Heading into arguably the biggest game of the season for Maryland men’s basketball, the Terps found themselves split in the latest bracketology updates with ESPN, The Athletic and USA Today projecting a five-seed with FOX Sports slightly more bullish.
FOX was the lone outlet to list Maryland as a four-seed, projecting the Terps to face four-seed Lipscomb in the South Region while potentially facing the winner of Mississippi State and George Mason.
USA Today projected Maryland as a five-seed in Seattle, facing the winner of San Diego State vs. Oklahoma in the play-in game with Texas Tech vs. Jacksonville State the 4-13 matchup. Auburn, the top overall seed, was also projected in the South Region with Maryland while Michigan State and Texas A&M drew the two and three-seeds, respectively.
Joe Lunardi still has Maryland as the 17th overall seed, putting them on the cusp of a four-seed in his bracketology, but postseason opponents were more intriguing in the latest updates from both ESPN and The Athletic. After teasing a possible Duke-Maryland matchup through bracketology updates during non-conference play, the Terps now have a new frequent team that’s been tabbed as a Round of 32 matchup: St. John’s.
ESPN projected Alabama as the one-seed in Maryland’s region while The Athletic projected Florida, but both outlets projected Maryland to face 12-seed Yale in Providence with St. John’s and High Point facing each other in the Round of 64, setting the stage for a potential Kevin Willard vs. Rick Pitino matchup in the Round of 32.
A second-round matchup against St. John’s, who climbed to seventh in the updated AP poll, would be a daunting early postseason matchup for the Terps but it’d also serve as a game with plenty of storylines. Pitino and Kevin Willard’s dad, Ralph Willard, both attended St. Dominic’s High School in Long Island before Pitino hired Ralph as an assistant with the Knicks in the late 1980s. Ralph then followed Pitino from the Knicks to Kentucky, then 20 years later, rejoined Pitino’s staff again as an assistant at Louisville. As for Kevin, the current Maryland head coach spent four seasons under Pitino with the Boston Celtics and seven seasons as an assistant at Louisville.
Kevin Willard, meanwhile, is 1-6 all-time against Pitino with Willard’s lone win back on Nov. 30, 2020.
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