I can't stress this point enough. And although I posses a slight bias as a UMD grad student, I follow UMD basketball on a daily basis and know a good bit of insider info when it comes to Maryland basketball.
After leading a Terps team with 6+ walkons last year to a 17-15 record, Maryland added Graduate Transfer Logan Aronholt (14+ppg at Albany) and 4 ESPN top 100 Freshman who will each see 15+ minutes tonight guaranteed, especially after 2 of them led the team in scoring and rebounding during last weeks exhibition.
Kentucky starts 3-4 Freshman and is only 7 deep through their rotation. Maryland starts 0 freshman, with 4 top 100 freshman coming off the bench at 4 different positions. Terps rotation is 10 deep, with the best player on our team - Xavier transfer A-10 rookie selection Dez Wells eligible to play tonight after an emotional favorable ruling coming 48 hours ago when the NCAA ruled him eligible after false sexual assault charges which even a grand judge threw out. For this and other reasons, the Terps will be playing with a heavy chip on their shoulder after being told by the Harrison twins last month that Maryland is not "a place to win" when they picked UK over UMD. This game means a lot more than just a win over the defending National Champs, it means for the first time since their share of 2009-10 ACC championship that the Terps are back and virtually a LOCK for the tournament.
The Terps Junior pg Howard will harass Ryan Harrow at the point knowing the offense lives and dies within his small frame, not to mention rookie PG Seth Allen who recorded 5 steals in 20 minutes of work during the Terps exibition when he had a team high 17 points. Terps lottery pick 7'1 center Alex Len is 25 pounds heavier this year with a polished jump shot and holds a big advantage over Noel experience and size wise. Sophmore Nick Faust returns for the Terps after finishing the season averaging 14+ppg over his final 10 games, and is more than capable of defending Goodwin / Harrow with another size advantage. UK may get the overall nod in raw talent as the Terps lone senior Padgett has left a lot to be desired, but anyone who has done their HW on this game knows the line should be about UK -5.5 which makes the Maryland moneyline a huge value at 400+.
Thoughts? Intelligent counter arguments?
After leading a Terps team with 6+ walkons last year to a 17-15 record, Maryland added Graduate Transfer Logan Aronholt (14+ppg at Albany) and 4 ESPN top 100 Freshman who will each see 15+ minutes tonight guaranteed, especially after 2 of them led the team in scoring and rebounding during last weeks exhibition.
Kentucky starts 3-4 Freshman and is only 7 deep through their rotation. Maryland starts 0 freshman, with 4 top 100 freshman coming off the bench at 4 different positions. Terps rotation is 10 deep, with the best player on our team - Xavier transfer A-10 rookie selection Dez Wells eligible to play tonight after an emotional favorable ruling coming 48 hours ago when the NCAA ruled him eligible after false sexual assault charges which even a grand judge threw out. For this and other reasons, the Terps will be playing with a heavy chip on their shoulder after being told by the Harrison twins last month that Maryland is not "a place to win" when they picked UK over UMD. This game means a lot more than just a win over the defending National Champs, it means for the first time since their share of 2009-10 ACC championship that the Terps are back and virtually a LOCK for the tournament.
The Terps Junior pg Howard will harass Ryan Harrow at the point knowing the offense lives and dies within his small frame, not to mention rookie PG Seth Allen who recorded 5 steals in 20 minutes of work during the Terps exibition when he had a team high 17 points. Terps lottery pick 7'1 center Alex Len is 25 pounds heavier this year with a polished jump shot and holds a big advantage over Noel experience and size wise. Sophmore Nick Faust returns for the Terps after finishing the season averaging 14+ppg over his final 10 games, and is more than capable of defending Goodwin / Harrow with another size advantage. UK may get the overall nod in raw talent as the Terps lone senior Padgett has left a lot to be desired, but anyone who has done their HW on this game knows the line should be about UK -5.5 which makes the Maryland moneyline a huge value at 400+.
Thoughts? Intelligent counter arguments?
