GREENSBORO, N.C. — This is probably a whole lot less meaningful than it would have been a year ago, but in other ways, it’s a lot more intriguing.
Last season, the Terps were squarely on the bubble at this point in the game–though looking good after knocking off the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament.
This year, the Terps, despite yesterday’s early exit from the ACC Tournament, are in much better shape. Instead of debating the Terps’ viability as a tournament squad, the major question heading into Selection Sunday is how the draw might set up for the Terps to take a run deep into March.
Bracketology is hard and inexact, so we at The Diamondback won’t try to do this ourselves.
After the jump, here’s a look at what where some national pundits see the Terps and what that could mean:
- ESPN’s Joe Lunardi (updated: Saturday): The country’s most famous Bracketologist has the Terps as a six-seed in the East Region, playing a first round game against Cornell in the Providence pod. Sometimes 11-seeds can be high-majors who are sliding or just slid into the tournament despite major deficiencies. The Big Red, class of the Ivy League and mid-major darling, certainly don’t fall into those categories. A potential second-round match-up with streaking Georgetown in this scenario would be very tough (but fun for D.C.-area basketball fans). At least, the Terps would stay as close to home as is really possible through the first two weekends.
- Sports Illustrated’s Andy Glockner (updated: Saturday): Glockner slots the Terps in line to be a No. 5 seed in the Midwest. In this scenario, they get a first-round match-up with Florida a squad that just squeezes into the field as one of the last at-large teams in. They’d get a possible second-round match-up with Pittsburgh, a squad much like themselves that surprised during the regular season and fizzled early in the conference tournament. Seeing No. 1 Kansas that close to them in the bracket is never a good thing.
- CBS Sportsline’s Jerry Palm (updated: Saturday): Palm gives the Terps the most respect in his bracket with a No. 4 seed in the South region. He also gives the Terps’ a first-round date with the Big Red–this time in the San Jose pod. They would have a possible second round match-up with Vanderbilt, a team they saw but did not play early this season at the Maui Invitational. The Commodores were a lot like the Terps in the SEC really doing a good job of winning all the games they were supposed to win. If the Terps are going to be a No. 4 or No. 5 seed with a potential Sweet 16 game against a No. 1 seed, they would probably most like to be in Syracuse’s region, like Palm projects, given the Orange’s late season struggles.
- Fox Sports’ Chris Kulenych and Craig Gately (updated: Saturday): These guys tab the Terps as a No. 5 seed in the East region with a trip to Spokane to meet the Big Red. They also foresee a potential second round game with Panthers, who would have to get by a dangerous Illinois squad to get there. In this projection, the East No. 1 is Kentucky. The Terps have made a living beating teams with more athleticism this season, but its a little much to ask them to handle John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Co.
So, in conclusion, these are just four different opinions during a very fluid time to be a Bracketologist. A lot of them think one way or another the Selection Committee will find a way to match the Terps up with Cornell. Some of them, sadly for me, think the Terps will be shipped to cold-weather destinations such as Providence or Spokane for the first round.
One ramification of being knocked out of the ACC Tourney so quick is the Terps have to sit back and wait while other teams improve their potential Tournament seeding–and they have a lot of extra times to examine bracket projections if they so choose.
Eric Detweiler is The Diamondback’s Terrapin Men’s Basketball Team beat writer. He can be reached at edetweilerdbk@gmail.com. You can follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/edetweiler.