Maryland Topples Michigan State, 80-62

"Fear the Turtle" is one of college athletics' best rallying cries. Of late, it has also meant you needed to fear that the Maryland Terrapins will let you down. Promising starts have turned into poor finishes and unrealized potential. Last year, for example, they went into Chapel Hill and beat the then-No. 1 Tar Heels ... yet failed to make the NCAA Tournament.

The Terps have raised a few eyebrows with their 80-62 win over Michigan State today in the Old Spice Classic. They will play the winner of Gonzaga-Oklahoma State (Michigan State faces the loser).

Two days ago, I said that we'd learn a lot about Michigan State this week. They had a four game stretch where they would have played Maryland, Gonzaga or Oklahoma State, Tennessee or Georgetown then top-ranked North Carolina. The Terps were regarded as the weakest of the bunch, yet they blew out the Spartans.

Now, the Terps get to face either Georgetown or Tennessee on Sunday before hosting Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge next week.

Rest assured that Tom Izzo will use this to his advantage. I'm sure he'll have his guys working a little bit harder at their shooting drills. The Spartans were just 12-of-27 from the free-throw stripe against Maryland, missed seven of their nine three-point attempts and shot just 43% for the game.

Maryland Topples Michigan State, 80-62 originally appeared on NCAA Basketball FanHouse on Thu, 27 Nov 2008 22:18:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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