Maryland is on the cusp once again.
The Terrapins blew their credibility with a 66-65 loss to Morgan State on Wednesday despite leading by 14 while outrebounding and decidedly outscoring the Bears at the foul line and forcing 20 turnovers.
Still, Maryland played dumb enough to lose. Greivis Vasquez cost the tying point on a goaltending charge of a free throw. He was 1 of 9 in three-pointers. The Terps’ best player wasn’t solely the blame as coach Gary Williams’ heated admonitions of others weren’t muffled by a sparse Comcast Center crowd. However, the recent annual malaise of losing non-conference home games, this time to a 5-8 in-state opponent, may once more cost the Terps when the NCAA Tournament selection committee convenes in March.
This is madness.
“It’s a shame, but we can’t dwell on it with 16 league games [coming],” Williams said. “If we play well, we’ll be fine.”
The Terps probably will be fine entering ACC play against Georgia Tech on Saturday. North Carolina and Wake Forest are the only conference teams that can truly exploit Maryland’s inside void. The Terps can make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three years if they simply beat the second division conference teams. Maryland should go 4-0 versus Virginia and Virginia Tech, which are dreadful.
But Maryland has to bank ACC wins early. Its last three home games are North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest respectively — the current No. 2-4 teams in the nation. Maryland also travels to No. 12 Clemson right before that stretch.
The next week may forecast the Terps’ fate. Maryland needs to beat Georgia Tech before traveling to Miami and Florida State. The latter two are fair teams that have bedeviled the Terps in recent years. Anything less than 2-1 and Maryland will probably be lucky to finish 7-9 in the league.
At 11-3, Maryland will probably need an 8-8 conference mark, maybe 7-9, with a signature win over Duke, North Carolina or Wake Forest to impress the selection committee. Duke is the best chance, especially since the rivalry has propelled the Terps to beat the Blue Devils regularly. It’s hard to believe Maryland can counter North Carolina center Tyler Hansborough while Wake Forest might win the conference tournament.
Maryland will surprise and disappoint in coming weeks. The Terps just better hope the Morgan State loss doesn’t leave them one win short come March.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
