umterps Notebook: Tournament Time Is Here
3/16/2016 1:00:00 PM | Terrapin Athletics
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Tournament time is here and the men's and women's basketball squads embark on their quests for an NCAA championship this weekend on opposite coasts. This week's umterps Notebook takes a look at the basketball teams' first round foes, as well as another challenge for the women's lacrosse team this weekend in the Sunshine State.
5X5 To Spokane
The Maryland men's basketball team didn't have to wait long (no touch-screen issues for the Terps) to find out its NCAA tournament fate on Sunday.
The Terps learned in the first bracket segment that they were in the South Region and would head west (don't let geography confuse you – it's all relative when it comes to the NCAA bracket) to play South Dakota State in the first round on Friday, March 18.
Maryland is a No. 5 seed this year, which marks the fourth time in the Terps' 26 NCAA tournament appearances.
The last time the Terps were the 5th seed was 1997. That wasn't a memorable moment for Maryland as the Terrapins were upset by No. 12-seed Charleston, 75-66, in Memphis.
Maryland was also the No. 5 seed in back-to-back tournaments in 1985 and 1986.
In 1985 the Terps advanced to the Sweet 16 with an overtime win in the first round over Miami (Ohio) and a second round win over a David Robinson-led Navy squad. Maryland's run came to an end in the regional semifinals vs. No. 8-seed Villanova. (You know that Villanova team that won the national title with the “perfect game” vs. Georgetown.)
The 1986 Terps entered the tournament with an 18-13 record, but still earned a No. 5 seed. That season also saw Maryland travel across the country to Long Beach, Calif. Maryland topped 12th-seeded Pepperdine in the first round, but fell in the second to No. 4-seed UNLV, 70-64, despite a 31-point 12-rebound performance from Len Bias.
The coast-to-coast travel is a challenge for the team and its fans, but Terrapin Nation is not alone in its travel woes this year. Did you know … the distance from College Park to Spokane is just the fifth furthest distance a team will have to travel to play its first and second round games?
2,882 miles – Hawaii (Honolulu) to Spokane, Wash.
2,865 miles – Arizona (Tucson) to Providence, R.I.
2,541 miles – USC (Los Angeles) to Raleigh, N.C.
2,540 miles – St. Joseph's (Philadelphia) to Spokane, Wash.
2,482 miles – Maryland (College Park) to Spokane, Wash.
The trip to Spokane is the third-farthest Maryland will have traveled for first and second round games in an NCAA tournament. The longest came in 1998 when the Terps had to go 2,726 miles to play in Sacramento, Calif. The next was that 1986 trip to Long Beach, which was 2,655 miles.
This will actually be Maryland's second trip to Spokane for a first and second round NCAA Tournament pod. The 2010 Terps team made that trip as a No. 4 seed. Most Maryland fans would rather forget how that season ended in the second round to No. 5-seed Michigan State.
Friday's game between the Terps and the Jackrabbits (yes, we know – insert Tortoise vs. Hare reference here) is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. EDT start and will be televised on TBS. Spero Dedes will be the play-by-play man, Doug Gottlieb will provide the analysis and Ros Gold-Onwude will handle sideline duties.
Statistically Maryland and South Dakota State are very similar.
Only two-tenths of a point separate the season scoring averages (SDSU 76.3, MD 76.1) and only 1.5 points separate the teams' points allowed average (MD 66.3, SDSU 67.8).
The Jackrabbits' leading scorer is 6-foot-9 forward Mike Daum and he's not even a starter. Daum, who is scoring at a 15.2-ppg-clip, has only starter two of SDSU's 33 games this season and those came back on Jan. 14 & 16. Daum is also the Jackrabbits' leading rebounder at 6.1 rpg.
South Dakota State has one win over a Big Ten team on its resume this season. The Jackrabbits went into Minneapolis and knocked off Minnesota, 84-70, on Dec. 8.
The Twos Have It
The Terrapin women's basketball team earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will host No. 15-seed Iona Saturday afternoon at 1:30 p.m. at XFINITY Center. No. 7 Washington and No. 10 Princeton will also be coming to College Park for the first and second rounds.
This is the eighth time the Terps have been a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. All-time Maryland is 15-6 as a No. 2 seed.
The last time Maryland was a No. 2 seed was 2012, and, just like this season, standing in their way was Notre Dame as the No. 1 seed in the region. The Terps and Irish advanced to the Elite Eight in Raleigh, N.C., where Notre Dame prevailed.
Of course, the most memorable time Maryland was a No. 2 seed was 2006. No Terrapin fan can forget the incredible run the Terps went on to win the program's first national championship.
The team's “Overtime Is Our Time” motto proved prescient as Maryland needed overtime to get past Utah in the Elite Eight to get to the Final Four in the Albuquerque Regional Finals.
Once in Boston, the Terrapins dispatched No. 1-seeded North Carolina in the semifinals before meeting No. 1-seed Duke in the title game. The Blue Devils led 70-67 with 18 seconds left when Brenda Frese called a timeout to set something up. That something was freshman guard Kristi Toliver coming down the right side and taking what became known as “The Shot” to send the game into overtime. From there the Terps got key free throws from Toliver and fellow frosh Marissa Coleman in the final minute to secure the 78-75 victory.
In order to get back to their third consecutive Final Four, Maryland will have to slay its personal goliath in Notre Dame, which is looking to make it to the Final Four for the sixth straight time.
But there's a lot of work to do before that can happen, beginning with the Gaels on Saturday.
While Maryland is making its 24th trip to the “Big Dance,” Iona is making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. The Gaels are led by 5-foot-11 senior forward Joy Adams, who averages 14.6 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game. Adams is seventh in the nation with 21 double-doubles on the season. Her rebounding average is sixth-best in the country and she is fifth in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 5.0.
Fans can buy tickets at XFINITY Center on Saturday and Monday, but are encouraged to order their tickets in advance online or by calling the Maryland Ticket Office at 1-800-462-TERP (462-8377). All session passes for both the first and second rounds are $30 for adult reserved seating, $25 for senior/youth reserved seating and $15 for general admission seats.
The Best Never Rest
The Maryland women's lacrosse team backed up its unanimous No. 1 ranking with an impressive 14-9 win at No. 3 Syracuse this past Saturday in the Carrier Dome.
The game was tied at 7-7 early in the second half and the Terps held a 9-8 lead with 14:33 to play. But Maryland showed its quality down the stretch as Taylor Cummings imposed her will on the game, scoring all three of her goals in a decisive 5-0 run over a span of 9:29 to open up a 14-8 lead.
The Orange fell behind early, but rallied to take a 5-4 lead with 58 sec. to play in the first half. That lead lasted only 26 sec. as Maryland tied the game on a goal from Taylor Hensh.
Maryland took a 6-5 lead into halftime on a goal by Jen Giles, but Syracuse regained the lead by scoring the first two goals of the second half. That 7-6 lead also didn't last long – only 1:08 to be exact. The Terps converted three straight free-position opportunities to go up 9-7.
But there's was very little time for the Terps to enjoy their victory because another challenge looms this Saturday when Maryland heads to Gainesville, Fla., to take on No. 2 Florida.
The Gators thumped No. 16 Boston College, 13-5, on Saturday and No. 15 Towson, xx-x, on Monday. Florida is a perfect 8-0 on the season (including an 11-10 win at Syracuse back on March 1) and is 5-0 at Dizney Stadium.
Florida's rise to one of the nation's top programs has been meteoric as the Gator program didn't even exist until 2010 and already Florida has a Final Four appearance and five trips to the NCAA tournament.
Maryland and Florida have only met once and that was last season's 16-6 Terrapin win in College Park on March 14. Brooke Griffin led the Maryland offense with eight points on five goals and three assists.
The Maryland-Florida game will be streamed live on GatorVision. Click here to catch all the action.
Quick Hitters:
• The Maryland men's lacrosse team's offense was firing on all cylinders at Princeton this past Saturday in a 17-5 drubbing of the Tigers. Colin Heacock led 12 different Terp goal-scorers with three tallies. Pat Young had his finest game as a Terp with four points on two goals and a pair of assists.
The 6th-ranked Terrapins will have to regroup quickly, however, as they welcome high-powered No. 10 Albany to Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium for a 6 p.m. game tonight (watch live on ESPNU and stream on WatchESPN).
The Great Danes are seventh in the nation in scoring offense with a 13.75 average. Seth Oakes is the main goal-scorer with 11 tallies in just four games, while Connor Fields leads the way in points with 17 on eight goals and a team-best nine assists.
• Congratulations to Maryland track & field's Micha Powell and Chioma Onyekwere on their 2nd team All-America honors last weekend at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Powell finished 12th in the 400m with a time of 53.31. Onyekwere took 14th in the weight throw with a toss of 19.49m.
• Congratulations to Maryland softball's Brenna Nation on tossing a no-hitter vs. St. Louis on March 12 in Norman, Okla. Nation's 5-inning gem is the Terps' first no-hitter since March 27, 2013 when the Terrapins tossed back-to-back no-hitters in a doubleheader vs. Howard.
Madison Martin went five innings to earn the solo no-no in the opener, a 20-0 win over the Bison. In the second game Lexi Carroll tossed four innings and Samantha Schweickhardt pitched a perfect fifth in a 13-0 victory.
In case you're wondering … Kerry Hickey tossed the last 7-inning no-hitter for Maryland softball in a 1-0 win at Florida State on April 23, 2011.
• Good luck to Geoffrey Alexander of the Maryland wrestling team at the NCAA wrestling championships this weekend at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Alexander (13-5) is seeded 14th at 133 lbs. and takes on NIU's Austin Eicher (19-11) in the first round on Thursday morning. Alexander is making his fourth NCAA tournament appearance, while Eicher, a redshirt freshman, is making his first appearance.
• Good luck to head coach Brett Nelligan and his Maryland gymnastics squad at the Big Ten championships this Saturday. The meet will begin at noon and will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
• The Terps' women's tennis team picked up a big win, 6-1, over No. 62 Purdue on Sunday. Maryland swept all six singles matches including a three-set victory by Alexandra Stanova in the No. 1 spot.
Wrapping Up
That's it for this edition of the umterps Notebook. Don't forget to follow Maryland athletics on all of the social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Patrick Fischer is the Director of Digital Media and Website Management for the University of Maryland Department of Intercollegiate AthleticsThe views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Maryland athletics department or its athletics programs.
