Terps test conditioning at Clemson

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Winning on the road in the Atlantic Coast Conference is a difficult task. Being forced to do it with just one day of rest is downright cruel.

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That's how Maryland coach Gary Williams sees it, anyway. No sooner had the Terrapins disposed of Georgia Tech on Sunday night when Williams began complaining about Tuesday night's game against Clemson.

"We're the only team in the league to play two games in three days with a home game first," Williams declared. "It's a lot easier to play on the road, then come back home and play that second game. So we've got to be able to deal with it."

The Terps have won six straight at Littlejohn Coliseum, so perhaps someone wanted to even the odds by forcing Maryland to make a quick turnaround. This isn't the first time Williams has taken issue with the schedule; in early January, the Terrapins played successive road games against North Carolina and Wake Forest.

They lost both by a combined 49 points.

Those two defeats dropped Maryland out of the Top 25, but the Terrapins (13-5, 4-3) are back in the rankings this week, nestled at No. 22 after successive wins over Duke and Georgia Tech. It's been an amazing turnaround for a team that, just over a week ago, lost at home to North Carolina State by 16 points.

"It would have been very easy to turn it in after that, but we continued to work hard, and maybe worked a little harder," Williams said. "If you're a competitor, and I think we are, you bounce back from those things."

After shocking Duke on Wednesday, Maryland dumped Tech 79-71. Four Terps scored in double figures and Travis Garrison took care of the defensive end with a career-high 15 rebounds.

"We're playing more as a team and looking for each other more," center Ekene Ibekwe said. "We're not getting frustrated when something doesn't go right because we know there's another play to come back to. We're feeling really good about the way we're playing."

Ibekwe, who lost his starting job before the Duke game, came off the bench to supply 14 points and nine rebounds against the Yellow Jackets. Instead of complaining about being the backup to Will Bowers, Ibekwe has lifted his play.

"Coach Williams made the decision to start Will. I have no problem with that," ibekwe said. "I'm all for the good of the team. I've been playing well the past couple of games off the bench, so we'll see how it goes from here."

And where to the Terps go from here? If they build on their performance of last week, then a 12th straight trip to the NCAA tournament is all but assured.

"We made a pretty good statement, and now we have to continue that," Williams said. "A lot of teams go up and down during a season. I hope this just the start of things for us, as far as our determination to play well every time out."