Kevin T. Connor, The Examiner
2007-01-12 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

College Park -

Rebounding was a known concern for Maryland’s men’s basketball team entering this season. Poor shooting? That’s a surprise.

With Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson (17-0, 1-0) coming into Comcast Center Saturday, the Terps (14-3, 0-2) will have to remedy problems further exposed in a 63-58 loss to visiting Miami Wednesday night. The Terps shot 22 percent from the field and were out-rebounded, 55-41. Those numbers added up to a deflating effort.

“It is a little frustrating when you know we make those shots and they aren’t falling,” said Terps senior guard Mike Jones, who was 3-of-10 behind the arc. “We need to work on that, as far as finishing plays and getting three-point plays.”

Senior guard D.J. Strawberry and sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez (Montrose Christian) combined to miss all nine of their three-point attempts. But that does not explain the inequity on the boards.

“[Miami] didn’t shoot much better than us,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said. “But they went after the glass a lot harder than us.”

Said Strawberry: “We have got to get better on the boards if we want to be able to compete in this league. We wanted to be in the ACC, we wanted to play here and you know coming out and playing like that is disappointing.”

Now the Terps must face the Tigers — the last remaining undefeated Division I men’s basketball team — while trying to avoid an 0-3 conference start.

“It is a long season and we still have to keep our heads up,” Terps forward Ekene Ibekwe said. “Things happen like that and there is nothing we can do now but come into practice and get ready for the next game.”