Terp Awards--  Congrats to the ACC Player of the Year Greivis Vasquez and ACC Coach of the Year Gary Williams.  Both deserved it, neither of the votings was close.  Surprisingly , Vasquez routed Jon Scheyer in the voting among ACC media and not surprisingly, Gary did the same with Coach K coming in a distant 2nd.  Maryland was picked 5th in the ACC preseason poll, they won a share of the title.  When that happens, awards follow.  Now let's see if the Terps can do some postseason damage.  A quarterfinal game against Georgia Tech would be a tough chore. The Jackets had the Terps beat two weeks ago before Cliff Tucker's 3 at the buzzer bailed MD out.  I would love to see another Maryland-Duke game in the finals.  We'll see.

Georgetown/South Florida--  Hoyas will roll today in the 2nd round of the Big East tournament.  South Florida beat G-Town at Verizon last month in a game the Hoyas had under control int he first half but I don't see it happening again.  D. Jones is a legit pro for the Bulls, but they haven't beaten a really good team in over a month.  Hoyas roll today, but lose to Syracuse in the quarters.

Redskins 3-4 Could Leave Carter Out--  I mentioned on the show last week that it wouldn't surprise me if Andre Carter got cut.  Some of you were surprised by that but my thinking is this.  Where do you play him in a 3-4.  He doesn't want to play linebacker and he's a bit small to play d-end in a 3-4.  Something to watch over the next few months.

Ted Leonsis Today--  We've got the Caps' owner for two hours today as we continue with our Lunch With a Legend series.  We'll talk Caps, Wizards, and a lot more....looking forward to it.

Maryland and Duke tonight at Comcast for with the ACC regular season title in play.  The scene will be as good as it gets in college sports.  I like Maryland's chances if...

#1--Terps Must Rebound.  You can't give Duke second and third chances to score because they will.  But nearly as important for Maryland is rebounding well allows them to get out in transition and get good looks off their fastbreak.  The reason MD has really struggled against Duke in recent years is they have struggled in their halfcourt offense against the Devils.  Duke does something that I think most teams should do against MD and that's extend their man to man and really try to harrass MD's ball handlers, especially Hayes when he's the primary ball handler.  If you let MD run their halfcourt Flex offensive sets then they'll run them well.  If you push them out and make it hard for them to run their offense, they struggle.  So, rebound well and the Terps will a) prevent 2nd chance scoring opportunities and b) they can get out in transition and get some easier scoring opportunites than I think they'll get in their halfcourt offense.

#2--Pass The Ball Well.  When the Terps share the ball, they usually win.  Watch their assist numbers tonight.  Anything over 15 and odds are they win.  Less than 15, odds are they don't.   

There are reports everywhere that the Redskins will pursue Julius Peppers and Darren Sproles when free agency begins later this week.  Here are my feelings on both:

Julius Peppers--Yes, get him.  He's a playmaking pass rusher and adding his explosiveness whether in a 3-4 or 4-3 allignment is an upgrade.  In 8 seasons he's had double digit sacks 6 times.  He has 30 forced fumbles in his career.  The Redskins have had major trouble forcing turnovers for a few years.....get Peppers, put him in a lineup with Haynesworth, Orakpo, and Carter, and the front 7 becomes more of a play-making front 7. 

Darren Sproles---No, don't want him.  He would be a "nice-to-have" but he isn't a "need to have".  Too much money, too much risk for a guy who would add a ton in the short term, but who's best days will be behind him in 1-2 years.  These smallish backs don't hold up, especially those that are featured on special teams.  The Redskins have more pressing needs.  If they choose to seek out a running back, seek one out in the draft.

Greivis Vasquez put on a show for the ages last night in Maryland's 104-100 double overtime win at Virginia Tech.  In a game the Hokies desperately needed to strengthen their NCAA Tournament case, Vasquez lit up Cassell Coliseum to the tune of 41 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in arguably the best individual performance of the college basketball season.  That's two straight years of his college basketball greatness on display.  His 35-11-10 triple-double in the Terps' win over North Carolina was THE best individual game by anyone last season.  Vasquez's critics can point to his 13 for 33 shooting last night all they want but the truth is most of his misses were good shots that barely missed.  Every shot went up softly and very few if any of Vasquez's attempts had Gary Williams pulling his hair out.  Add just 2 turnovers in 48 minutes of a tightly contested game in hostile territory and I think you can safely say that Vasquez's performance was one of the great ones in Maryland history.  More on that in a moment.  But first this.  

How does Maryland do it?  How is a team with limited size, speed, quickness, and overall athleticsm in the hunt for an ACC regular season title?  The answer is three-fold really.  First, it's true.....the ACC doesn't have a great team this year.  Now don't believe the ACC haters when they exaggerate by describing the ACC as terrible....it's not "terrible", it's actually better than most leagues.  But without question, this year's ACC unlike most years doesn't have an obvious Final 4 contender.  The Big East has four.  The Big 12 has at least one, maybe two.  The Big 10 has two.  The ACC is a good league this year top to bottom but without a stud team, the perception is that it's just okay.  In this case, perception may indeed be reality.  So, one reason Maryland is in contention is league strength.  The second reason is this.  While the Terps don't have a ton of long-armed 6-10 mega athletes (in fact, they don't have any), they DO HAVE several damn good basketball players.  Chris Knoche made this point a few weeks back when he came on our show and compared the Terps to North Carolina.  He said that while the Tar Heels are incredibly athletic, they don't have as many good basketball players as Maryland does.  He was right.  In fact, what Maryland lacks in athletic features, it makes up for with baskeball know-how.  Lastly, Gary Williams is coaching his ass off.  I thought last year was the best job he'd ever done in his 20 years in College Park.  I think this year may be better.  Nobody in the sport gets more out of less than him.  He should be a lock for ACC Coach of the Year but never trust how the league's Carolina-centric media base might be distorted in its view.  

Back to Vasquez and where last night ranks among all-time Maryland performances.  His game last year against North Carolina was better, but not by much.  He had 33 in the second half and overtimes last night and his 11 straight points when the Terps fell down by 8 early in the second half was a game-saving stretch.  He was brilliant last night but last year in the win over Carolina he was triple-double brilliant.  The other great Terp games that immediately come to mind are Ernie Graham's 44 in Cole back in '78, Bias' 35 in the Dean Dome in '86, Joe Smith's 40 at Duke in '95, Dixon's 33 in the Final 4 against Kansas, Dixon's 28 and 5 steals at Duke on Shane Battier Senior Night in 2001, Bias' 41 at Duke as a junior, and Albert King's 38 in the ACC 1980 semis against Clemson.  Graham's 44 which has been the single-game scoring mark for 32 years is one of those legendary nights that is discussed often by long-time MD fans who all claim that if there had been a 3-point line, his 44 would have been 54.  Not sure if that's exactly true but it makes for a great tale.  Ernie could shoot it from distance for sure but 10 threes?  Who knows.

One more thought about last night.  Why don't teams pressure Vasquez and Hayes more in halfcourt defensive sets?  Seems to me that when Maryland's guards are harrassed, the Terps struggle more.  Virginia Tech let Maryland run its halfcourt offense all night long.  Duke will not.  Can't wait for Wednesday night.  It just might be the biggest game in Comcast's 8-year history.

Until Wednesday night, Purdue looked like a legit National Championship contender and a sure-fire #1 seed.  That talk can hush for now after junior star Robbie Hummel was shelved for the season with a torn ACL.  What a shame.  A team that was playing as well as anyone in the country and had all of the pieces to make a run at a Final 4 down the road in Indianapolis now must reprove themselves in the final few weeks of the season.  A near-certain #1 seed is now in trouble.  How will the tourney committee view the Boilermakers without Hummel?  In 2000, Cincinnati was ranked #1 in the country and was a lock for a #1 seed in the tournament until Kenyon Martin broke his leg in a Conference USA quarterfinal game.  The commitee dropped the Bearcats to a #2 seed and they lost in the 2nd round to Tulsa.  In the case of Purdue, the committee will have more time to judge the 'Boilers without Hummel.  The best data point will come Sunday in West Lafayette when Michigan State visits.  Win that game without Hummel and the committee can't deduct points.  Lose that game and a season's worth of quality work will be somewhat irrelevant.