Maryland appears on the verge of making its first NCAA Tournament trip since 2004.
If a 20-win season and guaranteed .500 finish in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season did not seal a return, surely Sunday’s 89-87 comeback victory over No. 5 North Carolina was the clincher.
Recommended Stories
The win vaulted the Terps (22-7, 8-6 ACC) to the No. 24 ranking in the Associated Press poll.
Much like their season, the Terps struggled at times and were down 12 with more than seven minutes to play. The intensity Maryland employed to stage the comeback is indicative of its fight to get off the tourney bubble.
“The seniors knew the game wasn’t over at that point and they knew we had some time to come back,” said head coach Gary Williams. “You have to figure out a way.”
The Terps have been finding a way to win since Feb. 6, when they fell to visiting Virginia. From the final 10 minutes of that loss through the North Carolina victory Sunday, Maryland has played with a sense of confidence that was missing after the team’s 8-0 start.
“Somewhere along the line it dropped off,” said junior forward Bambale Osby. “We have been trying to find it back.”
Going from 2-5 to 8-6 in conference has given the team a confidence boost. The critics also did their share to motivate.
“People say what they want, but you can’t listen to them,” Osby said. “They are the naysayers and they were saying this in January. We still had the whole month of February and March.”
“This is our last time,” said senior guard D.J. Strawberry.
With tough ACC games against Duke and North Carolina State left in the regular season, Strawberry and his fellow seniors want to finish their Maryland careers strong. In the Terps past five games, Strawberry has averaged 17.4 points and posted a career-high 27 against North Carolina.
“It is coming down to our last couple of games and you get that feeling that you have got to give it everythingyou got and it could be our last chance,” Strawberry said.
And that ‘last chance’ attitude has trickled down the lineup.
“The seniors are really starting to realize this is their last season here and we really have a chance to do something big,” junior forward James Gist said.
As for returning to the NCAA Tournament, Gist and his teammates are confident.
“I feel like we are in there,” Gist said. “We are focused on finishing out the season with these last two games and winning in the ACC tournament.”
This D.J.
» Strawberry was named ACC player of the week for the second straight week and third time this season.
» He shot 63 percent (17-of-27) from the floor for the week.
