The Terrapins women’s basketball team is fighting for one of the top seeds in this season’s NCAA Tournament, yet the players insist they don’t pay much attention to the projections for the 64-team field.
Guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough said she hasn’t looked at the mock brackets at all. Forward Kiah Gillespie thought the Terps were projected as the No. 9 overall seed according to the NCAA — they were as of Feb. 15 — but said looking at these rankings makes her anxious. Instead of worrying about where the Terps might end up, coach Brenda Frese preaches staying in the present and working to get better as a team.
That philosophy has bred success recently, as the Terps have advanced to back-to-back Final Fours before falling to Connecticut and Notre Dame, respectively.
But the pundits’ projections still exist, one of which is Charlie Creme’s bracketology at ESPN.com. He has the Terps as the No. 3 seed in the Bridgeport Region with the top-ranked Huskies, and in his mind, the Terps will likely need to upend the three-time reigning national champions if they want to again reach the pinnacle of college basketball.
“In either scenario, whether they’re eight overall or nine overall, the likely landing spot with the other teams involved would put them in Bridgeport based on geography,” Creme said.
Creme doesn’t see the Terps earning a No. 1 seed, even if they win their final two regular-season games and capture the Big Ten Tournament title. And because of the Terps’ dominance against the Big Ten aside from Ohio State, which has beat them twice, he can’t see Frese’s team dropping to a No. 4 seed.
For Creme, that means the Terps will either see a No. 2 or a No. 3 next to their name during the selection show March 14.
And either way, Creme said, the Terps end up in Connecticut’s region because of the geographic location of the teams ahead of them.
As of now, the selection committee would give the Terps geographical preference because they’re the first No. 3 seed. Out of the four regions, which are Bridgeport, Lexington, Sioux Falls and Dallas, Rupp Arena in Kentucky would be their preferred destination for possible Sweet 16 and Elite Eight matchups.
But the Buckeyes, who are currently the top No. 2 seed, would already be in Lexington, and the NCAA Tournament selection process states the first three teams in a given conference must be placed in different regions. The next closest destination for the Terps? Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Even if the Terps replace Arizona State and nab the final spot on the No. 2 line, none of the three teams ahead of them — Ohio State, Texas and Oregon State — reside on the East Coast.
Both scenarios appear to lead to a possible matchup with Connecticut, who beat the Terps, 81-58, in last year’s national semifinals. The Huskies, who have won 63 straight games, also secured a 83-73 neutral-court win over Frese’s team Dec. 28.
“In this day and age, you hope you don’t play in [Connecticut’s] region, unfortunately,” Creme said. “The way the process is set up, that probably will be Maryland’s destiny, given the geography.”
To have a chance to beat Connecticut, Creme said, teams must have an explosive offense that can score in a variety of ways. He said the Terps are one of the few squads in the country that fall under that umbrella.
Walker-Kimbrough and center Brionna Jones, both of whom made the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 list, shoulder the scoring load for a Terps team that ranks fourth in the country in points per game (84.4) and second in field-goal percentage (50.1 percent).
Connecticut, though, leads the nation in both categories and features two-time Associated Press Player of the Year Breanna Stewart.
So while the Terps have the pieces to advance deep in the tournament, Creme said, they’ll likely need to face the overwhelming favorite before the final weekend in their quest to capture a second title.
“I guess you could say this about a lot of teams, [but] if you took Connecticut out of the mix, to me Maryland has the ingredients — a good point guard, they rebound and they can score with efficiency — that would be national-championship caliber,” Creme said. “It’s just that Connecticut sort of stands above everyone else in all of those categories and then some.”
