickers, to show their support for the fight against pancreatic cancer, which touched everyone in the Maryland lacrosse family last season with the passing of Maria Young on April 17.

· This past fall the Terps, Maryland alums and family and friends came together for the inaugural Forever Young Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. More on Ms. Young and her amazing story can be found here: Forever Young.

· If you’re interested in more information about the Lustgarten Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here to visit the foundation’s website. You can also get more information on pancreatic cancer at CurePC.org.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about pancreatic cancer from the American Cancer Society:
· More than 43,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer present each year
· There are more than 36,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer each year
· The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 71.
· The risk is about the same for both men and women.

Going Gray
· Maryland players will also be wearing gray stickers with the number 42 in honor of Zack Wholley’s father, John, who passed away from brain cancer on August 28, 2011.

· If you’re interested in more information, please visit the National Brain Tumor Society website.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about brain and spinal cord tumors from the American Cancer Society:
· About 22,910 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord (12,630 in males and 10,280 in females) will be diagnosed. These numbers would likely be much higher if benign tumors were also included.
· About 13,700 people (7,720 males and 5,980 females) will die from these tumors.
· Overall, the chance that a person will develop a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in his or her lifetime is about one in 150 for a man and one in 185 for a woman.

Get To 10 And Win
• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 87 of the 94 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .926 winning percentage.

· The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

Holding Opponents To Single-Digits
• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 92.6 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 104-23 in games, for a .819 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 168 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.6 percent of the time.

Shooting Tells The Story
• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple – when the Terps shoot well they win. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season. Maryland is 5-2 on the year and has shot 30% or better in all five victories.

Hartford: 12 goals, 40 shots = 30%
at Georgetown: 16 goals, 41 shots = 39.0%
Duke: 10 goals, 28 shots = 35.7%
at UMBC: 7 goals, 30 shots = 23.3%
Marist: 17 goals, 43 shots = 39.5%
Villanova: 11 goals, 31 shots = 35.5%
at North Carolina: 10 goals, 35 shots = 28.6%

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 50-3 (.943) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The first game Maryland lost during that stretch was a 13-10 decision to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas). The second loss came in 2010 in the controversial 11-10 loss to No. 1 Virginia on April 3. The Terps shot 10 of 33 for 30.3%. The most recent came on April 16, 2011 in a 12-11 overtime loss to No. 3 Johns Hopkins.

Fast Starts
• Since 2002 only 13 players (for a total of 23 times) have totaled 17 points or more in the first seven games of a season. One of those 23 is on this year’s team.

• Joe Cummings has been a consistent threat during his tenure as a Terp, but since moving to his natural position of attack this season he has been an even more potent point producer. Through seven games Cummings has 19 points on 12 goals and seven assists. Last year as a midfielder he had 15 points on 14 goals and one assist.

Youth Is Served
• Maryland started two sophomores (Michael Ehrhardt and Brian Cooper) and a freshman (Goran Murray) at close defense in the 2012 season-opening win over Hartford. The last time Maryland’s defense had two sophomore and one freshman starting was 2005 when sophomores Steve Whittenberg and Ray Megill started alongside freshman Joe Cinosky. The first game that group started together was April 23, 2005 at Fairfield (a 9-6 Terrapin win).

• Goran Murray became the first Maryland freshman to start at close defense in a season opener since 2008 when Max Schmidt started in an 11-6 win at Georgetown.

Face-Off Firsts
• Junior Curtis Holmes’ 19-of-20 (.950) performance facing-off vs. Hartford in the 2012 season opener is just the fifth time since 2000 that a Maryland face-off man has won at least 90% of his draws with at least 10 attempts.

• Holmes joins Andy Claxton and Brian Haggerty as the only Terps with multiple games of 19 or more face-off wins. Claxton did it three times (27 at Towson in 1991, 21 vs. Duke in 1991 and 19 at Brown in 1991), while Haggerty did it twice (20 vs. Butler in 1998 and 19 vs. Virginia in 1998). Holmes had 20 wins vs. Georgetown last season to go along with his 19 vs. the Hawks, which makes him the only Terp to win 19 or more face-offs in different seasons.

• The last 90% performance was in 2008 when Bryn Holmes, Curtis’ older brother, won 9-of-10 face-offs at Mount St. Mary’s.

• The last time a Terp faced-off with a winning percentage above 90% was on March 21, 2006 when David Tamberrino won 12-of-13 in a 14-2 win over Dartmouth.

Best Face-Off Performances Since 2000
Curtis Holmes - 19/20 (.950) vs. Hartford 2/18/12
Brian Carroll - 12/13 (.923) at Delaware 3/17/01
Davin Tamberrino – 12/13 (.923) vs. Dartmouth 3/21/06
Jeremy Pastula - 11/12 (.917) at Towson 3/8/03
Bryn Holmes - 9/10 (.900) at Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/08
Bryn Holmes - 12/14 (.857) vs. Presbyterian 2/13/09
Brian Carroll - 11/13 (.846) vs. Mount St. Mary’s 2/26/02
Bryn Holmes - 11/13 (.846) vs. Air Force 2/14/09
Ryan Moran - 10/12 (.833) vs. Bucknell 3/11/03
Will Dalton - 18/22 (.818) vs. Vermont 2/20/07
Curtis Holmes - 17/21 (.810) vs. Detroit Mercy 2/19/11

The 700 Club
· Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

· Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Terps’ 87th Season Of Lacrosse
· The Terps boast an all-time record of 733-249-4 (.745), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 85 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 10-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

· During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 25-9 in the 2010′s for a .735 winning percentage.

First-Time Opponents
• Maryland has played 78 different opponents in its 87 seasons. The 2012 season added Hartford (a 12-6 win on 2/18) and will add Marist (3/10) to that list. In the Terps’ 78 first-time meetings Maryland is 74-4 (.949) in those games. Adelphi (12-13, 1982), Army (0-3, 1923), Syracuse (3-10, 1927) and Yale (3-5, 1925) are the only schools to beat the Terps the first time the schools met on a lacrosse field.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has a 83-3-1 (.960) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

19 Straight in Season Openers
• After beating Hartford to open the 2012 season the Terps have an 19-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s, Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 19-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 267-99 (an average score of 14.1-5.2) in those games.

· The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 18 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
· The 11-9 victory over Duke on April 24, 2011 was the 10th of the year for Maryland, giving it nine straight seasons with double-digit wins. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1Scourse.com).

· How does that stack up against the rest of the college lacrosse programs? Take a look at programs with at least five-straight 10-win seasons:
Maryland (9): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-4), 2009 (10-7), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6), 2006 (12-5), 2005 (11-6), 2004 (13-3), 2003 (12-4)
Cornell (7): 2011 (12-3), 2010 (12-6), 2009 (11-3), 2008 (11-4), 2007 (15-1), 2006 (11-3), 2005 (11-3)
Virginia (7): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Notre Dame (6): 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (5): 2011 (14-6), 2010 (16-4), 2009 (15-4), 2008 (18-2), 2007 ( 17-3)
Siena (5): 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-5), 2009 (12-6), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6)

A Family Affair
· Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truely a family affair. Since 2002, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Thomas Alford: 2004-05-06-07
Jake & Jesse Bernhardt: 2010-11-12
Justin & Owen Blye: 2009-10-11
Brian & Kevin Cooper: 2011-12
Billy & Bobby Gribbin: 2012
Brendan & Ian Healy: 2003-04-05
Bryn & Curtis Holmes: 2010
Bryn & Travis Holmes: 2007
Dan & Mike LaMonica: 2002
Chris & Willy Passavia: 2002-03
Brian & Michael Phipps: 2007
Max & Xander Ritz: 2005-06
Mark & Michael White: 2008-09-10-11

Honorable Mention: Women’s College Lacrosse-Towson @ Maryland (Tuesday 7pm from Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex live on AM1570 WNST.net); Auto Racing: NASCAR Goody’s Fast Relief 500 (Sunday 12:30pm from Martinsville, VA live on FOX), IndyCar Series Honda Grand Prix of Alabama (Sunday 2pm from Birmingham live on NBC Sports Network); High School Basketball: McDonald’s All American Games (Girls Wednesday 7pm from Chicago live on ESPNU Boys Wednesday 9:30pm from Chicago live on ESPN); Mixed Martial Arts: Bellator Fighting Championships 63 (Friday 8pm from Uncasville, CT live on MTV2); Boxing: Friday Night Fights-Hank Lundy vs. Dannie Williams (Friday 9pm from Mashantucket, CT live on ESPN2); Soccer: Team USA Women @ Japan (Sunday 6:30am from Sendai, Japan live on ESPN2), MLS-FC Dallas @ DC United (Friday 7:30pm from RFK Stadium live on NBC Sports Network); Bill Maher (Saturday 8pm France-Merrick Performing Arts Center at the Hippodrome, Sunday 8pm Strathmore); Donnell Rawlings (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House); “Goon” & “Wrath of the Titans” out in theaters (Friday); “Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close” available on Blu-Ray/DVD (Tuesday)

10. Van Halen/Kool & The Gang (Wednesday 7:30pm Verizon Center), Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band (Sunday 7:30pm Verizon Center); Mac Miller (Saturday 8pm Patriot Center); Blue October (Sunday 7pm Rams Head Live); Mr. Greengenes (Thursday 8pm Recher Theatre); The Bad Plus (Sunday 7:30pm Baltimore Soundstage); All Mighty Senators (Saturday 8pm 8×10 Club); Sleigh Bells (Tuesday 7pm 9:30 Club), The Temper Trap (Saturday 6pm 9:30 Club), Andrew WK (Sunday 7pm 9:30 Club); Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds (Wednesday 8pm Warner Theatre); Patti LaBelle (Friday & Saturday 8pm Strathmore); Leon Redbone (Saturday 7:30pm Birchmere), Three Dog Night (Monday 7:30pm Birchmere); Of Monsters And Men (Monday 8pm Black Cat)

The new Van Halen is TERRIBLE (at least the song is-I haven’t listened to the record), but it doesn’t change how freaking awesome this is…

I don’t worship Bruce Springsteen. (Some of you would have to admit you do.) I DO freaking love this song though…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GbWwDIo8XU

I have no idea what Three Dog Night even looks like at this point. I would be more than happy to sing along with this though…

Here’s another fantastic tune by a band called Of Monsters And Men. So now we’ve done that…

9. NBA: Washington Wizards @ Indiana Pacers (Thursday 7pm from Indianapolis live on Comcast SportsNet PLUS), Philadelphia 76ers @ Washington Wizards (Friday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet), Washington Wizards @ Toronto Raptors (Sunday 6pm from Toronto live on Comcast SportsNet), Milwaukee Bucks @ Washington Wizards (Monday 7pm from Verizon Center live on Comcast SportsNet PLUS)

Since Sonny Weems doesn’t play for the Raptors anymore, he won’t be there when the ‘Zards visit Canada. It’s a shame because if he was he could bring his creepy foot…

I get the feeling there won’t be many folks willing to click on Page 2 or Page 3 after that, but we’re going to keep going here anyway.

(Continued on Page 2…)

BALTIMORE, MD – The Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team jumped to the top spot in both the USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll today. The Blue Jays moved up from the number two spot in both polls after Saturday’s 11-10 win at top-ranked Virginia. Hopkins improved to 8-0 for the first time since 2005 with the win the win over the Cavaliers.

The Blue Jays grabbed 10-of-11 first-place votes in the USILA Coaches Poll and totaled 210 points to earn the number one spot. UMass (7-0) checks in at number two with 199 points, while Virginia (8-1/195 points), Loyola (8-0/189) and Cornell (6-1/187) round out the top five. Loyola grabbed the lone first-place vote that didn’t go to Johns Hopkins.

This the 390th weekly poll released by the USILA since the poll was first issued in 1973. This week’s number-one ranking marks the 104th time since the poll’s inception that the Blue Jays have earned the top spot. Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top five 293 times and the top 10 in 367 of the 390 polls.

The Johns Hopkins office Athletic Communications uses the USILA Poll to reflect Johns Hopkins’ official national ranking.

Hopkins earned a unanimous number-one ranking in the Nike/Media Poll. The Blue Jays grabbed all 18 first-place votes and totaled 360 points to secure the top spot. Virginia (339 points), UMass (311), Cornell (310) and Loyola (292) round out the top five.

USILA Coaches Poll
• March 26, 2012 •
Rk. Team – Points
1. Johns Hopkins (10) – 218
2. UMass – 199
3. Virginia – 195
4. Loyola (1) – 189
5. Cornell – 187
6. Notre Dame – 165
7. Lehigh – 144
8. Duke – 137
9. Maryland – 125
10. Denver – 112
11. North Carolina – 111
12. Villanova – 106
13. Princeton – 95
14. Syracuse – 74
15. Fairfield – 62
16. Bucknell – 53
17. Colgate – 51
18. Penn State – 33
19. Georgetown – 12
20. Hofstra- 8

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Few games that receive as much hype as Saturday’s men’s lacrosse matchup between top-ranked Virginia and second-ranked Johns Hopkins actually live up to the advance billing. After regulation and all but five seconds of a full overtime, it’s safe to say that the Blue Jays’ 11-10 win over the Cavaliers did – and then some.

Johns Hopkins trailed by as many as three in the first half, led by two early in the fourth quarter and trailed by a goal with just over a minute to play in regulation – while playing a man down.

That’s when things really got crazy.

Virginia turned the ball over with 11 seconds remaining on its extra-man chance and the Blue Jays needed one timeout and 27 seconds before junior Lee Coppersmith slipped inside a pair of defenders and scored from the high slot with 44 seconds left in regulation.

Failed extra-man chances and turnovers by both teams over the remainder of regulation and the first three plus minutes overtime eventually led to Hopkins isolating junior John Ranagan at the top of the box as the first overtime ticket away. After getting a quick step on his defender, he beat Virginia goalie Rob Fortunato low for his eighth goal of the season and the Blue Jays had exorcised yet another demon they had carried – and heard about – for far too long.

Ranagan’s goal lifted the Blue Jays to their first win in Charlottesville against the Cavaliers since 1998. Earlier wins at Princeton and last week against Syracuse had stopped losing streaks against the Tigers and Orange that had stretched to three and five games, respectively.

Winning at Virginia – that was an entirely different monkey on the back; or gorilla as JHU head coach Dave Pietramala has referred to it a week earlier.

That the game went to overtime should surprise few. During the losing streak in Charlottesville the Blue Jays had alternated blowout losses in 2002, 2006 and 2010 with overtime defeats in 2004 and 2008. Eventually one of these had to break Hopkins’ way.

After Virginia built an early 4-1 lead on lengthy possessions and back-to-back goals by Chris Bocklet that bridged the first and second quarters, the Blue Jays slowly began to work their way back into the game.

The Blue Jays grabbed the momentum midway through the second quarter as they scored consecutive goals in a three-minute span midway through the period. Sophomore Brandon Benn one-timed home a pass to the crease from junior Zach Palmer to make it 4-2 and freshman Wells Stanwick made it a one-goal game with 4:34 remaining in the first half as he dodged hard to the crease from behind the goal and beat Fortunato from in tight.

A Steele Stanwick goal into an empty net gave the Cavs a 5-3 lead at halftime and the teams traded goals in a 35-second span early in the period to make it 6-4. Nearly 15 minutes would pass before Virginia would score again. During that time the Blue Jays scored four times to build their two-goal lead.

Benn completed his third consecutive hat trick 29 seconds after a Ryan Tucker goal to ignite the four-goal run, which included the first career goal by sophomore Jack Reilly and back-to-back extra-man goals by Rob Guida in a span of just over five minutes bridging the third and fourth quarters.

Virginia, as it does so often, struck back quickly with two goals in a 50-second span shortly after Guida’s strike made it 8-6. A Rob Emery extra-man goal drew the Cavs within one at 8-7 and Matt White’s highlight-reel behind the back shot from the crease tied it less than a minute later.

If White’s shot was destined for play of the game, it was quickly bumped by Zach Palmer’s goal 52 seconds later. Working from behind the goal, Palmer drove up the side and scored on a one-handed wrap-around shot from goal line extended that gave the Blue Jays a 9-8 lead with more than 10 minutes remaining.

The one-goal lead didn’t figure to hold – and it didn’t. Steele Stanwick scored from in tight after defenseman Tucker Durkin lost his footing to knot the game with just over four minutes remaining and Tucker fired home his second of the game with 2:44 on the clock to give Virginia a 10-9 lead.

The one-goal lead held for exactly two minutes, when Coppersmith fired home the game-tying goal that forced overtime and led to Ranagan’s game-winner that lifted the final proverbial monkey off the Blue Jays’ back.

Benn led the Blue Jays with his three goals, while Guida notched a career-high four points on two goals and two assists. Wells Stanwick (1g, 2a) and Palmer (1g, 1a) were JHU’s other multi-point scorers, while freshman Drew Kennedy won 8-of-14 faceoffs and junior goalie Pierce Bassett posted nine saves.

Virginia, which had its 14-game home winning streak snapped, was led by Steele Stanwick’s two goals and three assists, while Emery, Bocklet and Tucker added two goals apiece for the Cavaliers, who also got 11 saves from Fortunato.

Johns Hopkins, which figures to take over the top spot in the national rankings when the new polls are released on Monday, will play North Carolina in the Konica Minolta Big City Classic next Sunday night (6:30 pm) at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

BALTIMORE, MD – The highly anticipated 50th all-time meeting between men’s lacrosse heavyweights Johns Hopkins and Syracuse was colored Columbia Blue on Saturday as the second-ranked Blue Jays used a 4-0 run to turn a 6-4 lead into a 10-4 advantage that the Orange never seriously threatened before falling 11-7 before 5,970 sun-drenched fans at Homewood Field. The win runs Hopkins’ home winning streak to 11, it’s regular season winning streak to 14 and its record this season to 7-0. Syracuse had its five-game winning streak against the Blue Jays snapped and slips to 3-2.

After sprinting out to leads to 4-1, 5-2 and 6-3, the Blue Jays led just 6-4 late in the second quarter after the third of Derek Maltz’s three first-half goals with 3:29 remaining before the half.

Playing for the first time in more than two weeks, freshman Wells Stanwick pushed the lead back to three as he converted from the slot off a nifty feed from sophomore Brandon Benn with 2:42 remaining in the second quarter. The goal ignited the game-turning run, which saw the Blue Jays outscore Syracuse 4-0 over a 20-minute span that bridged the second and fourth quarters.

After Stanwick’s tally late in the second period, it was Benn and the Blue Jays’ first midfield doing the damage as Benn scored all three Hopkins goals in the third period with each assisted by a different member of Hopkins’ top unit.

It didn’t take long, nine seconds to be exact, for the Blue Jays to strike in the third quarter as junior John Ranagan scooped up the loose ball on the opening faceoff of the second half and found Benn on the point. Benn had time and room to step in and blow a shot past a defenseless Matt Lerman to give the Blue Jays their first four-goal lead of the game.

Benn added his third of the game just under four minutes later off an assist from John Greeley and completed his three-goal third quarter showing with his career-high fourth goal of the game with 2:30 left in the period to make it 10-4. By then the Orange had gone more than 15 minutes without scoring and the Blue Jays had the six-goal lead.

The drought ended for Syracuse less than two minutes into the fourth quarter when Tom Palasek slipped inside a defender and got to the crease before beating Pierce Bassett in close.

Neither team scored over the next eight minutes as the Blue Jays nursed the 10-5 lead. A Tim Desko goal with 4:49 remaining gave the Orange life, but Hopkins eventually got an empty-net goal from junior Zach Palmer with 62 seconds remaining before Henry Schoonmaker fired home the game’s final goal with 15 seconds left to account for the 11-7 final score.

Like they did in the third quarter, the Blue Jays scored early in the first period as junior Mike Poppleton won the opening faceoff and the Blue Jays worked a nifty play of deception between Greeley and Ranagan that freed Greeley in the middle of the field and he found the top shelf to stake JHU to a quick 1-0 lead just 35 seconds into the game.

Maltz and Greeley traded goals in a two-minute span midway through the quarter before Benn and Ranagan added tallies in the final 3:14 to give the Blue Jays a 4-1 lead after the opening 15 minutes.

Three times the Orange sliced the deficit to two in the second quarter, only to have the Blue Jays answer quickly each time. A Maltz tally in the first two minutes was matched by Ranagan, while a Bobby Eilers strike at the 7:54 mark was answered by Guida with 5:40 remaining in the first half. Guida’s goal gave the Blue Jays a 6-3 lead that held until the Maltz goal made it 6-4. The two-goal lead lasted just 47 seconds before Stanwick’s goal sparked the 4-0 run that Syracuse was unable to answer.

Benn’s four goals and one assist paced the Blue Jays, who also got two goals and one assist each from Greeley and Ranagan and one goal and two assists from Guida. The five goals and four assists the trio combined for was four goals and two assists better than the Syracuse first midfield managed. Stanwick returned to the lineup and totaled one goal and one assist and Poppleton won 12-of-18 faceoffs for the Blue Jays.

Bassett registered nine saves, including several crucial stops with the Blue Jays playing short. He came up with a big first-quarter save with the Blue Jays playing two men down and added a point-blank save on a Maltz shot early in the third quarter that would have cut an 8-4 deficit to 8-5. Instead, Benn added the second of his three straight goals less than a minute later and Syracuse was never closer than four over the final 25 minutes.

Maltz led the Orange with three goals and JoJo Marasco (2a) and Palasek (1g, 1a) also registered multi-point games for SU, but the Orange couldn’t over a 7-of-20 showing on faceoffs and didn’t score consecutive goals in the game until the fourth quarter.

The win potentially sets up a one vs. two matchup next weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia as the second-ranked Blue Jays travel to face the top-ranked Cavaliers next Saturday (new rankings will be released on Monday, March 19).

Notes: Johns Hopkins is 7-0 for the first time since 2005 and the seventh time since 1977 • Palmer’s goal extended his scoring streak to 19 games • Hopkins now leads the all-time series against Syracuse, 27-22-1 • The Blue Jays have scored on their first shot of the game three times this season and their first or second shot of the game six times in seven games • Syracuse went scoreless for 20:14 at one point …the Blue Jays have held all seven of their opponents scoreless for a stretch of at least 19:30.

#6 Syracuse (3-2) 1-3-0-3/7
#2 Johns Hopkins (7-0) 4-3-3-1/11

Goals: S: Maltz-3, Palasek, Desko, Eilers, Schoonmaker. J: Benn-4, Ranagan-2, Greeley-2, Guida, Stanwick, Palmer. Assists: S: Marasco-2, Coleman, Palasek, Ward. J: Guida-2, Benn, Greeley, Ranagan, Stanwick. Saves:S: Lerman-8. J: Bassett-9. Shots: S-29. J-36. EMO: S: 2-for-7. J: 2-for-4. Attendance: 5,970.

#24/rv Virginia (21-8, 8-7) at Maryland (16-13, 6-9)
Sunday, March 4, 2012 | 2 p.m. | Comcast Center
ACC Network | Terrapin Sports Radio Network

• Maryland plays host to Virginia on its traditional Senior Day, when the Terrapins honor the graduating seniors of the Class of 2012. The game also has an effect on the standings in the Atlantic Coast Conference, with Maryland in eighth in the league with a 6-9 record and Virginia in fourth at 8-6 before the Cavaliers’ Thursday-night game at home against Florida State. Maryland is 13-3 this season at Comcast Center.
• Based on the standings prior to Thursday’s games (Florida State at Virginia, Virginia Tech at Clemson), the Terrapins could finish in either the seventh or eighth spot in the league. A climb to seventh would need a Terps’ win Sunday over Virginia and a pair of Clemson losses (Tigers close Sunday at Florida State).
• Sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin had 16 points on Wednesday against the Tar Heels. That brought his season total to 610 points, marking the 18th time in school history a player has had 600 points or more in a season. The last one to accomplish that plateau was Greivis Vasquez, who had 647 in 2010. Stoglin also comes into today’s game with 986 points in his career and has a chance to become only the third Terrapin in school history to reach 1,000 points in his first two seasons. Joe Smith had 1,290 points from 1993-95 and Tom McMillen had 1,283 from 1971-73.
• Freshman Nick Faust had a career-high 17 points on Wednesday at North Carolina. Faust has been playing his best basketball of the season down the stretch and has five games in double figures in his last six outings. His previous season-highs have come against some of Maryland’s best competition of the year, with 15 points at Duke and against Colorado at the Puerto Rico Tipoff. Faust leads the Terrapins in assists (63) and is second to Sean Mosley in steals (28).
• Junior forward James Padgett had his second double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds against the Tar Heels. The 13 boards were the most of the season by a Terrapin player. He also had five offensive rebounds, giving him 102 for the year. It marks the eighth time in school history a player has grabbed 100 offensive rebounds in a season.
• With 16 wins, Maryland has most likely advanced its string of consecutive winning seasons to 19. The last time a Terrapin team finished below .500 was 1992-93, when the Terps went 12-16 in the final year of crippling NCAA sanctions. Each school in the ACC has had a losing season since the Terps (including Duke, 13-18 in 1995 and North Carolina, 8-20 in 2002).
• Maryland lost to Virginia, 71-44, in the first meeting of the season between these two teams on Feb. 18. The Cavaliers have won two straight in the series, including a 74-60 win in last year’s game at Comcast Center. Maryland still leads the overall series between the teams 106-69.
• Virginia comes into the game 24th in the most recent Associated Press poll. The Terrapins’ last win over a ranked team was a 79-72 win over then-No. 4 Duke on 3/3/2010 in Comcast Center.
• The men’s basketball program today will pay tribute to senior players Sean Mosley, Berend Weijs and Jon Dillard, along with managers Donald Darang and Phil Baldwin. Ceremonies will be held during pregame.
  

  Scouting the Cavaliers

• Virginia comes into the game 24th in the most recent Associated Press poll, with a 21-8 overall record (8-7 ACC) following a 63-60 loss to Florida State at home on Thursday.
• Senior forward Mike Scott leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounds (8.2 rpg), and is shooting 57.4 percent from the field, best in the ACC… Sophomore guard Joe Harris is also scoring in double figures with 11.4 ppg and is shooting 39 percent from 3FG.
• Virginia ranks highly in several defensive categories, coming in at second nationally in scoring defense (52.6 ppg), 14th in field goal percentage defense (.390), and second in the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.287).
• The Cavaliers are also third in the conference is turnover margin (plus-1.62) and assist-turnover ratio (1.1), with junior guard Jontel Evans leading the team and ranking fifth in the league with 3.8 assists per game.
  

  Upcoming

  The Terrapins will leave Tuesday, March 6 for the 2012 ACC Tournament, to be played at Philips Arena in Atlanta, with its open practice day coming on Wednesday… Maryland will be the No. 8 seed in the tournament and will play the 9th seed at noon on Thursday… The winner of the opening first-round game will face the No. 1 seed at noon in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Honorable Mention: Golf-PGA Tour Honda Classic (Thursday & Friday 3pm live on Golf Channel, Saturday & Sunday 3pm live on NBC); Boxing-Friday Night Fights: Joan Guzman vs. Cosme Rivera (Friday 9pm from Hollywood, FL live on ESPN2); Women’s College Basketball: ACC Tournament-Maryland vs. Virginia/Boston College (Friday 8pm from Greensboro, NC live on Comcast SportsNet PLUS); Tennis: ATP Tour Delray Beach International Tennis Championships (Final Sunday 3pm from Delray Beach, FL live on Tennis Channel), ATP Tour Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships (Tuesday-Thursday 7am, Friday & Saturday 8am from Dubai, UAE live on Tennis Channel); High School Basketball: MPSSAA Playoffs-Games include Springbrook vs. Mervo, Paint Branch vs. Kenwood, Westminster vs. Blake, Sherwood vs. Southwestern, Glen Burnie vs. Meade, Leonardtown vs. North Point, North County vs. Old Mill, Arundel vs. Chesapeake (Anne Arundel), Milford Mill vs. Aberdeen, C. Milton Wright vs. Woodlawn, City vs. Digital Harbor, Franklin vs. Patterson, Centennial vs. Howard, Stephen Decatur vs. Atholton, Annapolis vs. J.M. Bennett, Reservoir vs. Wilde Lake, Lake Clifton vs. Chesapeake (Baltimore County), Dundalk vs. Owings Mills, Randallstown vs. Douglass, Loch Raven vs. Edmondson Westside, Patterson Mill vs. Harford Tech, Elkton vs. Edgewood, Perryville vs. New Town, Bohemia Manor vs. Sparrows Point, Havre de Grace vs. Overlea, Western STES vs. Pikesville (Games Thursday-Sunday)

10. Brad Paisley (Thursday 7:30pm 1st Mariner Arena); Boyz II Men (Friday 7pm Rams Head Live), Chevelle/Middle Class Rut (Monday 6:30pm Rams Head Live); Fun. (Friday 7pm Recher Theatre); O.A.R. (Tuesday-Friday 9:30 Club); Chiddy Bang (Tuesday 8pm U Street Music Hall); Lauryn Hill (Wednesday 8pm Warner Theatre); Young Jeezy (Saturday 8pm Fillmore Silver Spring); Carolina Chocolate Drops “Leaving Eden” available in stores/on iTunes (Tuesday)

You probably don’t know how much I enjoy Chevelle. It’s fine, I’m not mad. But someone will have to accept the responsibility of passing along a few tickets my way. I don’t care which one of you takes the responsibility, just make sure it gets done.

I’m doing the Tuesday night gig from Jerry DePizzo and the boys in DC. Unlike Chevelle, you all know EXACTLY how much I love the guys from Of A Revolution…

Lauryn Hill is one of the greatest musicians in the history of the planet. This dates back to her days at St. Francis School in California…

Not familiar with Carolina Chocolate Drops? Probably about time for you to take a few minutes…

9. Tim Meadows (Friday & Saturday Baltimore Comedy Factory); Donnell Rawlings (Thursday-Saturday Magooby’s Joke House); John Oliver (Friday & Saturday DC Improv); “Hugo” available on Blu-Ray/DVD (Tuesday)

Here’s the thing. I don’t always think every comedian that comes to the area is very funny. That’s not the case with the group hitting the Mid-Atlantic this weekend. They’re all freaking funny.

“Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” wasn’t very funny, but Tim Meadows was pretty funny in “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (Language Semi-NSFW)…

You may remember Donnell Rawlings better as “Ashy Larry” from Chapelle’s Show. (Language definitely NSFW)…

John Oliver is just freaking brilliant…

I wish I had more time to watch The Daily Show.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As a tie game at halftime turned into a blowout loss to the University of Virginia Saturday, University of Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon decided he couldn’t sit back and watch his scholarship players go through the motions anymore.

With roughly three minutes to play in the game, Turgeon inserted five walk-on players into the Terrapins’ lineup and stuck with them for the rest of the game. It only made a blowout loss more lopsided, but the head coach was in need of making a statement.

“I just had enough” Turgeon said. “Selfishness, not boxing out, not defending. I wanted to do it earlier. You can go down our whole list-if you can tell me one guy that played well today, I’ll argue that you’re wrong. We were 0-14 or however many guys we played today.”

The number actually was 14 players, and none had anything to offer in the second half of the Terrapins’ 71-44 loss to the Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena. The Terps (15-11, 5-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) had managed to erase an early deficit and tie things up at intermission thanks to 14 points from G Terrell Stoglin. Stoglin wouldn’t score again after the break, and the Cavs (20-6, 7-5 ACC) outscored Maryland 40-13 the rest of the way.

It was as ugly (if not uglier) than I’m sure it appeared on television. Maryland shot a putrid 5-24 (20.8%) from the field and turned the ball over 12 times after returning from the locker room. Those 12 points resulted in 20 points for the Wahoos, while the Terps forced just one UVa turnover after the half (which actually did result in two points).

There’s no silver lining to Maryland’s second half effort. It was abysmal. It made spectators wonder why the team even bothered to return to the floor after the break. It was so frustrating that the coach compared it to Maryland’s previous season low point.

“This reminded me of Puerto Rico today. I thought we looked like we were disinterested as far as trying to be tough on defense and rebounding. Our execution was poor.”

Turgeon was referring to the team’s early season trip to San Juan for the 5-Hour Energy Puerto Rico Tip-Off, where they lost two of three games-including a blowout defeat at the hands of Iona. After the stretch, Turgeon referred to his team as “the biggest challenge I’ve ever had in coaching; it’s not even close.”

Similarly, Maryland played the three games in Puerto Rico without sophomore PG Pe’Shon Howard, who missed his third straight game Saturday (and will be out for the rest of the season) with a torn ACL. The Terps were also without freshman C Alex Len in Puerto Rico due to suspension. Len tallied zero points, zero rebounds, zero assists, zero blocks and zero steals to go with one turnover and two missed field goals in 20 minutes Saturday. It’s difficult to determine which scenario would have been preferable.

This is the part of the column where I note that Maryland was playing a second game in roughly 40 hours after recording a win over Boston College Thursday night in College Park. Neither Turgeon nor senior G Sean Mosley would use the turnaround as an excuse, but Turegon was willing to admit the span “was hard” on his team. Now I’ve noted it.

I should also probably note that a tip of the cap is warranted for Virginia F Mike Scott, who bowled over four different Maryland defenders en route to a 25 point, seven rebound performance. Scott’s dominance of the Terrapins was perhaps “Plumlee-esque” Saturday. Consider that noted as well.

Sitting nearly an entire level away from the JPJ Arena floor, I started to wonder if the Maryland players had quit in the second half. For what it’s worth, the coach disagreed.

“We didn’t quit, we just hung our head. I wouldn’t say we quit, we just kind of felt sorry for ourselves and weren’t competing as hard as we can compete. I know it might have looked that way a little bit, but I don’t think we quit.”

Perhaps the players never actually quit, but it was a brutal effort that came at a time where it would be easy to see the team give up a bit. This is a difficult stretch for a Maryland team that has frankly overachieved with a thin roster. The players are smart enough to know that there’s no hope of a NCAA Tournament at-large bid and even slim NIT hopes aren’t enticing enough to maintain a high level of energy until March. The only tangible difference between winning and losing at this point is the reaction generated from coaches and fans.

When things aren’t going their way, it is understandable that players may be a little more willing to pack it in down the stretch. It’s not a condemnation of the collective heart of this group of players, it’s just more a look at reality for a team that is too thin in both quantity and quality.

It’s also not an excuse for poor effort down the stretch. Maryland’s second half performance was absolutely unacceptable even against a Virginia team in need of a strong effort to hold on their place in the nation’s Top 25. Things won’t necessarily get any easier for Maryland, as bubble dwelling Miami invades Comcast Center Tuesday and the final three games of the regular season include a return contest with Scott and the Cavaliers plus trips to North Carolina and Georgia Tech.

If Turgeon thought the stretch after the Puerto Rico trip was going to be a challenge, it would be hard to find the right word to describe the rest of the season.

The word is definitely not “easy”. That much I know.

-G