ERIC PRISBELL | TOP OF THE ARC
Giving Their Best Shot
With Solid Finish, Terrapins Can Expect At-Large Bid
Maryland's victories over Wake Forest, Michigan State and North Carolina overshadow its poor road record and 7-9 finish in the ACC.
(By Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)
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Maryland failed to recapture the magic of its run in the 2004 ACC tournament, losing to Duke in the ACC semifinals yesterday, but the Terrapins are expected to receive an at-large invitation when the NCAA tournament bracket is unveiled today.
The best news for Maryland yesterday did not come from Atlanta but rather Oklahoma City, where Missouri beat Baylor in the Big 12 tournament final. Had Baylor -- a team with little chance at an at-large bid -- claimed the conference's automatic berth, it would have taken a slot away from the teams on the bubble.
When the selection committee assesses Maryland's résumé, it will see credentials that separate the Terrapins from other teams in contention for the last few at-large berths. Maryland has more wins against top 25 opponents than South Carolina, Florida, Creighton and Saint Mary's combined.
Why will Maryland get in? Because it beat Wake Forest, Michigan State and North Carolina. Those victories overshadow the poor road record or 7-9 regular season ACC mark.
What type of seed can the Terrapins expect? Maryland most likely will receive a No. 10, 11 or 12 seed. The Terrapins will most likely be among the last four team to receive an at-large berth. They could find themselves in any number of interesting matchups, perhaps a game against a seventh-seeded Texas team, a fifth-seeded UCLA team or a sixth-seeded West Virginia. All would be fascinating.
Where could the Terrapins go? They will not go to Greensboro, N.C., for the first round because two ACC teams are expected to be placed there and Maryland cannot face an ACC team until a region final. You can also most likely scratch out Dayton, Ohio, because the winner of Tuesday's play-in game will meet a No. 1 seed three days later, and the Terrapins probably won't rise to an eight or nine seed in the opposite pairing.
Philadelphia is a possibility, and a potential second-round matchup with third-seeded Villanova. So is Boise, Idaho, where the Maryland football team found success a few months back.
In any event, because of the Wake Forest victory on Friday, the question now becomes where the Terrapins will go and not if they will go.
