By PAUL GOTHAM
COLUMBUS, OH — Six possessions. That might be the difference when Big 12 meets B1G at Nationwide Arena Sunday night.
West Virginia’s Mountaineers (24-9/11-7 Big 12) and Maryland’s Terrapins (28-6/14-14-4 B1G) tip off with a spot in the Midwest Regional semi-final on the line.
“I think it will take us a while to get used to the pressure and the speed of the game,” Maryland’s head coach Mark Turgeon said. “Hopefully we’ll adapt quickly to it.”
The Mountaineers lead the nation in steals (10.9), turnovers forced (19.6) and offensive rebounds (16.8). The effect can be frenetic. Possessions lasting less than 10 seconds as the West Virginia defenders create quick exchanges.
Maryland will need to change their negative turnover margin (-0.8) quickly.
“It comes down to the decision-making, being tough, being strong with the ball and all that,” Turgeon continued. “They’re relentless, like no team I’ve seen in a long time, as far as constant pressure, pressure on the ball. Doubling the ball type thing. So it’s a unique style. It’s worked really well for them this year, obviously.”
Juwan Staten pacess the Mountaineer offense with 14.5 points per game. The senior point guard also dishes out twice as many assists as he does commit turnovers.
“He’s a tough point guard, can score at all angles,” Maryland’s Melo Trimble said. “He has a nice pull-up. He’s quick and explosive.”
Jevon Carter comes off the bench and heads up the thievery with almost two steals a game. Devin Williams corrals more than eight rebounds.
“West Virginia has always played with toughness since (Coach Bob) Huggins has been there,” Turgeon added. “All his teams have played that way. So there’s a lot of areas where you need to be strong in double teams against pressure, when the ball’s on the glass is probably when they’re their best.”
Trimble leads three Terps in double figures. The freshman point guard scores 16.3 a game. Dez Wells adds 15.3 from the perimeter, and Jake Layman (6-9) chips in 12.6 in the post.
“I think it’s really hard to guard us in man because we have so many good shooters and so many guys that can penetrate the ball,” Wells stated. “We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of things with the basketball, inside/out. I think that’s a big adjustment. But from what I saw they press back into a zone. So trying to figure out the key to breaking that zone and their press will be essential for us.”
West Virginia likes a game played at a pace of 71 possessions. Maryland feels comfortable running half-court sets at a pace less than 66.
“We noticed that they like to keep their pace,” Staten commented. “They play at a pretty nice pace. They don’t really like to get out of control. So we want to speed this game up and make it into one of our type of games.”
“We do have big guards,” Wells said. “But they’re a great team. So we just have to prepare for them and be ready for whatever they throw at us. But they like to play high octane and like to force turnovers. So I think we’ve done a great job of taking care of the ball in those kind of situations.”
Maryland and West Virginia will tip off 30 minutes after the completion of the Dayton-Oklahoma game.
The winner advances to the regional semi-final in Cleveland to meet No. 1-seed Kentucky.
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