Three questions for Maryland basketball ahead of NCAA Tournament appearance

Maryland men’s basketball will take part in the NCAA Tournament for the second time under head coach Kevin Willard and third time over the last five seasons. In search of their first Sweet 16 appearance in ten years, Maryland men’s basketball enters the postseason with buzz after college basketball analysts gradually familiarized themselves with the ‘Crab Five’ leading the way inside the Xfinity Center. But after silencing the ‘depth’ questions around the team with all five starters leading the Terps in scoring in at least two games each this season, what questions does Maryland face heading into the NCAA Tournament?

Redemption on the road

The heartbreak over the last two months has been concentrated to four games, all buzzer beater losses: Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan. Prior to that, Maryland suffered what could be viewed as the turning point of the season following a winless West Coast swing against Washington and Oregon. But the team that took the floor for their first two games in 2025 and now are two different teams with the ‘Crab Five’ proving themselves as one of, if not the most efficient starting five across college basketball.

Selton Miguel joked about the long travel as reason for pessimism for the upcoming appearance – rightly so with Maryland’s 2,759 mile trip marking the longest travel among all tournament teams. But Willard’s excitement told a different tale.

“As far as going out there, I think it's what's great about the Big Ten conference, is we've been out west,” he said on Sunday. “We've traveled out there. So this is not new. This is nothing that we have to adjust to. The guys are excited about it. Seattle is a great talent. So to get this opportunity to go back out there again, I think it's a great opportunity for us.”

With the team set to take the court for practice at 1:15 PM PST on Friday, Maryland will look to put the bad taste from Saturday’s loss behind them and make it out of the first weekend for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Will the bright lights be too bright?

There were plenty of signs over the last six weeks that Maryland would enter the NCAA Tournament as one of the most trendy picks to make noise in March, and in the days ahead of the first game, the Terps have done exactly that. Former St. Joe’s head coach and Michigan assistant Phil Martelli picked Maryland as his national champion, one of three ESPN analysts to predicted Maryland in their Final Four, while the Terps have become a frequent Sweet 16 selection in a possible showdown against the region’s top-seeded team, Florida, in San Francisco.

Still, Maryland enters Friday with just three players with NCAA Tournament experience, while Julian Reese accounts for 57 of the 77 minutes played between Reese, Jordan Geronimo and Jay Young. Head coach Kevin Willard noted the excitement several of his players shared once Maryland’s seeding and opponent was announced on Sunday afternoon.

“I'm looking at all these guys. And, I mean, Derik Queen was like a fat kid in the Chocolate Factory. I mean, he was so giddy and so excited,” Willard said on Sunday.

But will the inexperience matter? Maryland hasn’t shown that inexperienced has hindered their on-court performance through Big Ten play, but they’ll face a Grand Canyon team featuring several high major bounceback transfers as head coach Bryce Drew leads the program to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. As Kevin Willard looks to make his first-ever trip to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, Maryland will get a chance at validation.

“That Grand Canyon team is not a typical mid-major team,” CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg said about the Lopes. “They've got size, great experience. They've been to the tournament. That's going to be a tough challenge for a very good and explosive Maryland team.”

How will Maryland’s defense adjust on the road?

Maryland’s defense has had its highs and lows this season, but after coming off a one-point loss to end their Big Ten Tournament run following a complete defensive breakdown by nearly all five Terps, it’s back under the microscope heading into Friday.

The Lopes, winners in nine of their last ten games with the lone loss by one point in overtime, return Tyon Grant-Foster after returning to the team ahead of the conference tournament, giving the Lopes firepower and the Terps' perimeter defense a big challenge.

"In talking with all the NBA guys that I speak to on a regular basis, they've all made the trip to Grand Canyon,” Maryland radio analyst Chris Knoche said. “They've got some NBA-level possibilities out there. They're going to be talented."

Grand Canyon is 17-1 this season when shooting at least 45% from the floor, along with 97-13 under Bryce Drew when scoring 70 points or more. For a Maryland defense allowing a hair over 67 points per contest, which defense travels to Seattle will determine how long Maryland’s postseason run lasts.

And for a frontcourt that was outrebounded by 29 against Michigan, marking the worst rebounding margin in Big Ten Tournament history, the Baltimore tandem will have a chance at controlling the paint with Reese drawing a favorable matchup against Duke Brennan, cousin of former Redskins QB Colt Brennan.

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