Dec. 7, 2012
Game Notes (PDF)
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -
Coming off a 100-68 win over UMES, Maryland will look for its eighth win in a row when South Carolina State visits Comcast Center Saturday afternoon. The Terps and Bulldogs will be meeting for just the second time in school history; in the previous meeting, Maryland won 104-70, on Dec. 27, 1998.
LIVE Coverage on ESPN3 & the Terrapin Sports Radio Network
• Saturday's game will be streamed live on ESPN3 at 2:00 p.m EDT. Dave Leno (play-by-play) and Joe Lunardi (analyst) will call the action. The game can also be heard on the Terrapin Sports Radio Network - Johnny Holliday (pbp), Chris Knoche (analyst) and Walt Williams (sidelines) have the call. |
Storyline
• Against UMES, head coach Mark Turgeon shuffled the starting lineup for the first time this season, going with guards Seth Allen and Dez Wells, forwards Jake Layman and James Padgett, and center Shaquille Cleare. With Allen, Layman and Cleare drawing starts, it marked the first time Maryland started three true freshmen since Dec. 28, 1993, when Keith Booth, Matt Kovarik and Joe Smith did vs. Hofstra.
• The move paid off, as the Terps jumped out to an early lead and went on to shoot a season-high 63.6 percent from the field. Logan Aronhalt led the way with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, while Cleare (12 points), Layman (10), Nick Faust (10), and Charles Mitchell (10) also reached double figures. Mitchell had a game-high 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
• Maryland was able to clear its bench against the Hawks, with all 14 eligible players seeing action. Twelve Terps scored in the game as the bench outscored UMES' 52-18.
• Maryland's biggest advantages have come in rebounding margin, assists and field goal percentage defense. In all eight games, the Terps have outrebounded their opponent, and they entered the week ranked second nationally with a plus-17.0 rebounding margin. Pe'Shon Howard leads the league with 6.1 assists per game, and as a team Maryland leads the league with 19.1 per game. The Terps have held their opponent under 35 percent shooting in four straight games, including holding UMES to 31.9 percent shooting.
Quick Hitters
• Maryland's three primary ball handlers rank in the top 6 in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio. Pe'Shon Howard is third at 3.3, Nick Faust is fifth at 2.4, and Seth Allen is sixth at 2.2.
• In Maryland's seven-game winning streak, the Terps have assisted on 136 of 203 field goals (66.9 percent).
• Six different players have led Maryland in scoring during the seven-game winning streak. Nick Faust had 12 vs. Morehead State, Seth Allen had 19 vs. LIU Brooklyn, Alex Len had 16 vs. Lafayette, Charles Mitchell had 13 vs. Georgia Southern, and Dez Wells had 23 vs. Northwestern and 25 vs. George Mason. Logan Aronhalt was then the high scorer vs. UMES with 17.
• The Terps have made more free throws than the opponent has attempted this season (130 to 120).
• At least eight players have scored in seven of Maryland's eight games this year. The exception is vs. George Mason, when just seven players scored.
Super Subs
• Maryland's bench has been an asset all season, as the Terps' non-starters have outscored the opponents non-starters in six of eight games (exceptions are Kentucky & George Mason).
• On the year, Maryland's bench has a 225-99 advantage over the opponent. The biggest advantage Maryland has had this season was against UMES on Dec. 5 (55-7).
•
Seth Allen (6.8 ppg),
Charles Mitchell (6.5 ppg),
Shaquille Cleare (6.1 ppg) and
Logan Aronhalt (5.9 ppg) have been the biggest contributors.
• Aronhalt is the long-range specialist. He hit all four of his 3-point attempts vs. Georgia Southern and made 3 of 5 at Northwestern. Against UMES, Aronhalt scored a season-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. On the year, he has hit 15 of 23 from 3-point range (.652).
Sophomore Jump
• After averaging 6.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a freshman,
Alex Len has developed into Maryland's most consistent scoring threat as a sophomore. Len is averaging 14.0 points per game, which ranks first in the ACC among centers and tied for ninth overall. His 9.0 rebounds per game rank sixth. Len also leads the league with 2.5 blocks per game. He has two double-doubles this season: against Kentucky (23 & 12) and Northwestern (13 & 13).
More on Assists
• Maryland leads the ACC with 19.1 assists per game. North Carolina (18.9) is second and Duke (15.6) is third.
•
Pe'Shon Howard, who leads the ACC with 6.1 assists per game, would be in some rare company if he stays on his current pace. In the past 25 years, just three players have averaged more than 6.0 assists per game at Maryland: Terrell Stokes in 1998-99, Steve Blake from 1999-2003, and
Greivis Vasquez in 2007-08 and 2009-10.
• Maryland's 28 assists against LIU Brooklyn were nine more than the team's season-high of 19 last year. In fact, the last time a Maryland team had more assists in a game was in the 2002-03 season, when the Terps had 29 on two occasions. The Terps also had 28 assists in a game on 2/9/11 vs. Longwood and 12/31/05 vs. VMI. The school record for assists in a game is 37.
• Howard's 13 assists vs. LIU Brooklyn are tied for the fourth-most in a single game by a Terp. The only better performances are:
Greivis Vasquez (2008) and Terrell Stokes (1998) with 15; and Steve Blake (2002) and Terrell Stokes (1996) with 14.
Force on the Boards
• Maryland leads the Atlantic Coast Conference and ranks second nationally in rebounding margin at plus-16.0 per game. The only team in the nation with a better margin is Colorado State (plus-17.3).
• The Terps have built advantages on the boards in all eight games this season. Against Northwestern, Maryland built a 47-19 advantage on the boards, the largest margin this season.
•
Alex Len and
Charles Mitchell are the biggest factors in that; Len averages 9.0 rpg and Mitchell averages 7.5. Len ranks sixth in the conference and Mitchell ranks 11th, including first among freshmen.
• Len ranks second in the conference with 3.5 offensive rebounds per game, and Mitchell is just outside the top 10 with 2.6 per game. As a team, the Terps are averaging 15.6 offensive rebounds per game, second in the league behind North Carolina (17.0).
• Mitchell made an impressive debut by grabbing 10 rebounds in his first career game, against No. 3 Kentucky. That's the most rebounds by a Maryland freshman in his debut since Buck Williams had 13 against Bucknell in 1978. Williams went on to lead the ACC in rebounding that year (10.8 pg) en route to capturing ACC Rookie of the Year honors.
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Media Information
• Terps on the Web: For up-to-date game stories, statistics, schedules and results, and other Maryland athletic department information, please log-on to www.umterps.com on the Internet.
• GameTracker: Follow Terps games live in 2012 on your computer with GameTracker. Links for all games that will be available can be found at www.umterps.com.
