Kansas: A bitter sweet draw for Mark Turgeon as he will face his alma mater for the first time as the Terps' signal caller. The Jayhawks will be the toughest opponent the Terps have faced this tournament, and maybe all season, but the Terps will be Kansas's biggest challenge so far in the tournament as well. It could prove to be a high flying game, and the Terps need to be on to keep pace.
The Bad News: Maybe you haven't heard, but Kansas is the top ranked team in the tournament and for good reason. The Jayhawks like to play a patented Big 12 brand of basketball that involves taking and giving up a lot of shots. The problem for the Terps is that they make a lot of the ones that they take and they defend a lot of the ones that they give up. Kansas's regular season FG% was fifth in the nation at 49.6%, and they only gave up 39.7% to opponents. Couple those numbers with a high assist rate, a savvy senior leader in Perry Ellis, and an 82 point per game average and you get a recipe for disaster for the Terps. The Terps will be forced to move on defense against a team that can draw their forwards out of the paint with Ellis's range as a shooter, and with Maryland giving up a ton of offensive rebounds against Hawaii the Jawhawks should be licking their chops at the prospect of second chance points. Kansas's quantity approach to offensive execution could lead to a massive point differential if Maryland is soft again underneath, and if they allow Kansas's defensive style to get to them. Kansas takes intensity to the defensive end, where they are relentless on the ball defenders and like to clog the passing lanes. The Terps do not do well against high pressure defensive teams, and Maryland will be susceptible to quick point swings if they are their normal turnover prone selves. But as stated above the Terps present a unique challenge to Bill Self and the Jayhawks that they have not faced yet in this tournament.
The Good News: Kansas's flaws play right into Maryland's style of play. The Terps shot 77% from the free throw line during the regular season, and while they strayed away from getting to the line late in the season they got back there with a vengeance in the first two rounds. Kansas is all too eager to put their opponents on the charity stripe as their opponents average 21 free throws per game. If Maryland can fill that average it may slow the game down enough for Kansas to get out of rhythm, and if the Terps can hit on their season average it may offset Kansas's ability to stymie Maryland's field goal accuracy. While Kansas's defense is in your face, their losses have come from teams that are able to match their energy level. Melo can get into the lane and distribute with the best of them, and the Terps proved that they can keep pace in a track meet with their game against UNC. Granted the Terps lost that game, but hopefully they have learned something going through the Big 10 schedule. Finally, the Terps's size in the front court will give the Jayhawks fits. Carter and Layman can provide their own brand of inside/outside game to counter balance Ellis, and they both should be looking to drive the lane and draw contact. Stone needs to prove his worth on the rebounding end, and Damonte Dodd will prove to be a tough defensive mathcup for Ellis. Kansas has yet to see a team like this in the tournament, and if the Terps can start to hit on threes it could be an interesting day in Louisville.
Maryland wins if they can shoot over 25% from three, get 20 or more free throw attempts, and limit the Jayhawks to under 55 field goal attempts. Maryland loses if they allow Kansas to be +10 or better in the rebounding margin, they have over 13 turnovers, and they allow Kansas to shoot over 20% from three. Here's hoping the Terps are able to do the latter and stay in Kentucky for two more days.
The Bad News: Maybe you haven't heard, but Kansas is the top ranked team in the tournament and for good reason. The Jayhawks like to play a patented Big 12 brand of basketball that involves taking and giving up a lot of shots. The problem for the Terps is that they make a lot of the ones that they take and they defend a lot of the ones that they give up. Kansas's regular season FG% was fifth in the nation at 49.6%, and they only gave up 39.7% to opponents. Couple those numbers with a high assist rate, a savvy senior leader in Perry Ellis, and an 82 point per game average and you get a recipe for disaster for the Terps. The Terps will be forced to move on defense against a team that can draw their forwards out of the paint with Ellis's range as a shooter, and with Maryland giving up a ton of offensive rebounds against Hawaii the Jawhawks should be licking their chops at the prospect of second chance points. Kansas's quantity approach to offensive execution could lead to a massive point differential if Maryland is soft again underneath, and if they allow Kansas's defensive style to get to them. Kansas takes intensity to the defensive end, where they are relentless on the ball defenders and like to clog the passing lanes. The Terps do not do well against high pressure defensive teams, and Maryland will be susceptible to quick point swings if they are their normal turnover prone selves. But as stated above the Terps present a unique challenge to Bill Self and the Jayhawks that they have not faced yet in this tournament.
The Good News: Kansas's flaws play right into Maryland's style of play. The Terps shot 77% from the free throw line during the regular season, and while they strayed away from getting to the line late in the season they got back there with a vengeance in the first two rounds. Kansas is all too eager to put their opponents on the charity stripe as their opponents average 21 free throws per game. If Maryland can fill that average it may slow the game down enough for Kansas to get out of rhythm, and if the Terps can hit on their season average it may offset Kansas's ability to stymie Maryland's field goal accuracy. While Kansas's defense is in your face, their losses have come from teams that are able to match their energy level. Melo can get into the lane and distribute with the best of them, and the Terps proved that they can keep pace in a track meet with their game against UNC. Granted the Terps lost that game, but hopefully they have learned something going through the Big 10 schedule. Finally, the Terps's size in the front court will give the Jayhawks fits. Carter and Layman can provide their own brand of inside/outside game to counter balance Ellis, and they both should be looking to drive the lane and draw contact. Stone needs to prove his worth on the rebounding end, and Damonte Dodd will prove to be a tough defensive mathcup for Ellis. Kansas has yet to see a team like this in the tournament, and if the Terps can start to hit on threes it could be an interesting day in Louisville.
Maryland wins if they can shoot over 25% from three, get 20 or more free throw attempts, and limit the Jayhawks to under 55 field goal attempts. Maryland loses if they allow Kansas to be +10 or better in the rebounding margin, they have over 13 turnovers, and they allow Kansas to shoot over 20% from three. Here's hoping the Terps are able to do the latter and stay in Kentucky for two more days.
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