Ugly, ugly, ugly game for Maryland's men's basketball team last night at the Comcast Center. (How many uglys was that? I think it sets a new personal record.) William & Mary beat the Terps decisively in an 83-77 win that wasn't nearly as close as the final score indicated.
For the first time in recent memory, I was praying for the cable to go out.
This is what happens in today's college game when you can't make 3-pointers. Maryland was just 4-for-25 shooting threes and it killed them. So did the Tribe's offense, which has been likened to the patient, weave-and-backdoor-cuts Princeton offense of old. Except W&M has much better athletes than Pete Carril ever had at Princeton.
Sure, no question the Tribe is a legitimate mid-major power. The Colonial Athletic Conference team knocked off Richmond 78-71 in mid-November and followed that up with a 78-68 victory over Wake Forest -- at Wake -- nine days later.
But Maryland could get nothing going. The Terps defense was awful and the offense was totally out of sync -- with senior guard Greivis Vasquez still forcing things. And the Terps were out-hustled all over the court by the Tribe.
On the sidelines, Gary Williams looked like he was about to have an aneurysm at any moment. He had his usual just-out-of-the-sauna look for the post-game press conference, but appeared more subdued and beaten-down than normal.
This team is going to test him. The Terps better find someone who can shoot threes or it'll be a long, long season.
And Gary's head might explode.
