Terps' defense puts on disappearing act

Just more than a month ago, the Terrapin men's basketball team hounded Virginia with what was, at least on paper, one of the nation's best defenses.

With full-court pressure, half-court traps and abundant athleticism, the Terps overwhelmed the Cavaliers from the opening tip in a 66-42 victory in Charlottesville, Va. Virginia shot 33.3 percent from the field and scored just 21 points in each half on a night that proved to be historic: No team had ever held Virginia to fewer points in John Paul Jones Arena.

But in the midst of one of their worst losing streaks in five years, the Terps showed just how far they've fallen from that defensive supremacy in a double-digit loss to Virginia at home Saturday. The Cavaliers' 74 points were the most they had scored in their past 14 games, and only mid-major Howard has given up more points to the Cavaliers since the start of December.

"Our defense hasn't been as good as we'd like it to be," coach Gary Williams said yesterday during his weekly teleconference. "A lot of things go into being a good defensive team. Hopefully, we can look at some things and get ready to play Thursday [against NC State.]"

While the Terps' offense has seen a steady late-season offensive push with the emergence of guard Terrell Stoglin, the defense has deteriorated. Since falling to Duke, 80-62, on Feb. 2, the Terps have allowed 70 or more points to each of their opponents but Longwood and Florida State.

Allowing standout play from unheralded opponents hasn't helped their cause.

In a 91-83 loss at Virginia Tech, Hokie forward Terrell Bell connected on all five of his 3-pointers to finish with 16 points. On Feb. 27, North Carolina guard Leslie McDonald's points total (15) eclipsed his average minutes of playing time as he helped the Tar Heels cruise to a 87-76 win.

Miami freshman guard Rion Brown spearheaded a 14-point win last week by posting a career-high 19 points off the bench, including a 6-for-7 performance from behind the arc.

Then Saturday, the Terps couldn't keep up with Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski. The junior, who had shot just 2-for-12 from 3-point range the previous two games, sank nearly everything he took. Zeglinski finished with 25 points and, just like Brown, 6-for-7 from deep.

"We focused on him, but we didn't know he was going to rely on him as much as they did — I mean, he was averaging eight [points] throughout the season," guard Pe'Shon Howard said Saturday. "He just had a great game."

The Terps' full-court press, one of Williams' coaching staples, also took a beating Saturday. Entering their game against the Cavaliers, the Terps had averaged 15.6 forced turnovers per game. But Virginia, which had prepared for the pressure by practicing against eight players in the days before the matchup, ably protected the ball with crisp passing and slipped from the Terps' containment multiple times. After forcing 15 turnovers in their earlier win, the Terps had just six in defeat Saturday.

"It is alarming," Williams said. "You press most of the game, and you'd like to think you can force some turnovers. The pressure bothered them down at Virginia, so we went into the game thinking we can bother them. But they did a good job with the ball."

Starting with the game at Virginia Tech on Feb. 15, Williams has increasingly relied on a 3-2 zone as a change of pace and means of disrupting opposing offenses. The switch helped at times throughout a second-half Terp comeback against the Hokies but has had varied results since. Brown, McDonald and Zeglinski all found wide-open shooting lanes behind the arc throughout each of their games against the Terps last week.

"What we'd like to do is play better defense," Williams said. "Going in, we've either gotten tired or whatever. We'll try to amp up the defense."

Senior staff writer Jakob Engelke contributed to this report.

ceckard@umdbk.com