GW: Patience Is Key To Offense

Maryland wasn't shooting the ball all that great entering ACC play, but the Terps' accuracy has suffered even further since the beginning of the conference season. Maryland ranks dead last in the ACC in field goal percentage in conference games, shooting 38.8 percent. Tonight's opponent, Miami, ranks third in the same category, shooting 43.9 percent.

Against Boston College on Tuesday, the Terps fired off 71 shots and hit 40.8 percent of them. Gary Williams said yesterday he would prefer his team be a little more judicious with its shot selection.

"Patience is always a good thing on offense," Williams said. "We took 71 shots against BC, and you probably only want to take about 60 during a game. I thought we were a little quick in the second half against BC, but some of that comes with experience, too."

Williams said a point of emphasis in practice this week has been taking better shots, rather than the first available. He believes that if the Terps can accrue better shots, their shooting percentage is bound to improve.

Here is a look at how many shots Maryland has taken from the field in each of its six conference games so far, as well as its shooting percentage and the result in each contest:

Jan. 10 vs. Georgia Tech -- 73, 31.5 percent, W
Jan. 14 at Miami -- 57, 43.9 percent, L
Jan. 17 at Florida State -- 70, 38.6 percent, L
Jan. 20 vs. Virginia -- 54, 53.7 percent, W
Jan. 24 at Duke -- 64, 28.1 percent, L
Jan. 27 vs. Boston College -- 71, 40.8 percent, L