When North Carolina's Sean May swatted Mike Jones's last-second attempt to tie the game, securing the Tar Heels' 85-83 victory last night, Maryland's postseason might have begun at that precise moment.
The Terrapins (16-10, 7-8) know they must either win their regular season finale at Virginia Tech on Saturday or make a run in the ACC tournament in two weeks to feel good about extending their streak of 11 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.
Mike Jones, left, Coach Gary Williams and the Maryland fans absorb the reality of a 85-83 loss to North Carolina on Sunday. "Close isn't good enough this time of year," Williams said.
(Joel Richardson -- The Washington Post)
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_____ Monday Morning_____
A look back at the weekend and a look ahead at the coming week's action with a fresh new edge.
• Norman Chad's Couch Slouch
• Starting Lineup
• The Chat: George Gray, host of ESPN reality show "I'd Do Anything"
• 7 Days
• The Review: "Hooked: The Legend of Demetrius 'Hook' Mitchell"
_____ The Quote _____
"If we're normally in the dugout at the time they plan to do this, we're not going to not be in the dugout. We're not going to arrange, or rearrange, our routine to either be there or not be there."
-- Manager Joe Torre, making it perfectly clear where the Yankees will be when the Red Sox hand out their World Series rings before their home opener against New York.
_____ The Monday Morning Poll _____
Note: This is an unscientific survey of washingtonpost.com readers.
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Their margin for error vanished when the final buzzer sounded, sending 17,950 hushed fans from the Comcast Center. Maryland gave a valiant effort against the second-ranked Tar Heels (24-3, 12-2), atoning for its 34-point defeat on Jan. 8 with a competitive game.
The Terps battled back from an 11-point second-half deficit to take the lead in the final two minutes. But as Maryland Coach Gary Williams said, "Close isn't good enough this time of year."
Williams was satisfied with Jones having the ball on the final possession.
After all, he had the hot hand, having made four three-pointers in the second half, the last of which gave the Terps an 81-80 lead with 1 minute 29 seconds remaining.
Jones caught the ball with 6.8 seconds to play and penetrated against Jackie Manuel. When he encountered May a few feet from the basket, Jones lofted a shot that May blocked with three seconds left. The ball wound up in the hands of Manuel as time expired.
"It was a crushing play," Maryland point guard John Gilchrist said.
May said he knew Jones didn't have enough time to pass the ball, enabling him to come from the weak side for the block.
The final minutes of the game illustrated the talent of North Carolina, even without its leading scorer, Rashad McCants, who sat for the second straight game because of an intestinal disorder.
North Carolina's Jawad Williams, who scored 21 points, sank a three-pointer to give the Tar Heels an 83-81 lead with 1:06 remaining. After Maryland's Ekene Ibekwe tied the game with a tip-in, North Carolina scored the game-winning basket with 18 seconds remaining.
That's when point guard Raymond Felton converted a layup after coming around a screen and driving on Gilchrist. Maryland had practiced against that play all week. "We knew that was one of their favorite plays," said Maryland guard Chris McCray, who scored a career-high 25 points.
"I did it on the fly," Felton said. "I had a clean lane to the basket."
Maryland might have won had it not been for the final 10 minutes of the first half, when North Carolina took a 10-point lead.
