Haltime: Terps 37, Hokies 45

Thanks to recent wireless card driver updates, I'm able to offer this real-time blog entry from our living room!

It's halftime, and the Terps find themselves down by 8 to Virginia Tech. Tech has shot well from 3-point range, but the Terps defense has been almost non-existent so far. VT's point guard is beating John Gilchrist to the basket whenever he wants to (which is often, unfortunately for Terps fans).

Let me first say that the TV broadcast team for this game is awesome. The always-amusing Tim Brant and all his mis-statements and mis-pronunciations, and former Clemson coach Cliff Ellis - he was coach there when I was a freshman at Maryland. Tim is always fun to listen to, and Cliff Ellis just tells it like it is, and is pretty funny himself - he turned to Tim late in the half and asked point-blank, "What's a Hokie?" Too bad Tim left that inquiry unanswered.

Anyway, Ellis really nailed down what newspapers and columnists have only alluded to during Maryland's inconsistent season; Gilchrist's attitude on the court takes his team out of the game too often. Everything is personal with him - a team knows that when Gilchrist is taken off the dribble on defense, he'll almost always come down on the offensive end and take a shot without a pass. He lets opposing fans get to him, and on more than one occasion so far today, he's been arguing with refs about a foul while his defensive assignment has been leading a successful fast break. For the past 4 or 5 games, this team has been better with him off the court. Contrast his mental game with that of Chris McCray, who never seems to take a play off and is always running around on both ends of the court; maybe it would be better for the team if Gilchrist went pro after this year (even though at this point he's only a second-round pick). He may be the most physically talented player on the team (although James Gist and Mike Jones certainly have strong cases), but he's so easily taken off his game. The second half is starting now, we'll see how he and the Terps finish out a must-win game.