The other day I wrote on the Movie Ending for the Terrapin Men’s Basketball team. How the season was like a movie that ends when the Turtles got into the tournament. I continued how the sequel is never as good as the original.
Well, maybe I was wrong.
This is not a case of the movie not ending, it is more of a situation of repriseing one’s role. In 1994 Maryland season, the Terps made the NCAA tournament as a ten seed. They beat St Louis ( team name Billikens), the favored #7 seed. The next game was against the #2 seed UMass. UMass had a great season in the A10, a not so highly regarded conference. But the Minutemen had a gaudy record. Their coach was John Callipari and the star was Marcus Camby.
Maryland won that game as Mario Lucas, a shooting power forward, had a solid game to add to the heroics of Duane Simpkins, Johnny Rhodes and the effervescent Joe Smith. Maryland lost to Michigan in Dallas in the Sweet 16. UMass finally got their act together to reach the Final Four in 1996 (Meadowlands in New Jersey).
Enough with the history lesson.
How can the Terps beat Memphis?
I have written before that I think Memphis is “All Hat and No Cattle”. That means that they look like a great basketball team, but don’t play like one. I question their outside shooting. I also don’t think, as a group, that they have faced any adversity. Not enough close games.
Just one man’s opinion, but I believe that they will look at the Terps and think, “these dudes are too small and slow to be for real”. You see, Maryland does not pass the “airport test”. If you see them walk through the airport, they look like a low mid-major. When the tallest guy you have is your point guard, you may be in trouble.
What you can not see is the team work and desire that Gay Williams teams play with. To cut to the chase, I see the Terps packing in the “diamond” zoneand daring the Tigers to win the game with jump shots. If the ball goes in, the Terps go home.
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