Bowl Elimination Game

Maryland's game versus North Carolina sets up to be one of the more intriguing games of the season in the ACC. It amounts to an elimination game for UNC as they would have to beat Duke and follow that with a win at Virginia Tech to reach 6 wins if they lost tomorrow. For Maryland a loss would cloud their bowl chances with ranked Boston College coming to Bryd Stadium next week and a trip to NC State who may be desperate for a sixth win themselves. I'll be leaving for North Carolina tonight and will be able to give a full report when I return.

If Sam Hollenbach can stay healthy and the O-line can open holes for Lance Ball I think Maryland's defense will be able to shut down the Tar Heels anemic offense. It may be very close if Hollenbach can't finish the game.

Maryland 23
UNC 17

Lance Ball has been anointed the starter by the staff, finally. Let's hope they don't pull him after a few carries for little yardage. The coaches need to commit to the run and to letting Ball wear down the defense.

Jo Jo Walker will play this week according to coach Ralph Friedgen.

Final Curtain on Exhibition

The men's basketball team plays the final exhibition game of the season tonight against division II champions Virginia Union. It will give Gary Williams another chance to tinker with lineups before the opener against Fairleigh Dickinson next week. Three days after that Maryland will be in Maui playing the seventh ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs. This team will get an early test to see how far they have come from last year's problems.

In Maui the games will be played with new experimental rules. The 3-point line will be moved back 9 inches to 20 feet 9 inches, the lane will be widened by 1 foot on each side and there is a restricted area arch three feet around the basket. Don't ask me what a "restricted arch" is, I have no idea.

Nice article in the Washington Times about the improvement of C Will Bowers. Will opened some eyes with a 13 point 7 rebound 4 block performance in the last exhibition game. He has worked on his conditioning, which was a huge limiting factor for him last season, and honed his post moves. His confidence is probably as high as it has ever been at Maryland. I don't expect Bowers to suddenly explode into a dominant player but he will be able to come off the bench and deliver a fully rounded game, unlike last season when he was fairly limited on offense.

Women's Field Hockey wins ACC Title

The lady Terps beat arch rival Wake Forest 3-2 to win the ACC championship. The team will be seeded #1 in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Congrats to the foxy gals!