Maryland men’s basketball is hot after winning their last three and seven of their last eight games, evidenced by their second rise in both the AP and coaches' poll the last three weeks. While the growing buzz and optimism around the program has been spearheaded by the Terps’ starting five, unofficially tabbed the new ‘Crab Five’ ahead of Thursday’s game vs. USC, their success over the last five weeks is beginning to draw more national attention.
BTN analyst Dave Revsine noted his conversations with coaches around the league point to Maryland being “may be the best team in the Big Ten.
“The metrics don't necessarily say that, the resume doesn't necessarily say it's not that far off, but you talk about a team that's playing well and peaking at the right time. Man, I mean, Maryland's got a bullet, as they used to say in the record charts, a bullet next to their name,” Revsine said.
FOX analyst Mike DeCourcy slotted Maryland as a five-seed in his latest bracketology update with a potential Maryland-Marquette Round of 32 matchup looming, but he also noted that Maryland is one of the “fast risers” across college basketball with a chance to bolster their resume.
“I think it comes down to them finally playing to what all the metrics said they are, which is one of the top-15 or so teams in the country. That's what the predictive metrics have been saying all along and now they're starting to win those games. They're up to 6-5 against Quad One, 9-6 against [Quad] One and [Quad] Two combined. And they've got a three Quad One games remaining. They have USC first, which is not a quad one game, but then three in a row. And that, I think, will decide whether or not they can solidify where they are in the bracket now or perhaps rise a smidge. They don't have the toughest remaining schedule. You saw that on the board a few minutes ago - it's certainly Michigan State,” as the Spartans face Purdue, Michigan and Maryland across their next three games. “So they have to continue to perform as they have and I think that would put them in a great position going into Indianapolis.”
Maryland, of course, clinched its berth in the Big Ten Tournament following Sunday’s win vs. Iowa as they moved to 10-5 in the conference with a chance to still secure a double-bye. A big piece in Maryland doing so will be taking care of business at home with three of the five final regular-season games at Xfinity Center, but regardless of the final record, Raphael Davis pointed to the Terps as “the most talented team in the Big Ten.”
“Maryland is the best team in this conference, talent-wise and on the floor,” Davis said. “You put five guys on the floor, and what can you get? You get with Maryland, you get the best backcourt in the conference. You look Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel. 61 points combined against Iowa. They made 12 threes and had 16 assists. The backcourt is there. You need guards to win big in March. And in their front court, Julian Reese, Derik Queen may be the best front court in the country. Both of them go for double-doubles against Iowa. They can score different ways – on the block, in the mid-range, get to the free throw line. And then they guard you. They guard their yard. All three guards can guard every possession on the perimeter. Derik Queen could be a freshman [who] can rise to the All-Big Ten defensive team, Julian Reese as well. They rebound. They push it. This Maryland squad. I don't care what seed they get, they can beat anyone in the country. This is the team that can 100% reach the Final Four and do some damage.”
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