MD-FSU Recap

So I went to the Maryland-FSU basketball game and Maryland won in a close game, just as I had predicted. It didn't have to be that close, but we let FSU back into the game at the end. I stood out in my red MD hoodie in a sea of white "Tobacco Free Florida" t-shirts in lieu of the FSU whiteout. It was a fun game to go to and now I've been to more Maryland basketball games than some Maryland students, which is shameful. This was an important win for Maryland because we don't have any signature wins yet, and our nonconference schedule hasn't helped us much. This game was important because we got a solid road ACC win, which are hard to come by. We're beating the teams we're supposed to beat, and we're losing to the teams we're supposed to lose to.

Some observations from the game:

• Jordan Williams is really stepping up his game. He's getting more involved in the offense and he's producing. Even when he picked up 3 quick fouls, he played hard and smart. We finally have a big man again (hopefully) who we can dump the ball into the post, and he'll get his own shot off without turning it over. I saw like 4 uncontested dunks from him.
• I love Landon. He's looking more and more like he could really play in the NBA.
• We still need to cut down on the turnovers and grab more rebounds. There were many plays when FSU got extra possessions because we turned it over or we couldn't rebound.
• Greivis gets selfish sometimes and that's been the case in other games as well. When our shots aren't falling, he sometimes tries to hard to do it himself and our offense is limited when that happens. We score most efficiently when the ball is moving and we get open shots for everybody.
• Greivis also got the loudest boos every time he touched the ball. There were some ignorant signs across the stadium that said "Deport Greivis" and "Mexican". It's funny to call someone an alien when the best player on your own team is Nigerian (Solomon Alabi). There was a Nigerian flag right next to the "Deport Greivis" sign. FSU definitely isn't the epitome of culture or diversity.
• Speaking of Greivis, I don't know why some of our "fans" vehemently hate him. He's the best player on our team right now and you hate him? That doesn't make sense to me. Maryland "fans" call him cocky and a douchebag. I'd expect that from other teams' fans, but not our own. He's a college student and he's having fun playing the sport he loves. What's wrong with that? I love when he does the shimmy shake. He's not doing it to spite the other team, he's doing it because he's having fun. Let the kid have his fun while he's still a kid. I don't like Lebron, but I enjoy it when he's taking pictures with his teammates and goofing off during the game because he's just enjoying the situation. Sports are supposed to be fun. We don't need to suck the athletes' enjoyment of it.
• Basketball at Comcast is a totally different atmosphere than at FSU. Generally speaking, Maryland fans are more passionate and knowledgeable about the game than FSU fans. All MD students stand throughout the entire game. At FSU, there are 2 sections of "hardcore" fans that stand the entire time. When the game was close at the end, then some people started standing. Before the game started, I heard some guys behind me asking where DeMercy was and even I knew that he left the team a few days before.
• Since FSU plays basketball off-campus, they sell beer at the game. But it costs $6.50.
• The girls FSU at more attractive than at MD. No offense, but a larger proportion of girls are attractive to me at FSU than at MD.
• I was on the Jumbotron for a few seconds. The guy in the row behind me was in some Verizon promotion during the game, so they put him up on the Jumbotron, but I was in the picture so I popped my Maryland hoodie a few times to let them know what's up.
• After the game ended, a fan threw the free shirts they were giving out at the ref in retaliation for the charge call at the end. The kid tried to run away up the stairs, but the cops eventually caught up to him and cuffed him. Idiot.
• Then I went to a bar with a few friends to celebrate the Maryland win. They $4 liquor pitchers which is a pretty good deal. At 1:14 AM, that was the first time all day someone said something bad to me about Maryland. He said something like "Maryland sucks" but I just smiled it off. I remember it was 1:14 because I looked at my phone to make sure I remembered.
  

I think the next few games should be a good barometer of how deep this team will advance. We have to take care of UNC because they are reeling and Roy Williams (who is great as a recruiter) totally sucks as a tactical coach. Then we face UVA who we always have trouble with even when they had Pete Gillen, especially the last game of the year when we need it. I read Pyon's post about Tony Bennett and he's done some good things with that team. That UVA game worries me the most so far. The Dook game on Saturday is semi-important but not really. If we beat them, we can start thinking about seeding and getting into the 6-9 range. If we don't, we weren't expected to, so it's not totally damaging.