Maryland coach Mark Turgeon has heard the soft congratulations from boosters over avoiding a losing year. They don’t help.
The 16-12 Terrapins are long shots for the NCAA tournament. They may even be doubtful to make the NIT. While Maryland avoided its first losing season since 1993, the past 28 games have been a grind for the Terps’ first-year coach.
If Maryland doesn’t reach the postseason, the 63-61 loss at Georgia Tech on Saturday after leading by nine points will be the reason why. Just remembering it three days later brought groans from the coach. The team didn’t even review game film together. Turgeon conceded it was too painful.
That loss leaves Maryland likely needing to beat No. 6 North Carolina on Wednesday and Virginia on Sunday, plus two ACC tournament victories to gain an NCAA invite. Maryland’s 103 RPI probably excludes it from the NIT without some late wins, too.
Looking weary, Turgeon delivered a mixture of optimism and realism when staring at the season’s final days
“We continue to fight, continue to compete, continue to get better until some committee says we’re not playing anymore,” he said. “Until that happens, that’s all I care about.”
Not that Turgeon doesn’t recognize the Terps exceeded many expectations. The early over/under was around 10 wins, with Maryland opening the season with eight scholarship players and no proven big scorer or floor leader.
The Terps were caught in transition following coach Gary Williams’ retirement and star forward Jordan Williams’ early departure. Next season’s recruiting class will help. So will a year of experience for 7-foot-1 Russian center Alex Len, whose defensive positioning is sometimes maddening.
But that doesn’t help Turgeon heal from the disappointing losses Maryland has endured. The Terps fell 71-44 at Virginia after the game was tied 31-31 at halftime. They lost 83-74 to North Carolina after leading by nine in the second half. They had two double-digit defeats to rival Duke. And they suffered a 90-86 double-overtime loss at Miami.
Maryland has won just one true road game all season — a 64-62 victory at Clemson.
“You want everything to change, but it doesn’t,” Turgeon said. “This is a process, but the strides that we’ve made being who we are is tremendous. But it’s no fun going through what we’re going through. It’s no fun losing.
“We’ve gotten a helluva lot better. We’ve learned how to play hard. We’ve learned how to compete for the most part. We’ve learned how to prepare.”
Turgeon conceded he only has two seasons he remembers fondly, despite coaching seven 20-win teams over 14 years. The rest were grinds. Certainly, this season goes into the grinder category.
Yet, Turgeon knows the Terps can still surprise some teams if they just rebound better and improve their transition defense.
“Who knows what lies ahead for us,” he said.
