The Madness Begins!: No. 2 Maryland vs No. 15 Holy Cross
As legendary drummer Phil Collins once said it in a song “I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord, And I’ve been waiting for this moment, for all my life, oh lord, Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh lord, oh lord.”
“I think coming in today everyone is kind of, you know, it’s like a realization moment. You know, it’s coming full circle. We have been working since the summertime and we’re finally here in March in the best time of the year. Being able to get our gifts today. We got all this nice stuff. And it’s kind of coming, it’s lock-in season. And it’s coming full circle. For a lot of people on the team, it is their first time being in March Madness. It’s exciting. Everyone is really excited to get to practice and get locked in on film. Everybody has good vibes all the way around.” That’s what senior Faith Masonius during the pre-march madness call stated.
Tomorrow is the start of March madness, and the No. 2 Maryland Women’s Basketball team has the privilege to host the first two rounds of the tournament. Their first opponent No. 15 Holy Cross. The game starts 2:30 p.m.
The last time we saw Maryland was March 4th and took a tough loss to the eventual winners of the Big Ten Tournament Iowa Hawkeyes. Holy Cross University won their 12th straight Patriot league championship.
THE KEYS TO VICTORY!
How does Maryland’s offense challenge Holy Crosses’ defense but also win on the other side?
Holy cross won 24 games for a reason. Their defense for the patriot league is respectable. This season so far the Crusaders have yet to surrender 80 or more points. However, Maryland this season struggle early in games to get the offense going. Maryland scored 70 or more points this season., where the Crusaders have allowed 55 points. Watch Closely to see how the Maryland offense looks the first five minutes of the game.
Holy Crosses’ offense is not box office but when it matters, they can score but ranked amongst all teams, let’s just say this can be a liability for them and it will be interesting to see how they 1.) Take care of the ball. 2.) The set offensive plays, and 3.) Can they take advantage of their interior where Maryland lacks size?
Coach Frese in the Pre March Madness media availability today stated.”I think the thing we focus the most on these last couple weeks is fine tuning the details, understanding that it can come down to a possession where it’s a communication piece on the defensive end, a box out on the glass. So just kind of really fine tuning the details.”
The #LegUSy is only beginning
Amidst of the transfers last season, and how this Maryland team would like this year. They predicted that the Maryland Terrapins would finish 4th in the Big Ten. 31 games later, Maryland finished 25-6 with a 15-3 conference record. Coach Frese stated in the Pre March Madness media availability. “So credit — I thought the schedule — the conference really prepared us for now to see so many teams are hosting and, like you said, top seeds is, you know, a great thing to see. But now just understand that every team has to, you know, continue to use what we did during the conference slate and take this into this tournament.”
Part 6: The Starting Five will be Key for the Tourney!
While some may think the bench will be key for the Terrapins, I disagree. The starters have to be key for how far this Maryland team can go. This season, it is has been disappointing to see how the offense struggles to get going early in games. Other than Diamond Miller, it will be interesting to see the rest of the starters look in the tournament. Coach Frese in the presser stated, “that’s really important, being able to score the basketball,
Being able to run, getting out in our transition game, being able to rebound. So a lot of different pieces and factors that go into it. And, you know, I think it’s a job our staff does extremely well.”
While giving the bench their roses is important, it is also important to mention that the starters need their roses as well. To see how this offense responds to adversity, this season has been amazing to watch, and it is going to be very important for the offense to get rolling early and get everyone involved early.
