Hawks

“We must protect this house!”

It seems that Under Armour could declare “mission accomplished” Saturday as coach Mark Turgeon voiced satisfaction at the fan base for the South Carolina State game.

“The students were good; they were into the game,” Turgeon said. “It wasn’t really a game that you could get into very easily.”

The constant battle for attendance (Twelve-thousand on a Saturday afternoon before finals week is a good number.) seems to have been won during this edition of Nonconfriends, and Turgeon’s pleas might finally be paying off. Give yourselves pats on the back, Terps fans.

After a quick explanation of why Saturday’s game was a tough one to get jazzed about, we turn to the next Nonconfriend: the Monmouth Hawks.

A LOOK BACK: Boring. Boring. Boring. Those are the three best words to describe Saturday’s blase Terps victory over S.C. State. It was another comfortable win — just not one with many points or notable moments.

Even Turgeon said the 61-46 contest “wasn’t really a fun game to be a part of,” thanks to a bizarre packed-in zone and weave offense. Still, a win is a win, and the Terps now have their longest winning streak since the beginning of the 2006-07 campaign. Alex Len led the Terps with 13 points, although the team shot a disappointing 37.3 from the field. It would be best just to forget this one over winter break.

COMING INTO COMCAST: The Monmouth Hawks come into College Park probably just happy they aren’t in Syracuse, N.Y., anymore. The 5-5 Hawks, led by second-year coach King Rice, found out just how good No. 4 Syracuse is in a 108-56 drubbing in the Carrier Dome on Saturday.

Monmouth’s five wins, all against mid-majors, are not anything that will make your jaw drop. Some of their losses, including a 19-point defeat by Navy and a 27-point shellacking by Notre Dame, do raise the eyebrows. The middle-of-the-road national rankings for this team in points, assists and rebounds illustrate what this team is: a middle-of-the-road mid-major.

STRENGTHS: This team is used to giving a lot of players minutes, a real benefit against a physical Terps team. Twelve of the 14 players on Monmouth’s roster average 6 minutes or more per game, with eight averaging double digits. These stats match nicely with the Terps’ playing-time numbers, which show 10 players with more than 10 minutes per game.

Sure, the Hawks’ leading scorer, Andrew Nicholas (14.6 points per game), is an obvious offensive player to watch for his ability to put points on the board. But look for a lot of personnel changes throughout the game to try to match the different looks the Terps put on the floor during Nonconfriends season.

WEAKNESSES: Can Monmouth score enough points to stay with the Terps? The answer might be a tough one to swallow for the Hawks. Compare Monmouth’s mediocre 67.7 points per game with the Terps’ opponents average of 61.2 (57.2 in the last five games). Turgeon’s team, meanwhile, puts up 76.3 points itself.

What do all those numbers add up to? A tough time for the Hawks in attempting to stay with the Terps before the final buzzer sounds.

CAMPUS CONNECTION: Hawks guard Jesse Steele and Terps guard Pe’Shon Howard know a little bit about winning. That’s because they both played on a national championship high school team at basketball hotbed Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va. With senior Steele and junior Howard, Oak Hill went 40-1 and won the Powerade FAB 50 national title with additional future stars such as Nolan Smith and Brandon Jennings. Not bad for a group of teenagers in southern Virginia.

FUN FACT: Today, Wilson Hall seems pretty majestic, though boring; it houses Monmouth classrooms and some administrative offices.

But the building’s history is quite remarkable. During the summer of his 1916 presidential campaign, Woodrow Wilson lived in the hall, later named after him. In 1927, a fire destroyed the building, but it was rebuilt by the first professional black architect, Julian Abele.

But in 1980, Wilson Hall claimed its biggest accomplishment: It was Daddy Warbucks’ mansion in the film Annie. Monmouth may not beat the Terps on the hardwood, but this university would have a tough time winning a cool-buildings contest against the Hawks.

TCL (TERP CONFIDENCE LEVEL): Nine out of 10. Monmouth could have garnered an eight if its trend line weren’t plummeting like the stock market in 1929. Back-to-back huge losses for the Hawks have probably left them a little disheartened. Look for the Terps to capitalize on this and keep the wins coming.

NEXT NONCONFRIEND: Three things, a wise man once said, are guaranteed in life: death, taxes and finals week. The Terps will take time off for exams, then return to the court Dec. 21 against the Stony Brook Seawolves out of the America East Conference. All of the information on the team from Long Island will be right here. Until then, keep your friends close, your Nonconfriends closer and your finals grades high.

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