Collegiate Times

mdCenter021309

The Hokies are traveling up to College Park this Valentine's Day for a rendezvous with the Maryland Terrapins that is full of postseason implications. Both teams are on the razor's edge of NCAA Tournament contention, and these last ACC games will mean a lot to the selection committee.

Virginia Tech (16-7, 6-3 ACC) is coming off of a dramatic five-point victory in Cassell Coliseum Wednesday night against Georgia Tech. The Terrapins (15-8, 3-5 ACC) are also coming off a climactic win over the Yellow Jackets, although they have been off since that game on Feb. 8.

Against Georgia Tech, the Hokies struggled to overcome their full-court press in the second half. Unfortunately for Tech, the Terps specialize in this sort of press.

Maryland runs a three-guard press with Greivis Vasquez, Sean Mosely or Eric Hayes, and Adrian Bowie. They trap in the backcourt as the forwards drop back.

Maryland immediately doubles the inbounds pass, which is made more difficult for the opposing team because of the size of the Terrapin guards -- Vasquez stands 6'5" while Mosely and Bowie are both listed as 6'4".

The Terrapins' press has been pretty successful this season, and the Hokies will have to work hard in order to get the ball in-bounded and up the court.

Maryland will press for the majority of the game because nabbing steals and pushing the tempo of the game is how it's able to be successful -- the team plays best in transition.

Hayes started two previous games on the bench against Miami and North Carolina in place of freshman Mosely. But against Georgia Tech, the junior provided a much-needed boost in the early going.

"He really gave us what we needed to get us off to a good start," said Maryland head coach Gary Williams.

One place the Hokies will be able to take advantage, however, is in the post. Tech has Cheick Diakite and Jeff Allen, among others, whom the Terps will have a hard time matching up against down low.

If Tech's guards can get the ball down low, the Hokies will be able to take advantage of Maryland's lack of size. This will be important because Maryland's defense on the perimeter is tall and extremely quick, making three-pointers difficult to come by.

Maryland's Dave Neal, Landon Milbourne and Dino Gregory, who all stand 6'7", will be guarding in the post tomorrow.

"In terms of putting his (Maryland's) players in to make plays and taking advantage of mismatches, in terms of how they move their offense -- his offensive mind is really creative," said Tech head coach Seth Greenberg. "They're quick and obviously they have very good guard play."

One other Maryland advantage is that it has had a week off to practice and prepare for the Hokies, while Tech is a mere two days removed from its previous game.

Maryland's quick tempo combined with the Hokies' potential fatigue could be a major negative on the side of the orange and maroon. Either way, this game means a lot to two teams struggling to stay in contention for the big dance next month. And with Maryland's star point guard Vasquez coming off a season-high 19-point game last week, the Hokies need to come out strong from the opening tip.

"We're going to prepare like we always do," said Tech guard Terrell Bell. "Vasquez is good, but we don't focus on any one man -- we focus on the team, and that's what we're going to do Saturday."

The Hokies will face the Terrapins at 4 p.m. Saturday at the Comcast Center in College Park, Md. The game will be televised on Raycom Sports.