Terps Fourth Seed In NCAA Tournament, Face Grand Canyon
Press release...
COLLEGE PARK, MD – The Maryland men's basketball team has earned a four seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and will face No. 13 seed Grand Canyon in the first round hosted in Seattle in the West Region. The first round game will be held on Friday, March 21. The winner will face the winner of No. 5 Memphis and No. 12 Colorado State.
The Terps enter the tournament with a 25-8 overall record after reaching the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament in head coach Kevin Willard's third season with the program. It marks the second NCAA Tournament selection for Maryland during his tenure following the 2022-23 trip where the Terps advanced to the second round.
This will mark the 31st all-time appearance for Maryland which has a 44-29 record in the NCAA Tournament. The four seed is the highest for Maryland in the NCAA Tournament since also being a four seed in 2015. The Terps have reached the Sweet Sixteen 14 times, the Elite Eight four times, the Final Four twice, and won the NCAA National Championship title in 2002.
Most recently, Maryland defeated West Virginia in the 2023 NCAA First Round before falling to top-seed Alabama in the second round. The Terrapins have won 15 of their last 16 opening round games dating back to 1997.
The NCAA Tournament bid marks Maryland's seventh appearance in the last nine applicable years (2020 canceled due to COVID-19).
Maryland is led by its starting five of Derik Queen (16.3 ppg), Ja'Kobi Gillespie (14.7 ppg), Rodney Rice (13.9 ppg), Julian Reese (13.1 ppg), and Selton Miguel (12.0 ppg). The group is the highest scoring starting five unit in the country.
The Terps have won eight of their last 10 games entering the NCAA Tournament including an 88-65 win over No. 24 Illinois in the Big Ten Quarterfinals before falling to No. 22 Michigan on a buzzer-beater in the semifinals.
Maryland is No. 9 in the NCAA Net ratings, No. 12 on the KenPom.com, No. 10 on BartTorvik.com and No. 12 on EvanMiya.com. The Terps closed the regular season ranked No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll – its highest since the 2020 campaign.
Maryland has never played Grand Canyon.