ACC Tournament Quarterfinal – Terrapins vs Tar Heels
The Maryland Terrapins program has fallen lately, and only an unlikely run through the conference tournament will extend their season.
Maryland (17-14)vs. #4 North Carolina Tar Heels (27-4)
Friday March 9
Phillips Arena – Atlanta, GA
12:00PM
Moneyline: No money line currently listed.
Spread: Tar Heels -15.5
O/U: No line currently listed.
Maryland
Maryland had little trouble beating on an even more downtrodden Wake Forest program 82-60 in the conference opener. Their reward, a quarterfinal matchup with North Carolina, a team they lost to by 24 points in the second last game of the regular season. Odds are their season ends now.
Maryland’s only chance is to get another great game from high scoring guard Terrence Stoglin. Stoglin had 25 points against Wake but was totally held in check the last time the Terps played the Tar Heels. He shot 4 for 16 and when he doesn’t play well it is hard for this team to compete against top competition. They will need center Alex Len and forward James Padgett to also play big, literally. If the Terps don’t rebound the ball well this game will be over quickly. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
North Carolina
It wasn’t the epic year some had predicted, but the North Carolina Tar Heels finished the regular season at the top of the ACC standings, ranked in the top 5 and with only 4 total losses. On Saturday night they avenged their home loss to Duke by beating the Blue Devils rather easily on their home floor. In terms of pro talent, perhaps only Kentucky is loaded with more NBA talent than UNC. But championships are won with heart too and that is where this team sometimes falls short.
Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Kendall Marshall. Look up any mock draft for next year and you can see all of their names, most of them in the lottery. This team is packed with talent and truthfully it is all very complementary to each other. The one drawback you see is that even though Marshall is a top assist guy he is not a great leader. When things don’t come easily this team struggles to scrap for victories.
P.S. Coach Roy Williams is notorious for not caring about the league tourney – buyer beware.
Spread Pick: Terrapins
O/U Pick
Score Prediction: North Carolina 81 – Maryland 71
