The Terps miss Pe'Shon Howard.
Badly.
Without a true point guard, and Terrell Stoglin getting the majority of minutes at the point, Maryland's offense is mostly Stoglin launching questionable shots and the Terps' big guys -- and swingman Sean Mosley -- getting on the boards.
New coach Mark Turgeon benched Stoglin at the start of Sunday night's game against UNC-Wilmington, but quickly realized that he needed somebody running the offense after the Terps had an offensive foul, a questionable long jumper by freshman Nick Faust and a turnover.
Stoglin took his share of bad shots, but he did provide much of Maryland's first half offense. He finished the half with 14 points on 4 of 8 shooting (and 6 of 7 from the free throw line) and the Terps, who led by as many as eight midway through the first half, were up five (32-27) at halftime.
Stoglin is better going to the basket, especially agains a team that can't match his quickness. The Seahawks settled into a zone for much of the half, and will likely do the same until the Terps show they can hit outside shots.
Maryland didn't hit a shot outside the paint untl a little more than three minutes were left in the half, and shot 0-for-5 from 3-point range.
What killed Maryland -- or more precisely who killed Maryland -- was the Terps' soft perimeter defense. Adam Smith, a wiry freshman guard for UNC-Wilmington (one of seven freshmen for Buzz Peterson's Seahawks) scorched the Terps for 16 first-half points, including 4 of 6 on threes.
The Terps are going to have to find an answer for Smith if they are to not ruin Turgeon's debut. You would think Nick Faust would be a good matchup given his length, but the freshman guard from Baltimore (City) is still struggling with a stamina and shot selection. He was 0 for 2 in the half and finished with two points.