In the end, it’s always about beating Duke.
Once more, the bedeviling Blue Devils come to Comcast Center tonight as the major hurdle for the Maryland Terrapins to reach the NCAA Tournament. The 17,950 in-house and national audience will see if Maryland is truly a postseason contender.
“I started hearing about the NCAA Tournament in November,” said coach Gary Williams yesterday. “I don’t talk about it. It’s a waste of time.”
Strange talk for a statement game. Just weeks after fans wanted his dismissal and everyone thought NCAA Tournament chances were done, Williams and the Terps (17-9) are back on the March Madness bubble. After beating No. 3 North Carolina 88-85 in overtime on Saturday, it has been a magical carpet ride for days around College Park.
A once-dead season has been revived. No more talk of Williams leaving. Even if Maryland loses tonight, winning two of its final three games against N.C. State, Wake Forest and Virginia would give the Terps an 8-8 ACC mark that should impress tournament selection committee members.
“[Duke is] more important than the North Carolina game,” guard Greivis Vasquez said. “We gotta payback.”
Playing Duke is always about paybacks. The Blue Devils crushed the Terps 85-44 on Jan. 24 and it wasn’t even that close. Williams didn’t even show the game film to players yesterday. Just clips. Nothing more needed to be said.
“We pretty much got humiliated last game,” forward Dave Neal said. “This is our chance for revenge. … They’re very beatable.”
Certainly, Maryland showed itself capable of a dramatic turnaround. After losing 108-91 to North Carolina on Feb. 3 — a game that was also an early blowout — Maryland overcame a late 16-point deficit to stun the Tar Heels.
“What if we had lost by 20 [to Duke earlier]?” Williams said. “What difference would that make now?”
Indeed, Williams has done another great job of peaking a modest team at season’s end. The Terps aren’t a Final Four contender, but they’re good enough to go a round into the tournament. Beating Duke would ensure the postseason bid and probably earn a 10 seed no matter the final three games and ACC Tournament. Losing makes it harder, but still doable.
Baffling in recent years when missing the NCAA Tournament three of four seasons, this team is much easier to decipher. They’re good, and on certain nights they’re good enough.
Is tonight one of them?
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
