Junior guard Sterling Ledbetter looks for the pass while two Tiger defenders leap in front of him.

WASHINGTON – The tables were set with white linen tablecloths, the band strummed its rendition of “My Girl” and the drink coasters told them “there’s no better time to be a Terp.”

But for about 150 fans that attended an annual alumni pep rally planned for up to 1,000 last night in at the Renaissance Washington hotel, there had been better times.

The dance floor was empty, alumni downed drinks and barely anyone spoke in the dim grand ballroom. The merchandise table was unvisited and the black balloons decorating the room could’ve easily been for a funeral — not for an ACC tournament pep rally. University President Dan Mote somberly poked a balloon alone on the dance floor before giving a brief speech to the small group of despondent Terp diehards. He took a swig of wine and left along with about 100 of the attendees. Coach Gary Williams and the defeated team never showed up.

“There’s a morbid feeling in the room,” said Browne Kooken, whose wife and daughter are university alumni and who has attended the last 12 tournaments.

It was the end of a disappointing day that begun just a little past two in the afternoon.

With 2 minutes and 40 seconds left in the game, dejected Terp fans began walking out of MCI Center, knowing there was no point in staying to watch the rest.

Some just wanted to leave as soon as possible, rushing to the Metro station to go home. Others slunk into nearby bars to buy a beer or two after the Clemson Tigers edged out the Maryland basketball team in the first game of the ACC tournament yesterday.

“We feel like crying, basically. We’re going to go drink our sorrows away and cry in our beer,” said 23-year-old Baltimore native Jack Heckman. “We’re still diehard Maryland fans — through the thick and thin. This is just the thinnest.”

Other fans — who were initially excited the ACC tournament was in their backyard in Washington — couldn’t wait to get rid of the four-day passes they fought so hard to get.

“There’s just no point,” said Steve Deberhardis, 51, from College Park. Sporting a Hawaiian Terps shirt, he held up his tickets in the air in front of the entrance of the MCI Center.

Fans paced past one another, quietly asking, “Anyone need a ticket?” or offering, “Two tickets for tonight,” as Washington police officers roamed nearby. They didn’t want their tickets any more — not if the Terps got knocked out of the tournament in the first game.

After three losses to Clemson, this may be the first time in 11 years that the Terps will not advance to the NCAA tournament.

“It’s pretty sad,” said Steve Hershey, 46, a 1981 graduate of the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore. “You don’t lose to the worst team in the ACC three times in a row after beating Duke twice.”

Terp fans became analysts, proposing their own theories for why the team lost: poor passing, poor shot selections, poor teamwork, injuries, point guard John Gilchrist. Most of them agreed there was just no chemistry within the team, which continued its season-long reputation of inconsistency.

It might have been the initial disappointment, but after the game, other fans called the basketball team the worst they’ve seen in many years.

“They are an embarrassment to Maryland basketball. They could be the worst team since the [former Terrapin head coach] Bob Wade days. There was no chemistry, no leadership on the team. We have an over-talented team with no ambition,” said George, 51, from Baltimore who didn’t want his last name used.

Most of all, what Terp fans said they wanted was for the team to step it up yesterday. They needed a superstar on the team, to lead the way into the tournament.

“It seems like John Gilchrist doesn’t play within himself. It seems like he has his own agenda. This team got a lot of talent, but they’re not a team,” said 42-year-old Jim Frechette of Pasadena, a 1986 university graduate.

For many Terp fans, the team’s sporadic successes and baffling failures ended with a big disappointment.

“We’ve been a real bipolar team. Some days they’re on it and some days they’re not. We really needed it today,” said Dan Sweigart, 22, of Annapolis. “From winning to the tournament to getting knocked out in the first game is horrible.”

Some said it was almost better this way than having to watch the Terps lose again.

“I’m almost relieved that they lost,” said Doug Gaines, 33, from Washington. “There’s been a lot of suffering watching the last couple of games. It’s really frustrating and disappointing especially because the tournament was in D.C. There could have been a sea of red every day.”

“Clemson’s not the worst team in the ACC anymore; Maryland is,” said Erik Doll, 22, from Owings Mills. “It hurts me to say that, but it’s true.”

Most Maryland fans walked out disappointed yesterday, though some vowed they would attend the rest of the tournament even without their team to root for anymore. They’d cheer for someone else — as long as it wasn’t Duke.

Staff writers Hadass Kogan and Mariana Minaya contributed to this report.