It’s easy to blame closer Jim Johnson because he blew two saves. The real problem here is the starting pitching though.

None of the starters, save Chris Tillman, has been able to go six innings or more in their starts.

If the starters don’t improve, the stellar bullpen will wear down and more games will be lost.

Beyond the starting pitching, there’s not much that needs to be fixed with this team. The defense is airtight and the hitting is fantastic.

The starters may improve over time, but if they don’t Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman could be called up sooner than later.

If the pitching does improve, this team will be dangerous down the stretch in August and September.

Faust was all over the place with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He also got help from senior guard Logan Aronhalt and freshman Seth Allen who both had 15 points.

Dez Wells added 12 points for the hot-shooting Terps.

In a game that started slowly and was tied at halftime, Maryland’s size and depth appeared to wear down Niagara in the second half.

Maryland will host either Denver or Ohio Thursday night.

Alex Len continued to play well and Dez Wells had a stellar second half, but the Terps fell a Logan Aronhalt 3-pointer short.

James Michael McAdoo, Reggie Bullock and the rest of North Carolina led from the beginning to advance to the ACC Tournament finals.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Terps will be invited to the NCAAs or NIT this season, but I don’t think so and they don’t really deserve it.

Mason Plumlee played a decent game with 17 points, but Duke couldn’t hit their threes.

Maryland moves on to play in the semifinals Saturday afternoon. They will face either Florida State or North Carolina, each team has beaten them twice this season.

In their opening round game, Maryland struggled in the first half, but took care of the ball in the second half to put away the Wake Forest Demon Deacons 75-62.

Dez Wells took over the game with 21 points.

Maryland moves on to face Duke Friday night.

The Terps (20-10, 8-9 Atlantic Coast Conference) failed to beat another quality opponent Wednesday night as the North Carolina Tar Heels (22-8, 12-5) blasted Maryland 79-68 Wednesday night.

North Carolina shot the ball well and were much quicker than the Terps.

Maryland closes the regular season at Virginia Sunday evening.

Senior guard Logan Aronhalt led the squad with 26 points, but didn’t get help from anywhere else. That included nothing from center Alex Len.

The sophomore center, coming off a 19-point game, disappeared for long stretches after being double-teamed by the Eagles all night and fouled out of the game with just four points and seven rebounds.

Maryland continues the road toward the ACC Tournament with a game against Clemson Saturday afternoon.

Alex Len led the Terps with 19 points and nine rebounds and outplayed Duke star (a term i use loosely) Mason Plumlee who fouled out and scored four points. Len put on a show in the paint hitting six of his eight shots and seven of his eight free throws.

The biggest play of the game, however, was made by freshman guard Seth Allen. With time winding down in a tied game, Allen drove to the basket and was fouled. Allen hit both free throws forcing Duke to throw up a late shot from three as time expired. Allen finished with 16 points.

The Terps key to the game was rebounding. Maryland collected 40 rebounds to Duke’s 20 which helped them overcome 26 turnovers.

Maryland will try to handle the success when they take on Boston College Tuesday night.

Alex Len was a non-factor for most of the game before fouling out late in the second half. He did come up with a few defensive plays, but it was nowhere near enough to slow down the hot-shooting Cavaliers.

Virginia hit 11 3-pointers along with 17 free throws to smother Maryland. The Cavaliers used their methodical offense and stifling defense all day.

Not much else to say about this one. The team needs to hold onto the ball and improve the foul shooting which has been the story all season.

They face Duke on Saturday evening.

The offense produced six players in double figures, including 12 points from freshman Jake Layman. All of Layman’s points came from 3-point range.

This was the best game in a long while that Maryland has played and it showed with their point outburst. However, there were some issues that have been recurring.

The Terps turned the ball over 19 times. That’s entirely too many times and would have cost them against a better team.

Maryland also didn’t get to the foul line too much while also only sinking 55 percent (5-for-9). It’s a problem that probably won’t be fixed this season, but the schedule might just be softening up in time for Maryland to make a push to the NCAA Tournament.