Bracketology roundup: Where will Maryland men’s basketball land in NCAA Tournament?

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Maryland men’s basketball (16-5) matched last year’s win total with 10 games left in its regular season, which includes a Wednesday night clash with No. 17 Wisconsin. Unlike last season, when the Terps spent March Madness watching from home, coach Kevin Willard’s team is poised to return to the NCAA Tournament this season.

The Terps are also playing some of their best basketball of the season, winning consecutive road games last week to climb into fifth place in the Big Ten with a 6-4 record. Randallstown native and St. Frances graduate Julian Reese starred in the two road wins, scoring 41 points and adding 27 rebounds and five blocks over the two-game span.

“The senior big man was instrumental in Maryland’s massive road sweep at Illinois and Indiana,” NCAA.com contributor Andy Katz wrote in a weekly roundup, naming Reese the March Madness National Player of the Week. “The Terps won at Illinois 91-70 behind Reese’s 27 points and 17 boards. The Terps exploited Illinois’ vacuum in the middle with Tomislav Ivisic out with mono. Reese joined forces with freshman Derik Queen to control the middle. But Reese didn’t wilt against the Indiana big men combo of Oumar Ballo and Malik Reneau. Reese scored 14 and 10 in the paint.

“Sure, guards Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel and Jacobi Gillespie scored a combined 56 points. But the Terps don’t win if the middle wasn’t won by Reese and Queen. Reese’s leadership throughout the road weekend has transformed the Terps into a Big Ten top-three contender.”

As of Tuesday, most bracket projections put the Terps in the NCAA Tournament field. Their seeding varies, although they’re closer to the bubble than they are a top seed. Here’s a look at how a few “bracketologists” view Maryland’s NCAA Tournament standing before Wednesday’s clash with the Badgers:

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi

Lunardi, who helped popularize “bracketology,” gives Maryland a No. 7 seed in his latest projection. ESPN’s resident “bracketologist”…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bracketology-roundup-where-maryland-men-224800543.html

Author : Baltimore Sun

Publish date : 2025-01-28 22:48:00

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