University of Maryland Athletics

Maryland plays host to Miami in Saturday Night Showdown

Men's Basketball Maryland Athletics

Maryland plays host to Miami in Saturday Night Showdown

Jan. 30, 2009

  • Williams' Postgame News Conference Video

    COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Maryland gets a rematch with Miami in a Saturday night matchup at Comcast Center. The Terrapins are 13-7 overall and 2-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference after Tuesday's 76-67 loss to Boston College. Miami comes in at 14-6 overall and 3-4 in the league after suffering a pair of overtime losses in their last two games. The Hurricanes needed a frantic late-game rally to pull out a 62-60 triumph over the Terps on Jan. 14 in Coral Gables.

    * The Terrapins fell victim to a hot-shooting team in the second half against Boston College last Tuesday. The Eagles hit 60 percent from the field and 80 percent at the free-throw line after halftime on Tuesday. Greivis Vasquez was the leading scorer for Maryland against BC, scoring 18 points with six assists and hitting three of his nine 3-point attempts. Landon Milbourne continued his strong play for the Terps with 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Sean Mosley was 4-for-4 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the line for 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench.

    * Milbourne has raised his game in the past two months and has helped the Terrapins on the boards. Milbourne, now second on the team in scoring with a 13.0 points-per-game average, has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 14 games. He is averaging 16.8 ppg in his last four games, including a team-high 19 points at Duke. Milbourne has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding in each of Maryland's six ACC games, pulling down 7.0 boards each game in league play (T12th in the ACC in conference games).

    * Freshman Sean Mosley has increased his scoring output recently. Including his 10 points on Tuesday against Boston College, Mosley has hit double figures in four of his last eight games. He is hitting .500 from the floor in six ACC games, averaging 6.8 points per game in league play.

    * Maryland is continuing on school-record pace at the free-throw line this season. The Terrapins are hitting .773 from the line as a team this season and remain atop the ACC in that category. Virginia is second in the league at the line at .749. Greivis Vasquez remains atop the league individually, hitting .913 at the stripe.

    * Miami continues to be led by Jack McClinton, who is averaging 18.4 points per game this season. His scoring output has increased in the Hurricanes' seven ACC outings, as he is averaging 20.9 ppg in those games. McClinton has 58 3-pointers this season, leading the league in both treys per game and in shooting percentage behind the arc (.453). Dwayne Collins is second on the team in scoring (12.6 ppg) and leads the Hurricanes on the boards (7.6 rebounds per game).

    * The Hurricanes are a half-game ahead of the Terrapins in the league standings. Miami won at home against Florida State on Jan. 21, but suffered back-to-back overtime losses to Virginia Tech at home and at NC State in its last two games. The 'Canes lost 84-81 on Tuesday in their last game, despite 27 points from McClinton.

    * Maryland takes to the road next week for a pair of games. The Terrapins are at North Carolina on Tuesday evening, then will play at Georgia Tech on Sunday, Feb. 8 in a nationally-televised contest on Fox Sports Net. The Terps' next appearance at Comcast Center is Valentine's Day in a 4 p.m. matchup with Virginia Tech.

    Head Coach Gary Williams Quotes - Friday, Jan. 30

    On his team's previous game this season versus the Miami Hurricanes:
    "We played really well for a long time. We still had a double-figure lead with 12 minutes left in that game. The biggest thing Miami did, they made some great 3s from that point on, and we weren't able to match that offense. I was pleased with the first 30 minutes of that game. I thought we played pretty well."

    On guarding Miami guard Jack McClinton when he is shooting well:
    "You can double-team him coming off of screens or you can switch the screen...There are some things you can do. You can put more pressure on the ball so that it's not as easy of a pass to get it to (Jack) McClinton to start with. They're all things we'll look at, and we'll try some things if we get into that situation again. But like I said, he is a great player, and he's made shots."

    On Miami forward Dwayne Collins:
    "I think Collins, he's very confident. When you're a player, if you have two or three moves that you can do really well, I think that's all you need. Collins has really improved his two or three moves rather than adding a lot to his game. He's really effective close to the basket. He's one of the best post-up players in the league because of his ability to score quickly."

    On the play of guard Sean Mosley of late:
    "Sean's played well. He gives us an aggressive player who can really defend and play physical. Let's face it, in our league this year that's very important. He's done a good job as a freshman. Coming out of Baltimore, he had to do a lot of things, and a lot of them were as an inside player. Now we're asking him to be more of a guard. That's a tough adjustment, but he's worked very hard to make that adjustment."

    On guard Greivis Vasquez's performance against Boston College:
    "I thought he moved better the last game. He just seemed quicker getting open and running the offense. I thought he looked a lot better. He didn't shoot it great, but at the same time he took better shots and he looked quicker. I thought it was a very positive game for Greivis."

    On his team's approach to Saturday's game against Miami:
    "We have good people, and they agree that the only way to approach this game is to go after it like we're playing really well. I thought we did a good job against [Boston College] for a long time in that game, and now we're trying to do some things to extend it to 40 minutes where we can win games like that. We'll see tomorrow night."

    On incoming recruit Jordan Williams, a center from Torrington High School in Connecticut:
    "Our recruit from Connecticut, Jordan Williams, has been nominated for the McDonald's All-American game...He's one of those big guys who didn't have much attention going into the recruiting period this summer, but I saw him play six or seven different times during that July period, and he was a better player every time you saw him play."

  • Print Friendly Version

    Players Mentioned

    Landon Milbourne

    #1 Landon Milbourne

    F
    6' 7"
    Freshman
    Greivis Vasquez

    #21 Greivis Vasquez

    G
    6' 5"
    Freshman
    Sean Mosley

    #14 Sean Mosley

    G
    6' 4"
    Freshman

    Players Mentioned

    Landon Milbourne

    #1 Landon Milbourne

    6' 7"
    Freshman
    F
    Greivis Vasquez

    #21 Greivis Vasquez

    6' 5"
    Freshman
    G
    Sean Mosley

    #14 Sean Mosley

    6' 4"
    Freshman
    G