Preview:
We played Maryland in the Bahamas back around Thanksgiving and won 87-67. Throw those results away. Maryland in that game was without three of their top players and two other starters got into serious foul trouble. We were without Prechtel and Brink, but had enough depth to run the normally high octane Maryland squad into the ground. Since that time both teams have evolved and gotten healthy, and so I don't think we can learn much of anything from our earlier experience.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthrea...tanford+86
Maryland is 23-8, ranked 8th by Massey and 14th in NET. They have beaten Baylor, Indiana, Florida Gulf Coast, and Ohio State but lost to Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, and South Carolina, which they played tough. In other words, they have beaten some good teams and lost to some good teams, sometimes to the same team. Potentially an excellent but sometimes inconsistent team.
Maryland has long been a team that emphasizes offense more than defense, and that was our experience with them in the fall--depleted though they were. They average 79 ppg and outscore their opponents by 12. They make about as many treys a game as we do.
Maryland has 5 players averaging double digit scoring, and 8 players with 20 or more minutes--so they will have about twice as many players and twice as many stars than when we played them in November. I just hope our team can develop amnesia and focus on the new Maryland.
Maryland's top scorer is 6'3" sophomore forward Angel Reese at 18 ppg. 6' junior guard Ashley Owusu scores 15 ppg.
Diamond Miller has been terrific in recent games. She is a 6'3" junior guard scoring 13 ppg.
Reese, Owusu, and Miller combined for 65 points in their last game.
We did not face Maryland's star three point shooter who was injured when we last played them. Katie Benzan is their answer to Hannah Jump, scoring 73 treys on the season at a whopping 45% clip.
In short, Maryland is the kind of team that limits Tara's scouting report defense, since we cannot afford to take away just one or two players. Reese is all inside and Benzan is all outside and the other players and bench are versatile around them. Benzan also has a team leading 107 assists.
Maryland's defense was certainly unsound when we last played them, and it did not look very strong to me in their first two games in the tournament--especially vulnerable to transitions. But they know what to expect from us and their defense has improved.
This team looks much more like an elite 8 than a sweet 16 team, and unlucky us, we get to play them now. Even if we take away Benzan and limit the paint, Maryland is an excellent mid range jumpshooting team. We will simply need our own offense to be in high gear since we will undoubtedly need a lot of points to win. South Carolina held them to 59 and North Carolina state held them to 60--but those are their minimums for the year.
We played Maryland in the Bahamas back around Thanksgiving and won 87-67. Throw those results away. Maryland in that game was without three of their top players and two other starters got into serious foul trouble. We were without Prechtel and Brink, but had enough depth to run the normally high octane Maryland squad into the ground. Since that time both teams have evolved and gotten healthy, and so I don't think we can learn much of anything from our earlier experience.
https://thecardboard.org/board/showthrea...tanford+86
Maryland is 23-8, ranked 8th by Massey and 14th in NET. They have beaten Baylor, Indiana, Florida Gulf Coast, and Ohio State but lost to Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, and South Carolina, which they played tough. In other words, they have beaten some good teams and lost to some good teams, sometimes to the same team. Potentially an excellent but sometimes inconsistent team.
Maryland has long been a team that emphasizes offense more than defense, and that was our experience with them in the fall--depleted though they were. They average 79 ppg and outscore their opponents by 12. They make about as many treys a game as we do.
Maryland has 5 players averaging double digit scoring, and 8 players with 20 or more minutes--so they will have about twice as many players and twice as many stars than when we played them in November. I just hope our team can develop amnesia and focus on the new Maryland.
Maryland's top scorer is 6'3" sophomore forward Angel Reese at 18 ppg. 6' junior guard Ashley Owusu scores 15 ppg.
Diamond Miller has been terrific in recent games. She is a 6'3" junior guard scoring 13 ppg.
Reese, Owusu, and Miller combined for 65 points in their last game.
We did not face Maryland's star three point shooter who was injured when we last played them. Katie Benzan is their answer to Hannah Jump, scoring 73 treys on the season at a whopping 45% clip.
In short, Maryland is the kind of team that limits Tara's scouting report defense, since we cannot afford to take away just one or two players. Reese is all inside and Benzan is all outside and the other players and bench are versatile around them. Benzan also has a team leading 107 assists.
Maryland's defense was certainly unsound when we last played them, and it did not look very strong to me in their first two games in the tournament--especially vulnerable to transitions. But they know what to expect from us and their defense has improved.
This team looks much more like an elite 8 than a sweet 16 team, and unlucky us, we get to play them now. Even if we take away Benzan and limit the paint, Maryland is an excellent mid range jumpshooting team. We will simply need our own offense to be in high gear since we will undoubtedly need a lot of points to win. South Carolina held them to 59 and North Carolina state held them to 60--but those are their minimums for the year.
