With the NCAA selection show just hours away, TSR takes a look at Maryland's NCAA resume and where various bracketologists predict the Terps will be seeded in this year's big dance.
The NCAA Evaluation Tool, also known as the NET rankings, are used as the primary basis for seeding teams.
In the NET rankings, wins are broken down into quadrants. Quadrant 1 wins carry the most value, followed by Quadrant 2 wins, Quadrant 3 wins and finally Quadrant 4 wins. A look at how each quadrant is broken down, below.
How Each Quadrant is Defined
Quadrant 1: Home vs. teams ranked in the top 30; neutral vs. 1-50; away games vs. 1-75.
Quadrant 2: Home vs. 31-75 teams; neutral vs. 51-100; away vs. 76-135.
Quadrant 3: Home vs. 76-160 teams; neutral vs. 101-200; away vs. 136-240.
Quadrant 4: Home vs. 161-plus teams; neutral vs. 201-plus; away vs. 241-plus.
Maryland's Resume
NET: 31
KenPom: 22
NET Strength of Schedule: 36
KenPom Strength of Schedule: 50
Quadrant 1 Record: 3-10
Quandrant 2 Record: 6-2
Quadrant 3 Record: 3-0
Quadrant 4 Record: 9-0
Best Wins: Purdue (No. 5 NET), Indiana (No. 30 NET), Miami (No. 35 NET)
NCAA Projections
ESPN Bracketology (Updated March 12, 2:45 am)
Maryland: South Region (Louisville), 9 seed
Top 4 seeds in region: Alabama, Texas, UConn, Virginia
ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Maryland as the 9 seed in the South (Louisville), where they would face Conference USA automatic qualifier Florida Atlantic. If Maryland were to advance, they would face the winner of Alabama (1 seed) and whichever First Four 16 seed they would face in the opening round. The Terps lost to Alabama in their last NCAA Tournament game two seasons ago in the second round by a score of 96-77. Current Oklahoma City Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins led the Terps with 27 points in the loss.
CBS Sports Bracketology (Updated March 12, 1:54 am)
Maryland: South Region (Louisville), 8 seed
Top 4 seeds in region: Alabama, Texas, UCLA, Xavier
Like Lunardi, CBS Sports' Jerry Palm currently predicts Maryland in the South Region where they would face Florida Atlantic in the 8/9 game with Alabama and Texas as the top two seeds. Palm's South Region, however, has Pac 12 regular-season champion UCLA and Big East runner-up Xavier as the 3 and the 4 seeds, which would perhaps make the South the toughest of the four regions.
Fox Sports Bracket Forcast (Updated March 11, 2:31 pm)
Maryland: South Region (Louisville), 8 seed
Top 4 seeds in region: Alabama, Purdue, Kansas State, Xavier
Like Lunardi and Palm, Mike DeCourcy has the Terps in the South Region playing in the 8/9 game. But unlike the other two, DeCourcy has the 8th seeded Terps playing 9 seed Memphis in the opening round. DeCourcy has Alabama as the top seed and Xavier as the 4 seed, similar to Palm. It is worth noting, however, that this bracket was done before Arizona beat UCLA in the Pac 12 championship game and before Penn State was locked in to play Purdue in the Big Ten title game. Memphis is also set to face top-ranked Houston in the American Athletic Conference title game and a win over the Cougars could very possibly bump them up in the seeding.
Final Thoughts
There is a clear consensus among the experts that the Terps will likely be either the 8 or 9 seed in the South Region with Alabama as the likely second-round matchup should they advance. Both Florida Atlantic and Memphis would be tough first-round matchups. FAU is 31-3 and has won seven straight, while Memphis has shown they are capable of beating teams from the top conferences with Power 5 wins that include Auburn and Texas A&M. Finally ,current starters Donta Scott and Hakim Hart were on the team that lost to Alabama in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and would surely have a little added motivation should they face off with the Crimson Tide once again.
