These Terps aren't who you thought they were

Expectations may have been at an all-time low for the Terrapins men's basketball team as it walked off the court with a five-point win over Northwood in a Nov. 4 exhibition game.

Only a month later, and the difference between the team that night and the one on display in a 78-71 win over Notre Dame yesterday is remarkable.

Now, don't start stashing away money for tickets to the Terps' NCAA Tournament games any time soon.

But maybe, just maybe, this team's not going to be as awful as we all expected.

Think about it: The squad we saw control most of last night's game in the BB&T Classic was the same one that, three weeks ago, posted the lowest-scoring output for a Terps team since the advent of the modern-day shot clock.

They've got a superstar in the making in guard Terrell Stoglin, whose 31 points last night were one shy of his career high. Forward James Padgett has begun to forge an identity in the paint and posted a double-double last night. Sean Mosley's 17-point performance furthered the notion that he could be a legitimate perimeter threat behind Stoglin.

And just as first-year coach Mark Turgeon promised they'd do, this team is starting to play some serious defense, forcing teams late into the shot clock and keeping them off of the free-throw line.

Was last night's performance flawless? Far from it. The Terps let the Fighting Irish hang around all game and needed a circus shot from Stoglin to finally ice the game in the final minute. A very young, very thin Notre Dame roster doesn't exactly compare to the North Carolinas and Dukes looming on the Terps' schedule.

Still, the Terps found a way to get a win over a Big East opponent last night, and with the returns of point guard Pe'Shon Howard — whose recovery from a broken bone in his foot is ahead of schedule and could be over as early as Christmas — and center Alex Len each scheduled for the end of this month, things will only get better for the Terps.

"Where we are with our program, we're always going to make it interesting," Turgeon said after the game. "[Notre Dame] made a run at us and made us a little bit nervous. I was kind of glad it was close for these guys, that they made a run at us, made us a little bit nervous when we had to make plays. I think that did more for us than winning by 10 or 12. … Probably will help us more down the road."

Which is exactly what these nonconference games are all about, isn't it?

We're not supposed to be seeing a polished Terps product yet, especially considering the turnover the program dealt with over the offseason.

What we're supposed to be seeing — and what we are seeing — is progress.

"It's hard to say," Mosley said when asked whether the team is further along than he expected. "We have ups and downs. We're still trying to stay on that even path, but right now we're doing a great job picking up each and every game our intensity on both ends of the court."

This season still isn't going to be pretty, but with the improvement we've seen to this point, it's not going to be nearly as ugly as everybody anticipated.

It would be unrealistic to expect much out of the Terps in ACC play. With one bona fide scorer and a largely inexperienced roster, the Terps aren't going to be raising any ACC championship banners.

If they continue to improve anywhere near the rate they have to this point in the year, especially once they get Howard and Len back, then make no mistake about it: This team's going to give people problems.

cwalsh@umdbk.com