Commentary: Subdued Terps Outlast Tigers |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — It appears the recent onslaught of bad press directed at
Maryland's student section has had an adverse affect on the Terrapins' homecourt advantage. Maryland's students have been in the eye of a self-created hurricane since last week's collapse to ACC rival Duke. Leading by 10 points with 54 seconds to go, the Terps collapsed and allowed the Blue Devils to escape Cole Fieldhouse with a stunning victory. The student section, upset for any number of reasons, responded to them all by flinging objects onto the court. This, of course, is the ultimate no-no in the fan behavior manual. The press was quick to come down on the Terp faithful, and so was the administration. Security was noticeably heavy Sunday in the student section, and even Maryland coach Gary Williams took it upon himself to address the crowd prior to the game. "We can't throw things...that's not something we need to do. Don't let people talk negative about you," he told the crowd. "You're great." Maybe, but Sunday the buzz word was "subdued." The normally raucous Maryland crowd was more polite than anything for most of the afternoon, seemingly careful about picking its spots to make noise. Not that Sunday's game was anything to get overly excited about. On the contrary. For most of the afternoon this game was as ho-hum as the first meeting was electric. Still, given the close scrutiny Maryland students will be under for the remainder of the year, the Terps may have lost a little off the edge that comes from playing at home. And in this league, that's a dangerous thought. *** More notes on Sunday's 69-54 Clemson loss: — The scene was a familiar one to Clemson fans. Down by as many at 17 points, the Tigers scrapped, clawed and fought their way back to within four, 54-50, late in the game after successive 3-pointers by Tony Stockman and Will Solomon. But the Terps closed the game with a 15-4 run to win going away, thanks in large part to six straight points by Terrence Morris, who finished with a te am-high 18 points. — Clemson coach Larry Shyatt tiptoed around criticism of the officiating, though he was obviously unhappy with several calls that went against his team in the game's final minutes. He kept referring to "uncontrollable factors" in his postgame comments, leaving little room for speculation as to his feelings. But when asked directly if he was critical of the officiating, Shyatt responded "I'm not permitted." — The Tigers' shooting lines were ugly, to say the least. Clemson shot just 30 percent (18-of-59) from the floor, including a 5-of-14 afternoon from Solomon and 3-of-11 from Stockman. Maryland didn't fare much better, hitting just 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) from the field and 10-of-21 from the free throw line. (9) MARYLAND 69, Clemson 54
CLEMSON (10-12)
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