Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (12-8, 1-4 ACC) @ Maryland Terrapins (12-7, 2-3 ACC)
When: Saturday, January 28 @ 2:30 p.m.
TV: ACC Network (Tim Brantt and Mike Gminski)
Where: Comcast Center (17,950), College Park, MD
The Opponent: Fresh off another excruciatingly close loss to a big-name non-conference foe, the Hokies jump back into league play with a trip to Maryland. The Terps are under the direction of first-year head coach Mark Turgeon, who came to UMD after four years (and four NCAA Appearances) at Texas A&M.
Maryland was a rather large question mark in that people don’t really know what to expect after the resignation of Gary Williams after last season. And in some cases, they really are still an unknown. This game can be viewed almost as another non-conference game because the Hokies have never faced a Mark Turgeon-run team. This won’t be the same Maryland team as the last 20 years or so.
This year’s edition of the Terps are currently on a three-game losing streak to Florida State, Temple, and Duke and are 2-3 overall in the conference. This team has shown potential (78-71 win over Notre Dame), but has had some questionable losses (89-63 to Iona). The Terps are rather young, with 10 of the 15 players on their roster being freshmen or sophomores.
Here’s a look at their projected starting lineup:
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Yr. | PPG | RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Sean Mosley | G | 6-4 | Sr. | 10.0 | 5.3 |
| 12 | Terrell Stoglin | G | 6-2 | So. | 20.9 | 2.2 (APG) |
| 21 | Pe’Shon Howard | G | 6-3 | So. | 6.9 | 3.9 (APG) |
| 35 | James Padgett | F | 6-8 | Jr. | 9.1 | 6.1 |
| 25 | Alex Len | C | 7-1 | R-Fr. | 7.1 | 5.3 |
The strength of this Maryland team is obviously in their backcourt. Terrell Stoglin leads the ACC in scoring at nearly 21ppg, and already has 13 games of 20 points or more, including to 30+ point performances. Stoglin dropped 25 in Blacksburg last year and has become a much more polished shooter. This season, he’s added the 3-pointer to his game, and is connecting on 40 percent of his attempts. The other half of the backcourt tandem is veteran Sean Mosley. His career has been marked by inconsistencies, sometimes he’ll score 20, other games he’ll score 2. You never know what to expect.
Inside, redshirt freshman Alex Len is a player the Terps have been high on. Len had to wait until the end of the fall semester to start, but he’s average 7ppg since joining the team. However, he injured his ankle recently, missed the Temple game and played sparingly against Duke. His status is a big question mark for the Terps. His presence along could dictate how Maryland runs its offense, seeing as how the Hokies have no one that could guard him effectively. If he can’t go, or isn’t full strength, expect to see 6-9 freshman Ashton Pankey take his spot.
Elsewhere, the Terps don’t offer much. James Padgett and Pe’Shon Howard combine for 16 points per contest, but both, especially Howard, are used for defensive purposes. Meanwhile, Nick Faust (6-6, FR) is the Terps’ edition of Dorian Finney-Smith. They were expecting big things from their top recruit, but he’s struggled to average just 7ppg in league play.
The key for Tech, as it always is nowadays, is to get off to a solid start. Yes, the Hokies scored 68 points on Wednesday, but 65 of them came in the final 30 minutes, as opposed to just 3 in the first time. Imagine if the productivity was sustainable for 40 minutes. Mark Turgeon’s squad battles night in and night out, and what they don’t have in terms of skill yet, they make up for in effort. This game has the making’s of another close game, but this time I have a slightly positive feeling. Tech needs this one with Duke coming to town next week.
Prediction: Virginia Tech 65, Maryland 61
