Maryland Terrapins
ACC (17-15, 9-9)
There are not many big wins on Maryland’s resume, but there are not many bad losses either. In the end, the Terrapins had an average year and finished an average 9-9 in Atlantic Coast Conference play. That is pretty much what everybody expected from Maryland this year with a relatively young team and a few key pieces to replace from a team that was in the NIT a season ago.
Big Wins: 11/25 vs Providence (56-52), 2/8 Florida State (83-71), 3/9 Virginia (75-69)
Bad Losses: 11/17 Oregon State (83-90), 12/21 Boston U (77-83), 3/2 at Clemson (73-77)
Coach: Mark Turgeon (3 seasons at Maryland)
Why They Can Surprise:
With Dez Wells leading the way, Maryland can be extremely dangerous. The junior wing is a superb slasher and easily the most consistent scoring threat on the squad. The play of converted point guard Seth Allen has helped Wells find space to attack the basket. Allen missed the first dozen games of the season, yet quickly turned into the team’s best passer. Many times he was also the secondary scorer behind Wells. Against Florida State, Allen scored 32 points. He scored at least 20 in three of the four final games of the regular season. Allen will do a lot of damage with his outside shot, but he is not the only one. Nick Faust, Jake Layman and big man Evan Smotrycz are decent shooters too.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Turnovers have been a problem at times, but Allen has helped in that regard. The team still ranked 13th in the ACC with 12.8 turnovers per contest, so there is still work to be done. The fact that five underclassmen are part of Coach Mark Turgeon’s regular eight man rotation does not help. But the bigger problem for the Terrapins is simply making shots. This is not an efficient offense and they cannot afford to miss too many open looks and still make a postseason run.
Probable Starters:
Seth Allen, Sophomore, Guard, 13.4 ppg, 3.0 apg
Nick Faust, Junior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 2.0 apg
Dez Wells, Junior, Guard, 14.9 ppg, 2.2 apg
Charles Mitchell, Sophomore, Forward, 6.5 ppg, 6.3 rpg
Evan Smotrycz, Junior, Forward, 11.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Shaquille Cleare, Sophomore, Center, 3.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Jake Layman, Sophomore, Forward, 11.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Roddy Peters, Freshman, Guard, 4.1 ppg, 2.l1 apg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 71.1 (183rd in nation, 7th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.7 (112, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.1 (233, 12)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.5 (83, 9)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.0 (98, 4)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.2 (171, 8)
Free-Throw Percentage: 67.6 (246, 10)
Rebound Margin: 3.8 (57, 4)
Assists Per Game: 11.8 (244, 11)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.8 (220, 13)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2013 NIT First Round win over Niagara
2013 NIT Second Round win over Denver
2013 NIT Quarterfinal win over Alabama
2013 NIT Semifinal loss to Iowa
2010 NCAA Round of 64 win over Houston
2010 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Michigan State
2009 NCAA Round of 64 win over California
2009 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Memphis
2008 NIT First Round win over Minnesota
2008 NIT Second Round loss to Syracuse
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Davidson
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Butler
2006 NIT First Round loss to Manhattan
*all team stats through 3/9
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
