Maryland Terrapins vs. Clemson Tigers Preview
By Cory Forsyth
Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Maryland travels to Clemson for their final ACC regular season road trip.
Teams: Maryland Terrapins (15-13, 7-8 ACC) vs. Clemson Tigers (17-10, 8-7 ACC)
Arena: Littlejohn Coliseum | Clemson, SC
Tip-Off: Sunday, March 2 | 1PM
Tune-In: ACCN, ESPN3, Terrapin Sports Radio Network, Sirius 119/XM 191
As the regular season is coming to an end, Maryland finds themselves going up against Clemson in their final ACC road game which is a must-win for the Terps as their NCAA tournament hopes hang on by a thread.
The Tigers will look to cut that thread by locking the Terps down with one of the nation’s best defenses, ranking second in the country in points allowed (56.2/g).
Once again, Maryland is coming off of a heart-breaking loss to a ranked team in a season where it seems like they can not catch a break.
Maryland’s play as of late against teams like Duke and Syracuse shows that they can play and contend with the nation’s top teams, but they need to find a way to finish and get wins with only three games left in the regular season.
Clemson started out 6-3 in the ACC but have only managed to win 4 out of their last 6 games in the conference. Maryland has beaten Clemson in every game since Coach Mark Turgeon took over in 2011.
Coach Turgeon will give the Terps an advantage in their preparation, but the players must go out and take care of business against their ACC foe.
Clemson’s junior forward, K.J. McDaniels is the Tigers go-to player. McDaniels leads the team in points (16.8/g), rebounds (6.9/g), and leads the ACC in blocks with 2.78 per game.
Maryland’s front court must come out strong and play smart defense to slow down McDaniels and force other Tigers try to make plays.
Offensively, Maryland averages 71.2 points while Clemson only averages 62.3. The Terps must rebound and get out in transition to control the pace of the game.
Dez Wells will be a huge factor with his ability to drive the ball to the hoop and finish in transition. Wells comes into this game averaging 14.8 ppg and must continue to be a scoring leader if Maryland wants to get the win.
Outside of Wells, the Terps need wing-men Jake Layman and Evan Smotryz to play smart and use their length and outside scoring ability to help spread out Clemson’s defense.
History will be made today in Littlejohn Coliseum. Will the Terps be on the right side of history or will the ACC get the last laugh in Maryland’s last road game in the conference?
Let us know your thoughts on the Terps season and if you believe they have any chance of making the postseason.
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