Terps Seek a Connection at Verizon

In the moments after his team's fifth victory of the season, Maryland Coach Gary Williams spoke about the inter-connectedness of the sport that consumes him. Energy and emotion transfer into defensive effort and focus, which, in turn, often lead to improved offensive efficiency. You can't differentiate one component from the other, he said.

And so, even though some of his comments later in Wednesday night's news conference following a win over Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge came in response to a question about the Terrapins' free throw shooting, one could translate Williams's message into commentary on Maryland's recent fortunes heading into its next test: the BB&T Classic.

"It's funny, when guys work on their shots in practice or even when they're working on it on their own, they look good shooting it," Williams said. "But when they get in the game, they revert back to the way they used to shoot because of the emotion and the pressure of the game."

Tonight, when the Terrapins take on George Washington (3-1) at Verizon Center, Maryland (5-2) will attempt to retain the consistency it demonstrated in quality early-season victories over Michigan State and Michigan -- and disregard the ineptness it showed against Gonzaga and Georgetown.

The BB&T Classic, now in its 14th season, has not proved to be a favorable outing for Maryland recently, regardless of the state of the Terrapins entering the event. Maryland is 2-7 in BB&T Classic games since winning the national title in 2002 and has not won at Verizon Center since 2004.

George Washington, specifically, has troubled the Terrapins in this tournament. The Colonials have won the past two meetings between the programs at the BB&T Classic.

Perhaps playing at Verizon Center leads to a change in emotional approach.

"I feel like ever since I've been here, every game in the BB&T we've come out kind of dead," senior forward Dave Neal said Wednesday night. "I mean, maybe the atmosphere of the arena's a little different, but I've just got to emphasize these next two practices that the BB&T is a big game. We lost to Georgetown, and here's our chance to get at another local team in [George Washington]."

Following a demoralizing 27-point loss to Georgetown on Nov. 30 in the consolation game of the Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Williams said the team returned to campus and had a spirited practice the following day. Then again, Williams pointed out, it's easy to have a good practice after a pitiful performance because everyone on the team understands change is not only necessary; it's vital.

The challenge, Williams said, following a faith-restoring victory such as the one the Terrapins claimed over Michigan is to clarify that the need for improvement did not wash away with the aftertaste of the Georgetown defeat.

"I didn't tell you the other part of that -- it's easy to have a bad practice after a win," Williams said. "With a young team you really guard against that. What we did to win this game tonight, we worked hard, but now we've got to work hard even though we feel good. [Thursday] everybody on campus will be all happy, you know, and all that. But if you lose Sunday all that goes away."

George Washington, which failed to qualify for the Atlantic 10 tournament last season following three straight years in which the Colonials earned NCAA tournament berths, remains in need of adjustments, as well.

"The two areas we have to improve on if we'll have any chance of winning this game on Sunday is we're going to have to do a better job of rebounding the ball and we've got to do a better job of converting our free throws," George Washington Coach Karl Hobbs said Thursday in a phone interview.

The Colonials possess a negative rebounding margin and are shooting 60 percent from the free throw line.

Maryland, on the other hand, has made 79.6 percent of its free throw attempts, which led to the question Williams was asked Wednesday night. He said perseverance was the key to his team's success at the foul line, a quality that could come in handy tonight in an environment outside its comfort zone.

"It's definitely motivation for us," junior guard Eric Hayes said Wednesday night. "I'm aware of it. I think it's maybe four years in a row that we haven't won there. That's something that I don't want to leave here not being able to win there. It's definitely a conscious effort of us concentrating on getting a win on Sunday."