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Friday, March 30
Too loose to lose?
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com
Maryland enters the Final Four as the loosest of team in Minneapolis. And why shouldn't the Terps be at ease? They weren't expected to be here, or at least, not when they saw their psyche destroyed in a meltdown against Duke.
That 10-point, last-minute fold in regulation led to a loss at Virginia, which eventually beget losses at Georgia Tech, at North Carolina and, gulp, at home to Florida State.
The Terps were supposed to be done. That was until Williams loosened up a bit. The players weren't tight anymore.
|  | | Juan Dixon must be on from outside for the Terps to be successful in Minneapolis. |
Maryland senior Terence Morris said last week in Anaheim that the Terps were more focused after the Florida State loss when Williams told the team it was up to them to change the course of their season. Junior guard Juan Dixon altered his approach to the season after the game. He sat alone in a weight room until 1 a.m., trying to determine what went terribly wrong. Nearly every night after that game, Dixon went into Cole Field House in the wee hours to shoot, making sure he was putting in the extra effort.
"The players turned it around," Williams said. "They just made up their minds that they were going to give it their best shot and I think the thing they really did after the Florida State game was that we have to do it ourselves – no team is just going to give up and let us win a game; we have to go and get them."
The Terps responded by ripping off wins over Wake Forest on the road, Oklahoma, at Duke and then crushed Virginia to end the ACC regular season. They are 5-1 since losing the 'Noles with the only loss to Duke (by two) in the ACC tournament semifinals.
The Maryland mood is loose, but determined. Williams has a bit of a swagger to his step and was quick to defend his players after the Virginia game, telling the media that they're faith in each other and hunger to right the season prevailed. Instead of being relieved about finally getting to the Elite Eight, Maryland seemed rather matter-of-fact in the locker room after last Thursday's win over Georgetown.
This is a team that definitely believes it can win the national title, and to some extent, because it has gone through adversity this season. But, as Williams said after beating Virginia, the Terps' adversity wasn't an injury.
The Terps simply weren't playing well. They had exceptional talent, national title-like talent and depth, but they weren't playing up to their potential. That was fixable and the Terps are now on line to make a run at the national title by beating their old nemesis in Duke. That would allow the Terps to come full circle after the crushing defeat to Duke at Cole Field House in late January.
"We were all devastated by that loss because you don't lose many games like that so it was tough to deal with," Williams said. "But we stayed together ... there was never a point – even before we finally won again – that we split. We were never out of it, never lost sight of the of the fact that we never split, even in all of that."
Turning point: Losing to Florida State at home. That was the ultimate wakeup call for the Terps. Williams backed off the players and the looser approach seemed to work. Juan Dixon and Co. got more committed and they've only lost once since – to Duke in the ACC tournament semifinals.
Bread 'N Butter: Dixon shooting 3s or pulling up for the transitional mid-range jumper; getting the ball in the low-post to Lonny Baxter. If this inside-out combination is clicking then the Terps' have a legit shot to beat any of the three teams in Minneapolis.
Red flag: It's not Terence Morris shooting poorly. The Terps have won with Morris pulling an offensive no-show. But they've got to have Dixon be on from the perimeter and they can't give up too many easy baskets. Maryland's defense has to be tight to beat Duke, anything less and the Terps might lose a scoring race.
Mission: To prove everyone wrong. The Terps have a chip on their shoulder about being forgotten and tossed aside when they lost to Florida State. Williams seems to be ready to show everyone that he can win the "big one" in his first try and would like nothing more than to go through nemesis Duke on the way to the title.
How to beat Maryland: Lock up Dixon, get Steve Blake flustered and commit a few costly turnovers and make their inside game a non-factor. Maryland can shoot 3s to win but can't rely on the deep shot to win this four-team field.
Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.
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