null
|
|
Tuesday, March 27
Maryland turned desperation into victory
By Ed Graney
Special to ESPN.com
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- In the end, after a fourth game against Duke had been guaranteed and Gary Williams had booked a plane ticket to Camelot and Maryland's basketball team had finally scaled that final hurdle between very good and Final Four quality, one thing stood out:
"We were desperate to do this," Lonny Baxter said. "Desperate."
It works sometimes, playing as if your life depends on a scoreboard.
|  | | Juan Dixon had 17 points to help lead Maryland into the Final Four. |
Baxter and his teammates translated their passion into effort and execution, beating top-seeded Stanford 87-73 in the West Regional final at the Arrowhead Pond.
Maryland makes its first Final Four appearance when it meets ACC rival Duke in one national semifinal on Saturday in Minneapolis.
"We're a team that could have gone either way a month ago," Maryland senior center Mike Mardesich said. "We could have folded. People were talking about coach (Gary Williams') job status and if we had enough to make it here. We came together and decided to play like we knew were are capable of.
"We decided to make our statement on the floor."
It was an impressive one.
A near-flawless one.
How the West was won: In a span of 48 hours, Maryland proved it could succeed against much differing styles, first by defeating Georgetown by 10 and then by toppling Stanford.
No one looks smooth playing Georgetown, which traps and chases and scrambles around, anything to throw off your timing. But the Terrapins are so deep and athletic, offensive runs are expected more than Williams working up a major sweat. They came, the Terrapins zoned the Hoyas into 31 percent shooting and Williams had his first Elite Eight appearance.
Stanford (31-3) was another story, and yet 34 games into the season, someone finally matched up with the Cardinal better than it with them.
"We could not stop them from scoring," Stanford sophomore wing Casey Jacobsen said. "We got too far behind too good a team. We never got into a groove. We never got confident. There you have it."
Stanford had been playing small for some time due to injured big men Justin Davis and Curtis Borchardt. It worked against Cincinnati in a Sweet 16 win on Thursday, when the Bearcats offered all-region guard Kenny Satterfield and not much else. It didn't work in the final.
Maryland (25-10) ran five post players that stand between 6-foot-8 and 7-feet in and out from the opening tip, quickly getting Stanford twins Jason and Jarron Collins in foul trouble.
Stanford's counter: Energetic freshman Teyo Johnson, all 6-6 of him.
"We've had some trouble with teams that like to mix it up inside," Stanford coach Mike Montgomery said. "It's tough having to go small and still compete in there. It's tough to stay out of foul trouble when you're constantly battling a new, fresh big guy."
It's tough to beat Maryland when Baxter is playing as he did. The junior forward was named the region's most outstanding player after scoring 50 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in two wins here. It's almost impossible to beat the Terrapins when they shoot 58 percent and make 9-of-13 three-pointers, which they did against Stanford.
"They outplayed us the entire game," Stanford point guard Michael McDonald said. "We always thought if we had at least 90 percent of our 'A' game, no one in the nation could beat us. We had 75 percent in this game and they were at 100 percent."
There will be no shortage of confidence in Maryland players this week. The Terrapins have lost two of three meetings to Duke, but the victory came in Cameron Indoor and a home overtime loss saw Williams' team lead by 10 with under a minute left in regulation.
The third encounter: A two-point thriller in the conference tournament.
"We know them and they know us," Maryland junior guard Juan Dixon said. "There are no secrets. It's going to be a great game. But we're not satisfied just getting there. We want to win the national championship."
That would mean more nets to cut down. Williams, the 12-year coach who no longer must answer questions about why such an established program can't reach college basketball's final weekend, held a pair of scissors after this regional final.
The last time he snipped such twine was 1970, his first year as a head coach.
"It was at Woodrow Wilson High in (Camden, N.J.) for the state title," Williams said. "We beat East Orange, who had won 32 straight coming in. We were 26-0. It was a great win."
So was this.
A victory of skill and, yes, desperation.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
|  |
|
|
