Selection Sunday has arrived and it is looking quite likely that after a one-year absence, Maryland men’s basketball will return to the NCAA tournament.
But what seed will the Terrapins be and who could they face? Let’s round up the latest brackets from several media outlets to see what we should expect when the brackets get released today.
USA Today: No. 5 Maryland v. No. 12 Oregon
USA Today is feeling rather kind to Maryland, giving them a No. 5 seed even after the loss to Nebraska. The Terps wound find themselves facing a No. 12 seed on a hot streak: the Oregon Ducks, who just won four in a row in the Pac-12 to clinch their sixth NCAA tournament appearance in the last seven years. The Pac-12 is having a down year, which helps why its conference tournament is given a No. 12 seed in this bracket. Regardless, the team that won four in a row to make the NCAA tournament will probably be feeling better about itself than the Terps who went winless in Chicago.
ESPN: No. 6 Maryland v. No. 11 Arizona State/St. Johns
As recent as March 13, Joe Lunardi had Maryland as a No. 5 seed but the Terps’ loss to Nebraska dropped them down to a No. 6 seed. Arizona State finished 12-6 in a very underwhelming Pac-12 while St. John’s was below .500 in Big East play this season. Facing someone coming off a victory in the play-in game could be tricky for the Terps given that teams that win their play-in game have gone on a run before, such as last season’s Syracuse team making the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed or most famously the 2011 VCU team led by Shaka Smart that won its play-in game and then made it to the Final Four.
NBC Sports: No. 6 Maryland v. 11 VCU
Speaking of VCU, NBC expects a DMV clash to start Maryland’s NCAA tournament. VCU takes the idea of “defense wins championships” to heart with an offense that Kenpom ranks as 171st in the country but a defense ranked seventh. They have one of the best defenses in the country when it comes to forcing turnover, so this really could be a less than ideal matchup for a Maryland team that has struggled with turnovers all season.
CBS Sports: No. 7 Maryland v. No. 10 Temple
CBS is feeling a bit harsher than ESPN and NBC, dropping Maryland to a No. 7 seed with a matchup against Temple. The Owls finished tied for third in the American Athletic Conference and are currently one of two teams in the country to have beaten Houston.
Fox Sports: No. 7 Maryland v. No. 10 VCU
In a refreshing change of pace from college football, college basketball will give UCF a true chance to prove they are the deserving national champions and according to Fox, that can start with the Knights facing the Terps. The key player to watch for UCF is Tacko Fall. Listed at 7-foot-6-inches, Fall is fourth in the country in two-point percentage but heavily struggles from the line, making under 40 percent of his free throws this season. If Maryland faces UCF, it seems likely the Terps will deploy a Hack-A-Tacko strategy.
