Tag Archive | "Georgia Tech"

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Maryland to visit Northwestern in ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Posted on 14 May 2012 by WNST Staff

The 14th annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge Presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods on Nov. 27-28 will be highlighted by North Carolina at Indiana, Ohio State at Duke and North Carolina State at Michigan, six programs expected to be highly ranked entering the 2012-13 season. ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will combine to televise all 12 games of the two-day event matching top college basketball programs playing for conference supremacy and the Commissioners Cup.

All 12 games will also be available via WatchESPN, which delivers live access to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3 on PCs, smartphones and tablets to fans who receive ESPN’s linear networks as part of their video subscription from Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV.

The 2012 Challenge involves nine teams ranked in an ESPN.com early preseason top 25, including five of the top nine: No. 1 Indiana, No. 5 Michigan, No. 6 NC State, No. 8 Ohio State and No. 9 Michigan State.

The ACC won the first 10 Challenges while the Big Ten captured the Commissioner Cup for the third consecutive event, including an eight to four win advantage over the ACC last year. In the event of a 6-6 tie, the Commissioner’s Cup will remain with the conference that won the previous year. 2012 Challenge highlights:

  • Off a Ratings High: ESPN’s telecast of Ohio State’s 85-63 victory over Duke last year was the highest-rated and most-viewed Challenge game ever, averaging a 2.6 rating and 2,618,000 households. The telecast propelled ESPN to its most-viewed Challenge, averaging 1,555,000 households, based on a 1.6 rating.
  • One more Shot at the Dozen: Duke, which has won 11 of its 13 Challenge games, will host Ohio State in its quest for an event-record 12th victory. Duke lost to Ohio State last year and to Wisconsin in 2009.
  • First Challenge Matchups: Four of the telecasts will feature first-time Challenge matchups: Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin, Maryland at Northwestern, No. 9 Michigan State at Miami and Georgia Tech at Illinois.
    • In addition to first-time Challenge games, several of the teams are infrequent opponents: Michigan State and Miami have never met; Northwestern and Maryland played one other time, a Northwestern victory in 1958; Virginia and Wisconsin split its two games, Virginia in 1975 and Wisconsin in 1999; and Illinois has defeated Georgia Tech in six of its seven games, including the last one in 2001.
  • Tourney Teams: Eleven teams between the two conferences played in the 2012 NCAA Tournament: Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, NC State and Virginia from the ACC, and Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.
  • Following a First with a Rematch: Boston College and Penn State and Nebraska and Wake Forest will follow first-time Challenge meetings with a second consecutive showdown in the event.
    • Boston College, which won its first five games, lost to Penn State last year, while Nebraska lost its Challenge debut to Wake Forest.
  • Threepeat: Five of the games will mark three-time Challenge matchups: North Carolina at Indiana (Indiana win in 2001 and North Carolina in 2004), NC State at Michigan (Michigan win in 2003 and NC State in 2006), Ohio State at Duke (Duke win in 2002 and Ohio State in 2011), Iowa at Virginia Tech (won by Virginia Tech in 2006 and 2009) and Purdue at Clemson (Purdue win in 2003 and Clemson in 2007).
  • Three and one more: Minnesota and Florida State will meet for the fourth time (Minnesota won in 2000 and Florida State in 2004 and 2007).

2012 ACC/Big Ten Challenge schedule (times and networks are to be determined):

Date Game
Tue, Nov 27 No. 13 North Carolina at No. 1 Indiana
  No. 6 NC State at No. 5 Michigan
  No. 25 Minnesota at Florida State
  Maryland at Northwestern
  Iowa at Virginia Tech
  Nebraska at Wake Forest
Wed, Nov 28 No. 8 Ohio State at No. 15 Duke
Virginia at No. 22 Wisconsin
No. 9 Michigan State at Miami
Purdue at Clemson
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Boston College at Penn State

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Your Monday Reality Check-Size Matters And I Won’t Stop Saying It

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Your Monday Reality Check-Size Matters And I Won’t Stop Saying It

Posted on 23 April 2012 by Glenn Clark

Remember the guy who scribbled what (at least looking back on it) was nearly a love letter to San Diego Chargers WR Malcom Floyd last summer?

Remember the guy who pounded on the desk for days during his first full week as host of “The Reality Check” on AM1570 WNST.net about how much he wanted to see the Baltimore Ravens add Floyd to their receiving corps for 2011?

Remember the guy who received ridicule for not being excited (and frankly showing a level of discontent) after the Ravens failed to acquire Floyd and instead dealt for Buffalo Bills WR Lee Evans?

The name’s Glenn Clark. It’s good to talk to you again. In case you were wondering, I haven’t stopped bitching about the need for the Ravens to add size to their receiving corps.

After a relatively quiet start to the 2012 NFL Offseason, the Ravens will absolutely add players this week. The Ravens have eight picks in this weekend’s NFL Draft, and will have the opportunity to address both depth and need over the course of the weekend. Fans and analysts have debated the order of the team’s needs, largely agreeing that Offensive Line, Interior Linebacker, Pass Rusher, Running Back, Safety, Wide Receiver and Kick/Punt Returner tend to make up the list.

I don’t particularly care what order the Ravens use to rank their own needs. As we all know, General Manager Ozzie Newsome and company won’t suddenly move away from the “best player available” philosophy that has worked so well for them in recent years.

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that at some point during the course of the weekend the team will draft at least one receiver.

My rallying cry will remain the same. When they do, they need to find a receiver who can get up and get the football.

In 2011, six of the top seven total offenses in the National Football League included a significant contributor (either at WR or TE) who stood at least 6’5″ or taller. The other team (the Philadelphia Eagles) had a 6’4″ TE target in Brent Celek.

The Baltimore Ravens have two tight ends (Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson) who are both listed at 6’4″ but who have been unable to establish themselves as legitimate red zone threats at the pro level. This has at least something to do with why the Ravens managed to score TD’s on just 50% of their trips to the red zone in 2011, a mark good enough for only 18th in the NFL.

(The lack of a singular red zone receiving target isn’t necessarily the ONLY reason why the Ravens have struggled to score TD’s in the red zone, but it’s hard to fathom mutual exclusivity here.)

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Greyhounds Meet With Media At NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh

Posted on 14 March 2012 by WNST Staff

THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Loyola student-athletes.

How are you liking Pittsburgh so far?

SHANE WALKER: Love it.

ERIK ETHERLY: Great city. I’m a Steelers fan.

DYLON CORMIER: Been a great trip so far.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for our student-athletes from Loyola.

Q. The nation has found out about your coach, how personable he is, is that the right way to put it? Can you give us your memory when he went off on some rant or tandem that you said, I don’t know what this guy is talking about?

SHANE WALKER: I feel like he can do that any day. Anytime somebody asks him a question, it’s a 15-minute answer. He goes off on a tandem, you have no idea where he’s going. He’s such a great guy, you just learn to accept it and love it.

ERIK ETHERLY: I think the most memorable one for me is halftime of the Fairfield game with Bobby Steele and the Black Panthers. Nobody saw that one coming. He got his message across.

DYLON CORMIER: I think for me is him, the inch-by-inch statement he just came out with. He said, To win, we got to block and tackle, same thing in basketball.

Q. Dylon, he said earlier this week where you have a special relationship, he’ll challenge you, you’ll challenge him right back.

DYLON CORMIER: It’s kind of like he want me to do better, so he’ll yell me and tell me I’m not doing something better, just so I can do it even better.

Q. You’re known for your man-to-man defense. Also explain to us what your flex offense is like.

SHANE WALKER: I feel like our defense is so, so good because everybody has bought in. Years past, not necessarily everybody has bought in. Me being a senior leader, I demanded that from the rest of the team, and we all bought in. It wasn’t a problem.

ERIK ETHERLY: We also help each other out a lot. We have a great team in terms of being able to switch a lot of stuff so we don’t get caught up on a lot of screens and we always help on all of our screens.

DYLON CORMIER: I think we have a great inside presence with Shane and Erik, and also J’hared and Julius coming off the bench. So the two players has been effective for us this year.

Q. Shane, can you talk about the matchup with Ohio State. Has Jimmy brought up any history of No. 15 seeds beating No. 2 seeds?

SHANE WALKER: Yeah, he’s talked about Coppin State in the past. Was it South Carolina? Yeah, it was maybe 15 years ago, he brought that up.

He’s not really concerned about years past, he’s concerned about the team now and doing the best we can. He’s not really focused about other teams.

Q. Were you the Steelers fan?

ERIK ETHERLY: I was at the opening game when the Steelers played the Ravens. I took  a lot of heat for it, but I wore it at the stadium.

Q. When you break down Ohio State, what stands out offensively in terms of what you need to stop?

DYLON CORMIER: Their inside presence in Jared Sullinger and Thomas, their four-man, they got a great inside presence and a couple shooters where they kick it out. I think we have to prevent the ball from getting in the post as much as we can.

SHANE WALKER: When I look at them, they’re not very deep. They only play six or seven guys. I feel like we can run them. They try to slow the game down. We try to speed it up. Hopefully that will work in our advantage.

Q. You talked about coach. Were you tournament fans, seeing power teams getting beaten?

DYLON CORMIER: Not at a very young age. I remember George Mason went on a run and beat a lot of good teams.

ERIK ETHERLY: And VCU. That’s a local team, so we look up to them, as well.

THE MODERATOR: Guys, thank you.

We have Coach Patsos from Loyola. Make a few opening comments.

COACH PASTOS: Great to be in Pittsburgh, what a great town. My wife is from here. What a great sports town, what a great building. Other than the fact the Steelers play here, I really like it. We’re Ravens fans in Baltimore. A lot of the Ravens, Jim Harbaugh, people like that are following this game. But everybody loves Pittsburgh. Everybody says the same thing, what a great place it is.

I see my commissioner out there. We’re from the MAAC. Really have a lot of pride in our basketball league. We have two teams in the NCAA, which is great for us this year.

I was out with Dave Dickerson, Matt Roe, and Billy Hahn last night for about an hour, because we’re all family friends from Maryland. It’s a really interesting, happy time for me in my life.

I’m really proud of what the kids have done. This is about Loyola, what a great university it is. You don’t get here without the support of Jim Paquette, my AD, the president Father Linnane, things like that. So it’s a happy time for Loyola. Now we’re excited to play Ohio State, one of the great programs in the country.

Unfortunately Dave Dickerson knows me really well, so they don’t have to scout us because I run everything that we ran at Maryland together. They should know everything we’re running.

I’m happy to take questions.

Q. Obviously you know what it’s like to cut down the nets. Can you contrast emotionally the difference between being in the first chair here with a program like Loyola and having it done at Maryland?

COACH PASTOS: That’s a good question because both programs were the same when I got there. Obviously the depths of 1 and 27 is different from what happened at Maryland. However our climb at Maryland were when Duke and Carolina were winning NCAA tournaments. Georgia Tech had gone to the Final Four. So, in other words, I feel the same.

I feel great when we cut down the nets at Maryland even though I was the assistant, and I feel great cutting down the nets at Loyola as head coach. The climb was not always easy. You can always climb the first few runnings. You can be a beat writer, but you can’t be Lenn Robbins and have your own column in the widest circulated paper in the country. It takes a while to get there. It’s the last part that’s hard. You know that. It’s the last part of the journey that’s difficult.

Whether it’s at Loyola or the University of Maryland, I feel good we were lucky enough to make that last climb. I’m not sure I ever thought that would happen, at either place by the way.

THE MODERATOR: The 24-win season, what did that mean to the program? It was the first since you went to Division I 30 years ago.

COACH PASTOS: It was great because the last time we went to NCAA, Skip Prosser, who is a fantastic coach and great person, was here. They were like the 6 seed and won it. We’re in a great basketball league. To win 24 games in the MAAC, we have NBA players, we have coaches that have left to go on and be successful at a higher level. Kind of puts a signature on your program. When you win 20, it says something. When you win the MAAC, which like I said, I’m not joking about the New York thing, we love being in the New York league because you get a lot of attention media-wise. It’s a great basketball city with a lot of tradition.

Len Elmore and I were joking today, he played at Powell Memorial and I know that because New York is where the best players come from and everybody is a tough critic. If you’re successful there, you’re really happy.

Q. Talk about the concerns you have about Ohio State.

COACH PASTOS: I have major concerns about Ohio State. I just ran into Sullinger in the hallway. The guy is a monster. Thomas, the left-handed 6’8″ guy. Remember, Gary Williams does the Big Ten Network. Not that he would give me any inside information. I know what a great team Ohio State it. It’s an honor to play them. We probably have little chance of winning the game. Four minutes at a time, we’ll see what we can do.

We’ll still run and press against them. Ohio State wants to play their way. If you play their way, you’re not going to beat them. I think they can win the national championship this year, especially with Fab Melo being out. I’m talking as a fan. This has nothing to do with coaching. I see Ohio State have a chance to get to the Final Four because of their size. I like the kid Ravenel that comes off the bench.

But Craft is scary because he reminds me of Steve Blake. The Steve Blake, nobody ever thought he was that good until you played against him. He made shots, steals the ball, he’s quicker, smarter, you find out that he was the quarterback on his high school team, which scares me because you find out he’s a leader. Thomas is much better than I thought. He’s going to cause problems for us. Sullinger, you can put down 20-10, I just hope it’s not 35-18.

Q. Is there a hope with what you do defensively, Ohio State plays their starters a lot of minutes, that maybe you can try to wear them down?

COACH PASTOS: I mean, I can. But they’re four sophomores. Buford knows what he’s doing. We will try and press them. We simulated at little 20-minute scrimmage on Monday night. We took two-and-a-half-minute timeouts and my guys couldn’t believe how long they were. What you find out is they can rest. They can rest those two and a half minutes.

They’re used to playing minutes. It’s like one thing if you lose a couple guys and all of a sudden you have to play six and you’re not used to it. They’ve done it. He’s a great coach.

We will try and press ‘em, not as much to wear ‘em down, but probably to speed the game up. We need the game to go fast. You saw Iona, but they didn’t score at the end. Our league is a scoring league. We’re going to have to keep scoring. I want the pace of the game more than wearing them down. Is that fair to say? That’s what we’re looking to do.

Q. What you mentioned with Dave Dickerson, is there some element of surprise because a staff member knows you?

COACH PASTOS: Well, Dave, we just got together for like an hour. It was really nice to see everybody. But Dave really quickly says, I saw you’ve reverted back to the original Gary Williams, pressing on the make. He loved his time at St. John Arena. His daughter still lives in Columbus. He saw the pressing. He saw the 2 play, which is our version of the flex.

Gary Williams has had assistants like Rick Barnes, Fran Fraschilla, all these guys. I shouldn’t say this, but they’re probably more successful because they didn’t run all his stuff so much. But no (laughter).

Dave goes, You’re the only dummy that runs everything Gary did. Didn’t you learn? I’m like, Okay. Because Fran Fraschilla and Fran Dunphy and all those guys. I run like Gary’s stuff and I’ve kind of reverted back to it because I thought we could press a lot with eight guys this year.

We have an older team and they get used to the terminology, like 55′s, full-court press, and they all know it. Dave said, I just watched a half and I don’t have to scout anymore. He’s doing exactly what we thought he would do.

We probably play a little more zone, but we play Gary’s zone action, a 3-2, not a 2-3. It will be interesting. Got him 600 some wins and his name on the court, so I stuck with it.

Q. When you got together last night, what was that like? Did you devise a plan to get Gary off of Congressional this weekend?

COACH PASTOS: He’s doing Big Ten games. He’s part of the media now. Preparing to tear some coach apart. No, I’m just kidding.

Gary is going to Chicago to do the Big Ten. No, it was impromptu. Billy Hahn actually led us. Gary was the dad. Billy was the big brother. Dave was the middle. Actually Dave was probably more like Robert Duvall in The Godfather. He was really like sane. I was more like Michael. Billy was definitely like Sonny. I’m not Sonny. There’s no Fredo. Although Gary probably would have picked the same result for Fredo.

Billy kind of texted and said, Let’s get together and talk. Matt Roe was doing the radio for Syracuse. Matt Roe is one of the first guys that came to Gary when there was like nobody to play because they were on probation. It was fun. We talked about all the stuff, how much we accomplished. We laughed with everybody having a video guy, a weight guy. I said, My academic lady is with me, Colleen Campbell. I was the academic guy. Dave did the video. Billy went to weight lifting in the morning. It changed.

It was a good little time. It was nice to be with your family because in basketball that’s our family and we have a nice family.

Q. The guys that were up before said you mentioned the Coppin State win that happened across the street.

COACH PASTOS: I was over there checking it out. They’re taking it down.

Q. It’s a little sad.

COACH PASTOS: Not when you have this, it isn’t.

Q. What motivation have you used as a 15 seed going up against 2?

COACH PASTOS: That it can happen. 16-1 is not going to happen. 15-2 is going to happen once every three or four years. I actually think, my commissioner is here, he’s done a tremendous job with our league. We could have been a 14. They picked Iona as a 14. I don’t see us as a longshot 15. I can do the math. St. Bonnie wins, they pushed us down. That’s okay. Is Ohio a real 2? Unfortunately they could have been a 1 had they won Sunday.

It doesn’t matter. It’s 40 minutes. It’s 10 four-minute segments. We have to try to win six of those segments. We keep track of the segments, which we sole from Thad Matta when he was at Xavier. They have four-minute wars, 10 of them. We have to win six of them to win the game. That’s okay.

I think we have a chance, though, I do, because if we can get the game going fast, we have a chance. If they put us in the meat grinder and go slow, Sullinger goes to work, you can call me at 410, I’ll be in Baltimore Friday by noon.

Q. How much does the loss of Fab change the whole east region?

COACH PASTOS: The guy is a tremendous defensive player. I think in the  tournaments, like at Maryland we had Chris Wilcox. He scored the least. When he blocked Drew Gooden’s shots, Marcus traveled with us, a defensive guy like that can really change the game.

At Maryland I didn’t think we were ever going to win the title until we had a defensive guy like Chris Wilcox. I think they can make some plays. We don’t beat Fairfield if we don’t block some shots. You have to win a defensive game along the way.

Boeheim is a great coach. He’s setting everybody up because he has nine players. He still has eight good ones. That’s a tough one to lose because he’s a 7-footer, great player. It’s none of my concern. It’s an odd time for that to happen. I think that’s not good for a team. Like you can lose a guy three weeks ago and stuff. Like we have a guy, Anthony Winbush, who just had to have stitches Monday. I’ll tell you, he may play, he may not. He had 10 stitches. That’s a weird thing to have happen right now. But he’s not our best player.

Fab Melo is a big loss. Can Boeheim still win? Absolutely. He is one of the great coaches ever and a great golfer, a much better golfer than all the other coaches.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

 

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Maryland Womens NCAA Tournament Opener to Air on ESPN2

Posted on 12 March 2012 by WNST Staff

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland women’s basketball team earned a No. 2 seed in the 2012 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Terrapins (28-4) will take on the Patriot League champion Navy (18-13) Saturday at 11:15 a.m. in Comcast Center. The game will be shown on ESPN2.

Maryland will make its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance and eighth under head coach Brenda Frese this weekend. Seventh-seeded Louisville (22-9) will take on 10th-seeded Michigan State (20-11) at approximately 1:30 Saturday. The winners of the Terps-Midshipmen and Cardinals-Spartans games will meet at 7 p.m. Monday in Comcast Center.

The Terrapins are in the Raleigh region, in which Notre Dame is the No. 1 seed and the 2011 national champion Texas A&M is the No. 3 seed.

Frese and the Terps have won their last seven straight games and 10 of their last 11 heading into Saturday’s matchup. Most recently, they won the program’s 10th ACC title on March 4. They beat Georgia Tech, 68-65, behind 29 points from ACC Player of the Year Alyssa Thomas.

The Terrapins are 45-28 (.616) all-time in NCAA Tournament games. Frese owns an NCAA Tournament record of 17-7 (.708) and 16-6 (.727). Frese has led the Terps to three Elite Eights and the 2006 national championship.

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Your Monday Reality Check-Turgeon Deserving Of Praise With Work To Do

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Your Monday Reality Check-Turgeon Deserving Of Praise With Work To Do

Posted on 12 March 2012 by Glenn Clark

On Friday’s edition of “The Reality Check”, Ryan Chell and I decided to put together a Maryland Terrapins season ending report card. After the Terps’ loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, it was easy to assume the basketball season was over in College Park.

That assumption proved accurate Sunday night, as the NIT failed to extend an invite to the Terps as expected. The University of Maryland declined to participate in the lesser known postseason CBI Tournament due to the financial model that forces schools to pay for participation. (Three schools from BCS conferences-Washington State, Pitt and Oregon State all accepted CBI bids.)

It’s a long winded way to say the season is over. The Terps finished 17-15 in Mark Turgeon’s first season since taking over for the retired Gary Williams, surpassing the expectations of many while still falling short of the expectations of others.

In our Report Card segment Friday, I graded Turgeon’s job in year one as a “B”. I noted the lack of both quality and quantity in Maryland basketball players that Turgeon was forced to deal with partly due to the late timing of Williams’ retirement announcement. Not only did Maryland lose All-ACC Center Jordan Williams to the NBA, they also lost F Haukur Palsson to a pro turn in Europe. Turgeon was only able to retain one from Williams’ three-man recruiting class (G Nick Faust) although he made up for that in part with a late commitment from C Alex Len.

(I point all of this out because some Maryland fans have decided to “blame” Gary Williams for the state of the program. They’re only telling half of the story.)

Len’s 10 game suspension to start the season and PG Pe’Shon Howard’s 18 missed games due to injury made an already difficult situation nearly impossible. Entering the season, there was legitimate reason to fear a “bottoming out” of sorts for the Maryland program.

While those fears never came to fruition, the team never fully came together. Sophomore G Terrell Stoglin at times carried the Terps during a 6-10 Atlantic Coast Conference campaign, but often proved to be as much of the problem as the solution. Len never showed progress during his freshman campaign, Senior G Sean Mosley offered valuable leadership but never overwhelmed with his play on the floor. The only player that showed marked progress was Faust, who was named to the league’s All-Rookie team.

All of these were contributing factors in grading the job Turgeon did this season. It was a tough campaign, but it could have been significantly worse. Turgeon deserves credit for keeping the program afloat and avoiding any true embarrassment. (Only a late season loss at Georgia Tech stands out as a head shaker due to the opponent and Maryland’s most lopsided defeats came at the hands of NCAA Tournament participants like UNC, Duke, Virginia, Florida State, Alabama and Iona.)

Nearly five hundred words in, it’s time to look to the future. While Turgeon is absolutely deserving of praise for how he kept this Maryland team together in his first season, the coach offered a noteworthy thought Sunday night via Twitter.

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Terps Open ACC Tournament Thursday Against Wake

Posted on 08 March 2012 by WNST Staff

#8 Maryland (16-14, 6-9) vs. #9 Wake Forest (13-17, 4-12)
Thursday, March 8, 2012 | Noon | Atlanta, Ga. (Philips Arena)
ACC Network-WNUV 54 locally in Baltimore | Terrapin Sports Radio Network

Maryland opens play in the 2012 Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in a first-round matchup with Wake Forest. The Terrapins beat the Demon Deacons, 70-64, on Jan. 11 in the only regular-season meeting between the teams this year.Terrell Stoglin had 20 points, with James Padgett and Sean Mosley adding 15 each in the victory that marked the first league game of the year at Comcast Center.

Sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin earned second team All-ACC honors on Monday in balloting by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association. Stoglin remains atop the list of scoring leaders in the league with a 21.2 points-per-game average. He had 25 points in the last game of the regular season on Sunday against Virginia, becoming only the third Terrapin in history to reach 1,000 career points in only his second season.

Nick Faust earned a spot on the 2012 ACC All-Freshman Team on Monday. Faust has averaged 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals in the seven games since he returned to the starting lineup after the season-ending injury to Pe’Shon Howard. It marked the third straight season the Terps have put a student-athlete on the league’s All-Freshman Team (Jordan Williams in 2010, Stoglin in 2011). Faust has six double-figure games in the last seven.

The Terrapins are the eighth seed in the ACC Tournament for the sixth time. Maryland is 5-3 in matchups with Wake Forest, including five straight victories. The Terps lost their first three tournament meetings with the Demon Deacons (1954, 1961, 1963), but turned things around with a win in the 1973 semifinals. The other wins have come in 1984, 2001, 2004 and 2009.

Scouting the Demon Deacons

Wake Forest finished the regular season 13-17 overall with a 4-12 mark in the ACC, getting its four conference wins over Virginia Tech, Boston College and Georgia Tech at home and also defeating BC in Chestnut Hill.

The Demon Deacons possess two of the top-six scorers in the conference in guard C.J. Harris and forward Travis McKie… Harris is fourth in the league with 16.8 ppg and is also the team’s top 3-point shooter, having connected on 48-of-111 attempts (.432) this season… McKie is sixth in the conference with 15.9 ppg and is averaging a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game.

Wake is the best free-throw shooting team in the league (.736), led by Harris (.856) and McKie (.730)… Sophomore guard Tony Chennault is third on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and has a team-high 85 assists… Fifth-year senior forward Nikita Mescheriakov is fourth on the team with 7.7 ppg.

Upcoming

The winner of the opening first-round game will face top-seeded North Carolina at noon in Friday’s quarterfinals.

The Terrapins are in the top half of the bracket, meaning they would play in the 1 p.m. semifinal, with the championship game also scheduled for 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Follow the Entire Tournament

First-round coverage of all four games on Thursday will also be available on ESPNU nationally, with blackouts in the ACC geographic footprint.

Fans can also follow the tournament on Twitter: @ACCmbb, with hashtag #ACCTRNY

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Maryland Hopes For Stunner Wednesday at Carolina

Posted on 29 February 2012 by WNST Staff

Maryland (16-12, 6-8) at #6/6 North Carolina (25-4, 12-2)
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012 | 7 p.m. | Chapel Hill, N.C. (Smith Center)
ESPN / ESPN3 | Terrapin Sports Radio Network

  • Maryland ends a busy February on the road in its rematch with league-leading North Carolina at 7 p.m. in a nationally televised game in Chapel Hill. Maryland lost 83-74 at Comcast Center on 2/4, but led by nine points early in the second half.
  • The Terrapins lost 63-61 at Georgia Tech in their last outing, falling to eighth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference standings with a 6-8 league mark. The Terps have lost seven of their eight road games this season, but are only one game out of a tie for sixth. The Tar Heels are tied atop the league standings with Duke at 12-2.
  • Currently at 16-12, Maryland is in line advance 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, UNC 8-20 in 2002).
  • Sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin continues to lead the ACC in scoring at 21.2 ppg and was 7th in the nation through last Sunday’s games. He is 6 points away from 600 for the season, which could be the 19th time a Terrapin player reached that plateau. He is 30 points away from becoming only the third Terrapin to reach 1,000 career points in only his second season at the school (Joe Smith, 1993-95; Tom McMillen, 1971-73).
  • Junior forward James Padgett has 97 offensive rebounds this season and is only a few away from becoming only the eighth Terp in history to grab 100 on the offensive glass in a single season. His 3.5 offensive rpg is second in the league only behind UNC’s Tyler Zeller (3.8 rpg).

    Scouting the Tar Heels

  • North Carolina is 25-4 and 12-2 in the ACC, having won 10 of its last 11 games… The Tar Heels are ranked sixth in the nation in both the Associated Press Poll and the Coaches Poll.
  • Averaging 45.9 rpg, North Carolina possesses the top rebounding team in the nation and the third-best scoring offense with an average of 81.9 points per game… The Tar Heels lead the conference in several statistical categories including scoring margin (15.8), rebounding margin (11.4), blocks per game (6.2), and assists per game (17.6), while ranking second in FG percentage (.462), FG percentage defense (.386), and defensive rebounding percentage (.722).
  • Sophomore forward Harrison Barnes leads the team and ranks second in the ACC in scoring at 17.7 ppg, while senior Tyler Zeller is contributing 15.7 ppg and 9.3 rpg… 6-foot-11 junior John Henson leads the ACC in rebounds per game with 10.4, while adding 14 points a game for the Tar Heels… Henson also leads the conference in blocks with 3.1 per game.
  • Sophomore Kendall Marshall is one of the top point guards in the nation, averaging 9.7 assists per game (second nationally) and supplying the nation’s best assists-turnover ratio at 3.6.

    Upcoming

    The Terps return home for Senior Day on Sunday, March 4, for a 2 p.m. matchup with Virginia…

    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.

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Four Maryland Women Tabbed All-ACC

Posted on 28 February 2012 by WNST Staff

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Four members of the Maryland women’s basketball team were named to the 2011-12 Women’s Basketball All-ACC teams, as announced today by ACC Commissioner John Swofford.

The accolades are voted on by the league’s “Blue Ribbon Panel,” which consists of national and local media members, as well as school representatives.  Alyssa Thomas earned First Team honors, Tianna Hawkins was named to the Second Team, while Lynetta Kizer and Laurin Mincy earned Honorable Mention Honors.

Kizer also earned the fifth annual ACC Sixth Player of the Year honor. The ACC Sixth Player of the Year accolade is nominated and selected by a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches among players that started fewer than 33% of their team’s games.

Thomas, the ACC’s leading scorer, averaged 17.0 points per game and 17.7 points per conference game. Her 8.5 rebounds per ACC game are fifth-best in the league. She earned her fourth ACC Player of the Week honor Monday for a total of four weekly honors this season – more than any other player in the league.

Thomas, who was named ACC Rookie of the Year last season, has scored in double figures in 25 of 28 games this season with eight double-doubles. The Terrapins won four straight to end the regular season. In that four-game span, Thomas averaged 17.0 points, 13.3 rebounds and four assists per game.

Hawkins, a junior forward, leads the nation with her field goal percentage of 64.4 and is the league’s best offensive rebounder with 4.7 per contest. She is No. 9 in the ACC in scoring with 14.0 points per league game and second in overall rebounding with 9.5 a contest.

Mincy proved to be one of the league’s best shooters with her three-point field goal percentage of .390, which was good for No. 2 in the conference. She finished 11th in the league in scoring with 13.4 points per game and seventh with her free throw percentage of 82 percent. Mincy was easily one of the ACC’s most improved players, after she averaged 4.9 points per game as a freshman, to 13.4 points per contest this year as a sophomore.

Kizer ranks 21st in the league with 11.6 points on 46.4% shooting this season after only starting one of the Terrapins’ 26 games. She added 5.8 rebounds per game, fourth-most on the Maryland roster.

A senior from Woodbridge, Va., Kizer posted three double-doubles and had eight consecutive games with double-figure points during conference play. She recorded 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds, including the 900th of her career, against No. 6 Miami in mid-February.

The Terrapins (25-4, 11-4 ACC) will open play in the 35th Annual ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament Friday evening at approximately 8 p.m. as the No. 3 seed. They will play either sixth-seeded Virginia or 11th-seeded Boston College, depending on Thursday’s result.

All eight games on Thursday and Friday will be broadcast on the league’s regional sports network (RSN-Comcast SportsNet/Comcast SportsNet PLUS in Baltimore). The entire tournament can also be seen on ESPN3.

For more information, visit the official site of the 2012 ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament at www.theACC.com/SheCanPlay. Fans can also follow the upcoming Tournament games on Twitter at @ACCwbb.

Maryland is ranked No. 6 in both the latest Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Division I Top 25 Coaches’ polls.

All-ACC First Team
Chelsea Gray, Duke
Shenise Johnson, Miami
Alyssa Thomas, Maryland
Elizabeth Williams, Duke
Riquna Williams, Miami

All-ACC Second Team
Sasha Goodlett, Georgia Tech
Tianna Hawkins, Maryland
Tyaunna Marshall, Georgia Tech
Ariana Moorer, Virginia
Chay Shegog, North Carolina

All-ACC Third Team
Cierra Bravard, Florida State
Bonae Holston, NC State
Natasha Howard, Florida State
Haley Peters, Duke
Stefanie Yderstrom, Miami

All-ACC Honorable Mention (More than 15 points)
Laura Broomfield, North Carolina; Lakevia Boykin, Wake Forest; Ataira Franklin, Virginia; Marissa Kastanek, NC State; Lynetta Kizer, Maryland; Laurin Mincy, Maryland

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Ravens’ 2012 offensive line may not look as different as first thought

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Ravens’ 2012 offensive line may not look as different as first thought

Posted on 27 February 2012 by Luke Jones

At the end-of-season press conference a few weeks ago, it looked like the Ravens’ offensive line would undergo significant changes in 2012.

That doesn’t appear to be a foregone conclusion anymore.

With general manager Ozzie Newsome expressing a more positive outlook on free-agent Pro Bowl guard Ben Grubbs on Friday and veteran center Matt Birk intending to come back for a 15th NFL season, the Ravens could ultimately field the same starting offensive line when it kicks off the 2012 season in September. Before that can happen, however, Newsome and the front office must make difficult decisions regarding each player.

Considered all but a foregone conclusion that Grubbs would depart via free agency when speaking about the 2007 first-round pick’s future a few weeks ago, Newsome and coach John Harbaugh revealed in Indianapolis that the Ravens have had contract discussions with Grubbs’ agent Pat Dye. The Ravens must still decide whether they can award another hefty contract to an interior lineman after signing Pro Bowl guard Marshal Yanda to a five-year, $32.5 million contract, a deal that would almost certainly need to be surpassed to keep Grubbs in Baltiimore.

Widely regarded as the Ravens’ best offensive lineman, Grubbs will be difficult to keep should he hit the open market on March 13, but the comments made by Newsome and Harbaugh suggest they may have enough salary cap room to keep the 2011 Pro Bowl selection. At the very least, the remarks served as a volley to Grubbs and Dye to show how serious they are about trying to reach an agreement before the start of free agency.

Meanwhile, the Ravens have different factors to weigh in deciding whether to re-sign Birk, who will be 36 years old next season. When asked about Birk on Friday before his agent Joe Linta revealed his client’s intentions to play again in 2012, Newsome was non-committal and previously said during the season-ending press conference the Ravens would add another center to the roster regardless of what happened with either Birk or fellow veteran Andre Gurode.

Working out a short-term contract for Birk that makes sense for both sides shouldn’t be an issue, but the veteran will want to know what the Ravens envision for his role next season. A cerebral player and a great teammate, Birk would be the ideal mentor for a potential draft pick such as Wisconsin’s Peter Konz, but he may not be as receptive should the Ravens ask him to be a reserve.

Speaking of Konz or a player of similar ability, he would be a valuable pick at the end of the first round if the Ravens elect to sign Birk but are unable to retain Grubb’s services. Considered physical enough to play guard in addition to center at the professional level, Konz could spend a season at left guard while learning from Birk at the center position before taking over the position full-time in 2013.

Regardless of what they ultimately decide with Grubbs and Birk, the Ravens will look to address the offensive line in April’s draft, especially when factoring in aging left tackle Bryant McKinnie and his contract that expires next season. Even if the Ravens decide against taking a guard or center in the early rounds, a talented but green left tackle such as Ohio State’s Mike Adams may be available at the end of the first round for Newsome and the front office to strongly consider.

Hill intriguing

One of the most pleasant surprises of the NFL Combine this weekend in Indianapolis was Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill, who joined WNST.net’s Glenn Clark last Friday, before showing impressive athleticism over the weekend.

Playing in Paul Johnson’s run-oriented triple-option offense, Hill’s stats (28 receptions and five touchdowns in 2011) don’t exactly scream premium talent, but his 6-foot-4, 215-pound frame and 4.36-second 40 time turned more than a few heads in Indianapolis. Though teams should proceed with caution while trying to learn more about Hill’s ability as a receiver other than the limited passing tree he ran with the Yellow Jackets, he certainly looks like the prototype the Ravens could use as a red-zone target as well as another speedy option to complement Torrey Smith.

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Maryland Announces 2012 Football Schedule

Posted on 27 February 2012 by WNST Staff

Terps will play six home games in 2012, including matchups with Florida State, Georgia Tech and Connecticut

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The 2012 Maryland football schedule, which includes league home games against Florida State and Georgia Tech, and a nonconference tilt with Connecticut, was announced jointly Monday by the Atlantic Coast Conference and the University.

Maryland will open 2012 season, the second under head coach Randy Edsall, on Saturday, Sept. 1 with a game against William & Mary, the first of six home contests.

The Terps, who face eight bowl teams from last year, will not play consecutive road or home games throughout 2012.

After a road trip to Temple on Sept. 8, the Terps return home on Sept. 15 to face Connecticut, where Edsall spent 12 years as head coach.

The Terps will face interstate rival West Virginia on Sept. 22 in Morgantown. Maryland and WVU will be facing each other for the third straight year after taking two years off in the series.

Maryland will enjoy a bye (Sept. 29) before entering conference play with a home game against Wake Forest (Oct. 6).

The Terps will play at border rival Virginia on Oct. 13 before facing a pair of Atlantic Division foes in NC State (Oct. 20 at home) and Boston College (Oct. 27 on the road).

Georgia Tech then visits College Park for the first time since 2007 on Nov. 3 and a road game against defending Atlantic Division champion Clemson follows on Nov. 10.

The Terrapins will face Florida State on Nov. 17, the final home contest for its senior class, before closing out the regular season at North Carolina on Nov. 26. The Terps and Tar Heels have not faced each other since 2008.

Game times will be announced at a later date. League home games are selected on a 12-day option by ESPN or the ACC Network. During the season, ESPN can choose certain ACC games on a six-day window. Times for early-season nonconference home games are announced in the summer.

Season tickets are now available for purchase and renewal.  A variety of season ticket options are available starting as low as $114. There are also family 4-packs available for $420 and season-ticket holders have the ability to spread their cost over six monthly installments.

Fans can purchase tickets by going to www.umterps.com or by calling the Terrapin Ticket Office at (301) 314-7070 or 1-800-IMA-TERP. Single-game tickets will be available at a later date.

2012 Schedule

Sept. 1    William & Mary

Sept. 8    @ Temple

Sept. 15   Connecticut

Sept. 22   @ West Virginia

Sept. 29   Open

Oct. 6      Wake Forest

Oct. 13    @ Virginia

Oct. 20    NC State

Oct. 27    @ Boston College

Nov. 3     Georgia Tech

Nov. 10    @ Clemson

Nov. 17    Florida State

Nov. 24    @ North Carolina

Home games in bold and played at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium; Times are TBA

Schedule Notes:

  • Nine bowl teams from last year appear on Maryland’s 2012 schedule: West Virginia (Discover Orange Bowl), Temple (Gilden New Mexico Bowl), Wake Forest (Franklin American Mortgage Music City), Virginia (Chick-fil-A Bowl), NC State (Belk Bowl), Georgia Tech (Hyundai Sun Bowl), Clemson (Discover Orange Bowl), Florida State (Champs Sports Bowl) and North Carolina (AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl).
  • Maryland and William & Mary will be meeting for the fifth time. The series is even at 2-all. The last meeting occurred in 2006 with the Terps posting a 27-14 victory in College Park. The teams hadn’t met since 1946.
  • Maryland leads the all-time series with Temple, 6-1. The Owls won their first game in the series last season, downing the Terps, 38-7.
  • Maryland and West Virginia are playing for the third straight season after taking two years off in the series. The two schools met annually from 1980 to 2007. The Mountaineers hold a 25-21-2 advantage in a series that dates back to 1919.
  • Connecticut and Maryland will be meeting for the just the second time. The Terps downed the Huskies, 34-0, in 1946. Randy Edsall was the head coach at UConn from 1999-2010.
  • Maryland owns a 42-17-1 advantage in the series against Wake Forest, including victories in nine of the last 13. The Terps have won five of the last six in College Park.
  • The Terps lead the all-time series with Virginia, 42-32-2. Maryland has won two of the last three in Charlottesville.
  • The all-time series with NC State is tied, 32-32-4. The Terps have won eight of the last 12 in the series.
  • Boston College leads the all-time series 6-3. Maryland and Boston College met for the first time in 21 years in Massachusetts in 2006 with the Eagles winning, 38-16 (in Chestnut Hill). Maryland’s 42-35 home victory in 2007 over the eighth-ranked Eagles snapped a three-game BC winning streak in the series. Maryland won the last time it visited Chestnut Hill (2010), its first victory in three trips.
  • Georgia Tech leads the series with the Terps, 14-6, having won four of the last five meetings. Five of the last seven games have been decided by five points or less.
  • Clemson holds a 32-26-2 advantage over Maryland in the series, but the Terps have won six of the last 11.
  • Florida State has a 20-2 edge in the all-time series, but both Maryland wins have come at home in the last eight meetings.

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