Notebook: Three sweeps dim outlook on men's basketball's postseason

With Tuesday night's 91-83 loss to Virginia Tech, the Terrapin men's basketball team ventured into unusual territory.

For the first time in six years, three different conference teams have swept the Terps (16-10, 5-6 ACC) in the same season. With their eight-point win, the Hokies joined the company of Duke and Boston College as teams that twice beat the Terps this year.

Even after a rocky nonconference showing cast doubt on their NCAA Tournament prospects, some hope for the Terps remained in the opportunity of ACC play. But against league teams battling for their postseason lives, the Terps have flopped. Four combined losses against the Hokies and Eagles have put the team in an uneasy position with three weeks in the regular season remaining.

In 2005, the Terps also twice lost to Clemson, North Carolina and NC State before falling in the NIT, an increasingly likely destination for this year's squad.

"Our focus is just on NC State," coach Gary Williams said of the team's gloomy postseason hopes.

A win in Blacksburg, Va., on Tuesday would have pulled the Terps back to a four-way tie with the Hokies, Eagles and Clemson. But in five games against those teams, the Terps have won just once, skirting by the Tigers, 79-77, at home.

Tuesday night's loss dropped the Terps to seventh place in the ACC and dampened expectations for the team's final stretch of play.

"We have two home games coming up now, and we have a chance to go over .500," Williams said. "And that's our goal — get over .500 in the league — and we'll go from there."

DOUBLE-DOUBLE VOID

With about 12 minutes left in the second half Tuesday night, forward Jordan Williams caught a pass on the low block and made his familiar spin back to the basket only to be met by a double team.

Sneaking a hand in, Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney knocked the ball from Williams' grasp and headed the other way for a transition opportunity forward Jeff Allen easily finished. The game-tying basket marked the end of a Terp lead and signaled the start of the Hokies' late-game control.

The size and swarming play of the Hokies' defense were issues all night for Williams, who was met by a host of Hokie defenders any time he caught the ball near the post. While he finished with a respectable 16 points, he failed to register a double-double for the third straight game.

Against Longwood last week, Williams struggled with foul trouble, causing Gary Williams to say his star forward wasn't "ready to play." Just three days later, Williams rebounded with a good effort against the Eagles but fell just two rebounds short of the mark.

This is the sophomore's longest stretch without a double-double since last March.

"They put a second or third guy on me," Jordan Williams said. "It's tough to move when there's no space in there. They did a good job."

"It's a very small area on the court," Gary Williams said. "With the college rules, you can put a lot more help in there to stop an inside player. ... Jordan's good enough to handle it."

FRESHMAN FOCUS

As guard Pe'Shon Howard has emerged as a consistent starter the past two weeks, freshman counterpart Terrell Stoglin has put together two of his best games of the season off the bench.

After scoring 14 points against Boston College on Saturday, the freshman torched the Hokies for a career-high 25 points and hit all 10 of his free throws. Along with his scoring outburst, Stoglin finished with a team-high six assists.

Senior guards Adrian Bowie and Cliff Tucker, meanwhile, continued their recent struggles. Tucker was scoreless in the second half against Virginia Tech, while Bowie logged just 11 minutes of play, finishing 1-for-5.

Those efforts, coupled with strong play from both Howard and Stoglin, have resulted in increased playing time for the freshmen.

"They're playing great, that's why," Williams said Tuesday night when asked about the reasons for the duo's increased roles. "This isn't little league; the best guys play."

ceckard@umdbk.com