Hurting for a breakthrough

Chris Singleton is the subject of almost every question his coach answers, the name that dominates his team's press releases, the vocal leader on his team's defense and the face of Florida State men's basketball.

But when the Seminoles suit up at Comcast Center tonight, Singleton will be in street clothes, recuperating from a broken foot. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year's conspicuous absence from action against the Terps will be the latest on a lengthy list of notable players who have missed conference play for one reason or another.

To this point, the Terps have been fortunate to avoid the roster blows that have struck their league compatriots. What they haven't been able to do, though, is completely captalize on others' shortcomings.

Four of the Terps' six conference losses have come against teams missing important contributors. No. 1 Duke was without freshman phenom Kyrie Irving in both of the Blue Devils' victories earlier this season, while Virginia Tech twice topped the Terps down four players in its normal playing rotation.

Aside from losing freshman forward Ashton Pankey, who played just three minutes in the team's opener before being ruled out to undergo leg surgery, the Terps' rotation hasn't had to adjust to any unforeseen events.

"Knock on wood," forward Jordan Williams said. "It's good because when you play the same rotation, you get used to the feeling of who's going to come in at what times, and we kind of have a flow going."

The Seminoles, meanwhile, are still tinkering with just how to replace Singleton, who led the team in points, rebounds and minutes before breaking his right foot against Virginia on Feb. 12.

"We're still trying to make adjustments," Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said in his weekly teleconference Monday. "Our players have worked very hard to move forward. … This is who we are, and hopefully that's enough."

"Singleton was a huge part of their flow and their rotation and such a great player," Jordan Williams said. "For them to lose him kind of got them out of sync a little bit."

Even without Singleton, the Seminoles' first test after his injury wasn't much of one — they beat conference cellar dweller Wake Forest, 84-66, on Saturday. And Terp coach Gary Williams, who acknowledged Singleton as one of the ACC's best players, said his absence doesn't pose as big a problem as it might for other teams because of the Seminoles' smothering style of play.

"The defensive mentality of the team doesn't change; you're just taking a guy away that is a great defensive player," Williams said. "You don't have to change your defense now that he's not there. If you lose a guy who's scoring 20 points per game, and you're playing through him, then you have to go back and change your offense quite a bit."

The loss of Singleton likely won't affect the NCAA Tournament prospects of the Seminoles, who are considered a near lock for the field of 68.

But it could have important ramifications for the Terps, who will take any advantage they can get as they look to scrape together a worthy postseason portfolio. And even after tonight, the Terps may not have to wait long to benefit from another future NCAA Tournament team missing a key contributor.

When the Terps face No. 19 North Carolina on Sunday, the Tar Heels will be without former starting point guard Larry Drew II, whose decision to leave the team has left coach Roy Williams with a thin backcourt.

But focusing on other teams' problems, the Terps know, won't help them with their own.

"It's crunch time now," Jordan Williams said. "We can't look too far ahead. If we look too far ahead, we forget where we are."

ceckard@umdbk.com