Jaclyn Borowski/The Diamondback
On the basketball court Tuesday night, guard Greivis Vasquez exuded his usual passion, jubilantly encouraging teammates, yelling to the crowd and even launching into his trademark shimmy right in front of the Miami bench after a first-half three-pointer.
But minutes after the Terrapin men’s basketball team put the finishing touches on a 22-point win against the Hurricanes, Vasquez took a much more measured approach in sizing up the Terps’ accomplishment.
When a reporter opened an interview by giving the fiery Venezuelan the chance to assess where his team could be headed given its recent string of blowout conference wins, Vasquez avoided hyperbole.
“We just have been working extremely hard in practice and obviously, in games, so we’re ready to play,” Vasquez began, before deflecting credit toward coach Gary Williams for a good game plan against Miami.
That juxtaposition can no doubt be attributed to senior maturity from a player who expected such success during his final collegiate season. But Vasquez’s reaction, which mirrored the approaches of his teammates and coach, is also understandable given the Terps’ immediate task ahead.
After rising to the ACC’s top spot with their stellar play this month, the Terps will hit the road and try to keep the momentum going. With back-to-back games away from Comcast Center in the next six days, starting with Sunday’s trip to Clemson, the Terps can further distinguish themselves in the ACC — or drop back to the parity-riddled pack.
“We can’t really relax at all,” said senior guard Eric Hayes, who noted the team is playing its best basketball since his freshman season. “Two weeks from now, if we let up, we could be 4-4.”
The Terps (14-5, 4-1 ACC) have taken the conference by storm in the early going, piling up impressive stats and adding needed victories to its previously thin NCAA Tournament resumé.
Overall, the team has won six of seven, including road triumphs at lowly UNC-Greensboro and Boston College. Their lone loss came in overtime at Wake Forest on Jan. 12.
But following a two-game home stand that featured two of their top-six most-lopsided conference wins in Comcast Center history, the Terps were more interested in focusing on their 11 remaining conference games.
Williams said it’s “too early” to tell how good the Terps can be, but the next few games could give a better indication.
Coming into play last night, no ACC team had more than one road victory. Earning a win Sunday at Clemson, which had been ranked for much of the season, or Thursday at Florida State, which lost in College Park on Jan. 10 when it was ranked No. 18, would boost the Terps’ viability as an ACC contender.
“We’re playing pretty tough right now, and we can’t change because we go back on the road,” Williams said. “We’ve already won on the road, so we feel comfortable that we can go down [to Clemson] and play well.”
To continue their best conference start since 2003, the Terps will need to avoid such a letdown.
After beating the Hurricanes, forward Landon Milbourne was already thinking about his team’s trip to Littlejohn Coliseum, saying he and his teammates needed to keep their focus ahead.
The Terps went 2-6 in conference road games last season, and the senior knows well enough that basking in home success won’t help in the ACC’s most hostile environments.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Milbourne said. “That’s what we prepare for. We’re not going to play every game at home, so we’re just going to prepare like we always do and try and get some wins.”
edetweiler@umdbk.com
