I didn’t get to go to Virginia yesterday. Deputy Sports Editor Andrew Zuckerman couldn’t create the newspaper you’re holding now, considering he was in North Carolina covering the women’s team’s bid to become ACC champions.
But it didn’t really bother me at first. I was content watching the women’s three weekend games on television and reading about the men’s lacrosse team’s revenge win against Duke.
In fact, it was a pretty glorious weekend if you enjoy watching Duke lose. Their women’s basketball team, men’s lacrosse team and baseball team all fell to the Terps. (Best of all, their men’s basketball team lost as well on its Senior Night)
With a women’s team that has a legitimate shot at a national championship and a men’s lacrosse team looking as if it could as well, the Terrapin men’s basketball team was an afterthought.
They were done. It was time to move on.
I won’t lie, when Gary Williams said it was hard to listen to the media say his team was already out of the NCAA tournament before the Miami game, I thought he was looking right at me.
But the Terps hadn’t proved anything otherwise.
Yesterday, they did.
I was at work glued to the computer screen, watching updates that came as fast as Will Bowers on a fast break. Discussion had already shifted from, “Hey, the women’s team looked pretty good this weekend,” to “Hey, man, what’s the score?”
That’s when I realized this season isn’t over after all. Still dark, but not over.
The Terps still probably won’t go to the NCAA Tournament. They’ll probably lose in the first or second round of the ACC Tournament and painfully accept an NIT Invitation with a half smile on their faces. But at least yesterday’s game kept the Terps above water for another week.
They’re still a mediocre team that blew an 18-point lead. But they are scrappy, just like their coach.
The Terps’ last two games have come down to the final minute, both ending in Terp wins. The fact that they’re showing some resiliency gives some hope they can do the same thing in the ACC tournament – a tournament that takes on a whole new outlook after Mike Jones’ game-winning three-pointer.
Had the Terps lost, they would have had to win the ACC Tournament to get an automatic invitation. We all know that ain’t happening. Now, a win in next weekend’s tournament puts the Terps back on the bubble. Two gives them a complaint if the don’t get in, and three may mean a date to the prom instead of homecoming.
Even if none of that happens, at least they’re back in a conversation they were nearly completely out of entering the weekend – even on their own campus.
Contact columnist Ryan Mink at sports@dbk.umd.edu.
