The Most Important Game of the Year. No, Really.

I know what you're thinking. "A home game against Virginia is the most critical game that the Terps have played this year? John, you're off your rocker!" You certainly might be right about that. Hear me out, though.

Nobody reading this would disagree that Monday's game against Virginia Tech was anything short of a disaster. Yes, Maryland won the game, but the Hokies shouldn't have been in the game anywhere near as much as they were. Plain and simple, the Terps got a major wake-up call in Blacksburg on Monday night.

Now, here's the big question - will the Terps answer the call?

Three of Maryland's last four games - Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and now Virginia Tech - were unconvincing performances to say the least, and almost certainly among the worst outings the Terps have had this season. Worse yet, this downturn comes as the calendar turns to February, and teams start gearing up for the NCAA tournament.

This brings us to Friday's game. Virginia is no pushover; in fact, you may not even have realized that the Cavaliers, not Duke, are currently sitting in the 3rd spot in the ACC. The Terps beat the Cavs a few weeks back at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va., so logic says that a win shouldn't be too terribly difficult. That's not what's important, though.

The Terps have to look at this matchup as a statement game. On a national perspective, the combination of the recent lackluster performances and Maryland's lack of a win against the biggest programs in the land right now (save for LSU, which is on a slightly lower pedestal than UConn, Tennessee, North Carolina and the like) has the Terps hurting for some positive attention. To appease both themselves and the nation, Maryland has to flat-out destroy Virginia. No questions can be raised about the performance - the Terps have to go out and dominate the third-best team in the ACC for all 40 minutes.

As the season winds down, the stakes are going to be raised higher and higher. The Terps need to bring the intensity to match - otherwise, March may be far shorter than Maryland fans would like.