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WE ARE GOING TO GET RID OF OUR DINOSAURS?


Add Meharg to the list of over-the-hill and let"s see how things go in CP on the women's side before considering it a triumvirate of calamity....

Maryland Basketball Scoop: Is Kevin Willard about to strike while his team is hot?​

Maryland basketball produced another loud day on and off the court Friday at the NCAA Tournament. Maryland turned up the volume on its contender buzz with a blowout win against Grand Canyon, followed by another explosive press conference from coach Kevin Willard. Could we soon know what the resolution will be?​

Maryland basketball produced another loud day on and off the court Friday at the NCAA Tournament. Maryland turned up the volume on its contender buzz with a blowout win against Grand Canyon, followed by another explosive press conference from coach Kevin Willard.

Willard has turned a squad the national media viewed as a bubble team preseason into one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament. If they continue to play like they did against Grand Canyon, it could be the happiest March for Maryland fans in a long time. Willard showed up in Seattle ready to talk his, um, stuff. He's put out fiery soundbites on back-to-back days have added a layer of intrigue and uncertainty to the situation. Other than Will Wade coaching McNeese State to an upset over Clemson after confirming he's leaving for N.C. State, no coach in the country might have attracted more attention so far.

What's the latest on the situation? Could an answer come sooner than expected? Here's the latest exclusive.

I'm told Willard and the administration are in talks today about new deal. A couple of well-connected sources have said that Damon Evans is running the point for Maryland in the talks, which sounds odd given all that's occurred and because he's on his way out after announcing his departure for SMU. But apparently school president Darryll Pines has declined to take over the negotiations. You can probably assume interim AD Collen Sorem won't be the one negotiating with Willard. It's been a while since I've had so many sources say the same thing in the span of a few days as they have this week: Willard and Sorem have a frosty relationship.

That's why I was surprised when I was told earlier this week, she was the likely interim choice. But Gary Williams and Debbie Yow (mostly Williams) showed you don't have to be best buddies to win big.

"[They're] trying to get a deal done today," a source with knowledge of the situation said.

Willard's current deal has four years remaining at about $4 million per year.

One of the biggest questions: Is he actually a top choice of Villanova and considering the job? I've gotten mixed answers on that. I've been skeptical. It's seemed like a leverage play for better terms at Maryland from the start, but that doesn't rule out Nova wanting him. Some national scoop guys and others in the Big East region continue to report Willard is their top choice. As a few people have pointed out, there's some reason Villanova hasn't hired anyone yet. They could be waiting on Willard, but there are lots of other coaches also still in the tourney.

The intel I've gotten all along has led me to believe this has all been about getting more resources, not the Villanova job, as Willard said in that first presser. He told his players in no uncertain terms that he'll be back. He still seems likely to return, with a new deal that guarantees more resources, primarily a revenue shares close to $5 million, more NIL fundraising and a basketball-specific GM. Sources have said Willard was unhappy about Evans' decision to hire one GM for the whole department, and a football guy at that, and no dedicated basketball GM. They also said the relationship took a hit when Evans indirectly criticized Willard for complaining about travel and scheduling during the team's 0-4 rod start.

It also sounds like Willard wasn't about Evans' attempt to quell the Villanova speculation by rushing out that report from Jon Rothstein about working on a deal to make him a top 10 paid coach, attempting to phrase a four-year-old practice facility project as a new enticement. When that report came out, they had yet to have conversations about a new deal. In retrospect, it looks like a desperate move by Evans and Willard surely knew it. He said on Wednesday he shot it down and told Evans to talk to his agent. You wonder if his decision to reveal Evans' departure for SMU was motivated at all by Evans misrepresenting how far along talks were about a new deal.

He also has a lot of leverage because of how well this season is going. Some have asked how AD candidates will view working with a coach who publicly scooped the AD that hired him three years earlier on his own career move. If he can keep putting together teams like this one, though, it shouldn't matter much. Everyone loves a winner.

Had Evans already accepted the SMU job before this all started, or did Willard win a power play to get him out? Different people are saying different things. Earlier, I should've been more measured in my conclusion that Willard orchestrated Evans' exit. Only Willard and Evans know all the precise details and the timeline.

I haven't completely ruled out the possibility that Villanova is in play for Willard. People up there certainly seem to think so. From what I've gathered, it seems more likely that Willard re-ups at Maryland. He's a family man who's settled into the area, with kids in school. And he's going to have a lot of security and fan support. But this is also a situation unlike many I can recall, Villanova has a lot of money and there's uncertainty about who will be in charge, so all bets are off.

I'll have more information before long.

​

Kevin Willard on planning for Maryland's future, Harris-Smith's big game and why he really wanted Derik Queen​

The Maryland basketball coach had more interesting comments on Saturday.​

If Kevin Willard has any uncertainty about his future at Maryland, he didn't sound like it on Saturday. At his second-round NCA Tournament media session, the Maryland basketball coach spoke about extensive planning for next season. At a time when every hour preparing for the next opponent -- Colorado State in this instance (Maryland-Colorado preview here) -- is valuable, he's putting significant time into long-term planning, which could be telling.

"I'm already mapping out what I want to do next year with the guys on our roster," Willard said. "We had a two-hour meeting about it this morning. We spent last night on Colorado State, breaking them down. This morning, we spent an hour and a half on Colorado State, and then we spent two hours on the portal and the roster ... It's what you have to do. It's part of the job now. I'd much rather be playing [and planning] than be back in College Park doing it, to be honest.

"We've talked a lot, because right now it's the portal season. We sit down every day for two hours and just see who's going in, what we're doing."

Rumors of mutual interest with Villanova popped up early in the week. Then Willard announced AD Damon Evans was leaving for SMU and said he'd turned down a contract extension from Evans on Selection Sunday. Then he spent a few minutes expressing his dissatisfaction with the program's funding. Add it all up and the interest in Willard's situation has compounded, though no conclusion can be reached yet. Maryland doesn't even have a permanent AD in place after Evans' departure.

Willard wasn't asked about those topics. While answering a question about coaching in the NBA, though, he did sneak repeat a one-liner throwback to his comment the other day about Evans refusing to pay for his team to stay an extra night in New York City at Christmas time.

"You stay at Four Seasons. You travel great, eat great ... "

A reporter filled Willard's brief pause with the joke: "You get to stay an extra night in New York," she said.

"You get to stay an extra night in New York," Willard repeated. "You're going to get me in trouble."

He also talked about DeShawn Harris-Smith's big game against GCU, why Derik Queen was such an important recruit, the transfer portal and more:

On DeShawn Harris-Smith's 5-for-5 performance against GCU​

"Going from a guy that was starting and playing a lot of minutes, even as a freshman, to his role this year, sometimes kids need that a little bit. And I think he's really—he's continued to work hard, he's continued to have a great attitude in practice. But I actually think him sitting on the bench and seeing the game and seeing the guys has actually helped him dramatically. He's one of the smartest basketball players. I've always said he's probably, probably a little bit too smart, because he thinks a lot. But I think sitting on the bench and seeing what's going on has helped him kind of evolve as a player and a person."

On why getting Derik Queen was so important​

"I've talked about this a lot. He was so highly touted, and being on that [Montverde Academy] team with Cooper [Flagg] and Liam [McNeeley] and the young man at Georgia—I forget his name, I apologize—it was really important because he was from Baltimore. He was the next big thing from Baltimore. And we really wanted to keep him in state—not to make a recruiting splash—but just to make a statement about keeping kids home. I thought we had done a good job in the first class of doing that. People talked about having the pressure of having a McDonald's All-American and having a kid that was the MVP. We just looked at it as a great opportunity to have a great young man and a phenomenal player. To his credit, he has worked really hard. We had a recruit on a visit early on—in early November, maybe late October—and the kid was making fun of Derik about how he didn't play well in practice. Derek said, 'Wait till you try to do this. This isn't easy.' Derik struggled a little bit in practice early but stuck with it with a great attitude. He's got that infectious personality, was so positive. He's a top five draft pick. I think he's definitely exceeded my expectations."

On recruiting high school players​

"The freshman model is difficult because if you're going to bring a freshman in and pay a freshman—because you have to pay him—you better make sure what you're paying them is going to equal what they're giving you. No CEO in their right mind would pay someone out of college a million dollars and not have him have one sale, develop and work him, and then all of a sudden, he leaves and goes someplace else. The balance—the fact that we do have to—we have a budget. I know exactly how much money we have. I know how much money we can have. The portal is easier to work with because it's a proven asset. You're taking someone else's salesman that has a history of sales. It might not be in your company, may not be in your business, but you can see what he has. With freshmen, there's very few that can come in and affect this game at a really high level like Derek did. I think if you look at this year, there's maybe seven guys doing what Deiek's done."

On incoming recruit Chris Jeffrey​

"I love Chris. Chris is coming in as a freshman. He's going to play minutes next year. I love him. That's the reason we're bringing him in. But you really have to balance the fact that you just can't pay someone that you're not going to play. You don't have unlimited funds. You're a GM. GMs don't go out and pay someone a million dollars and not play them. It just doesn't work that way. The model is constantly evolving. When you get rid of the COVID year, the sixth-year kids, and add profit sharing, you're going to have so many more schools with money. It's gotten extremely complicated putting your roster together. That's a long answer. So tired."

On why he likes coaching in college​

"The appeal of college, for me at least, is that you still have a chance to really impact men's lives. You don't have that in the NBA. You're not impacting LeBron James. But I got to impact Derek Queen this year. I got to impact all these kids' lives—whether they like it or not—through our discipline, through our work ethic, through everything that we try to do as a program. We still impact young men's lives. That's still a huge part of what we do in college basketball. Yes, there's money. Yes, there's NIL. Yes, we have no rules. Yes, it's mayhem. But at the end of the day, when you run a really good program—I think we run a really, really good program—you have a chance to impact young men's lives."

On the bench​

"Those guys have been critical for us all year, if you think about just the energy they bring, the defense. Jordan with his defense, Tafara with his length, Jay—Jay has an unbelievable ability to get his hands on the ball. So just for them to continue to come in and change the game from a defensive standpoint, that's really been critical for us."

On whether a lot of college coaches will leave for the NBA because of all the new job duties​

"Could be the best question I've ever been asked. I think you will see a lot of college guys try to go to the NBA. I spent four years in the NBA, and those guys—you have to earn their respect as a coach. The NBA is the elite of the elite. If you look at the guys coaching there, they're usually guys that started as either former players who have done it and know the game inside and out and see the game on a chess level, or it's guys that started as a video guy, did advanced scouting, then was an assistant. And when you become a head coach, the players have such respect for your journey. I look at guys that have gone from college right to the NBA, and it's really hard to gain that respect on the NBA level. The great thing about the NBA is you have a GM, a salary cap, long-term contracts, summers off. You stay at Four Seasons. You travel great, eat great, get to stay an extra night in New York. You're going to get me in trouble. The NBA is the best of the best on everything. I lived there for four years. You land, and you don't worry about your bags—they just show up in your room. You're not on the tarmac putting them in the back of the bus with the managers.

On how much NIL has changed​

"When I first got this job at Maryland, we were selling hats. We were selling hats at tailgates and football games ... Year two, I was behind. The game just totally changed. It just went poof ... We lost Hakim Hart to Villanova ... I knew we had Derik and Ju, so I changed. I really did. I changed my mindset. We lost Hakim Hart last year. How I want to play and how I need to develop a roster is no longer developing four freshmen, letting them become sophomores, bringing in four more freshmen ... I had to adapt so quickly. I think we did a good job—my staff and I—of just saying, 'Okay, how do we want to play? Who's out there? What type of attitude?' There's so much that goes into it. You can still miss on the portal. I don't think we missed because we were really specific on what we wanted: unusual, great kids. That was the main thing—I wanted great kids. These guys are."

On whether coaches need to be the face of their programs because players move around so often​

" I hope not. I think this game is still all about the kids and their opportunity. I know it doesn't seem that way. I watched how excited Derik Queen was on Selection Sunday. I still think this sport will figure out a way to make sure that these kids—because this is their opportunity. I'm a head coach. This is their opportunity to make it. It shouldn't be about the coaches. It really shouldn't. It should be about developing these young men and giving them the best opportunity. They're 21 years old. I'm 49. My job is to make sure they can get to 49."
"Have I felt any obligation to be the face of the Maryland program? I don't think anybody wants this face anywhere. If you go to Xfinity Center, I'm not on one wall. And that is on purpose. I would much rather have Derek Queen smiling, Julian Reese smiling, everyone getting to know them, everyone remembering them. My job is—no, absolutely not."

On adapting to coaching in the Big Ten​

"When I started at Iona as a head coach, was there a defined style of play I wanted? Yeah. I had worked for Rick Pitino for 10 years, so I thought I was Rick Pitino. I ran the same practices, ran the same plays. When I got to Seton Hall, I still thought I was Rick Pitino—until I walked into the first meeting and saw Rick Pitino, Bob Huggins, and Jim Calhoun. Then I realized, unfortunately, I was Kevin Willard. But a good coach. The Big Ten has made me evolve as much as anything. I look at Matt Painter and what they've done, and the fact that the Big Ten is 9–0 in the NCAA Tournament now—the Big Ten has forced me to evolve. The different styles, the different coaches, the level of players. You look at the freshmen in this conference and how good they are, top to bottom. I've evolved as a coach dramatically in 19 years, but the last three years in this conference, I've had to change even more. To win 14 games in this league—we talked about it as a staff—that's crazy. And to do it in the venues we have to go on the road, with the players and coaches. I've evolved—as my hairline has evolved.
"That's a long time."

​

With Damon Evans heading to SMU, here's who Maryland could hire as its next AD​

The University of Maryland abruptly finds itself without an athletic director, just as the men's and women's basketball teams enter NCAA Tournament play, and days before the transfer portal opens. It's a poor time to lack a leader, sped by Kevin Willard's successful play to push out Damon Evans. Who replaces him?​

The University of Maryland abruptly finds itself without an athletic director, just as the men's and women's basketball teams enter NCAA Tournament play, and days before the transfer portal opens. It's a poor time to lack a leader, sped by Kevin Willard's successful play to push out Damon Evans.

"He wanted to stay," a source close to the situation said of Evans.

But he isn't staying. As reported by InsideMDSports, Evans will head to SMU after a decade in College Park.

John Talty of CBSSports wrote:

"A deal has not been finalized, but sources expect Evans to accept the role. He would replace Rick Hart, who helped guide SMU into the Atlantic Coast Conference last year. Evans, who was previously the Georgia athletic director, has been at Maryland since 2014 and has worked as the school's AD since 2018. He was recently named to the College Football Playoff's selection committee.

"SMU recently hired away Jay Hartzell from Texas to be its new president. Hartzell is believed to have made a run at Texas athletics director Chris Del Conte, who brushed away those rumors in February."

So where does that leave Maryland? The situation escalated so quickly that there's been no time for school president Darryll Pines or others in the administration to form a wish list or plan the search for the next AD. Maryland hasn't had the best luck with athletic directors and will need to break that trend. Several names have surfaced on that front.

Other names will likely emerge, but he's a first look at some who've been mentioned.

Dominique Foxworth: There might be no more impressive prospect for the job and I'm hearing he'd be interested if approached. The former Terps star and longtime NFL standout checks a lot of boxes. He's a Maryland alum who loves the school. He's personable and has a ton of polish and experience in front of cameras. He's been the head of the NBA and NFL players associations. And he has a Harvard Business degree.

"He's not a football or basketball guy, he's just a Terps guy," a source said.

Tom McMillen: I'm told McMillen would love to have the job. A Maryland basketball legend and former NBA player and U.S. Congressman, he's had multiple stints on the Board of Regents and has been very active in the NIL space. And he knows school president Pines well.

Sasho Cirovski (Interim): Cirovski, Maryland's legendary men's soccer coach, has decades of institutional knowledge and understands how relationships with Locksley, Willard and Pines, whose son he coached. He's also popular with Maryland's other non-revenue sport coaches. None of the candidates on this list have those sorts of relationships with the key figures involved. It sounds like he'd do it if offered.

Jeff Purinton: Purinton, the AD at Arkansas State, worked with Locksley at Alabama and is widely respected in the business.

Harry Geller (Interim): I don't know if Geller (Q&A here) would be interested, but he's been a lifelong Terp, a high-ranking professor at the business school and a successful entrepreneur. More importantly, he launched Turtle NIL and has been pivotal in the basketball program's NIL operations, so he understands the ins and outs of NIL and revenue-sharing.

Gary Williams (Interim): This might sound crazy, but there's a contingent that would like to see him consider the job on an interim basis. Now 80, he'd need a strong staff to handle a lot of the day-to-day tedium of the job and wouldn't do it for long but could unite the fans until a full-time AD is hired. Longshot, but there are some people pushing for it and I think he'd consider it.

Kirby Mills (Interim): Mills, the fundraiser behind those recent eight-figure donations, is a strong communicator who understands the landscape. But the jump to AD would be a massive one.

Colleen Sorem (Interim): Sorem, Evans' No. 1 lieutenant, probably has seen firsthand more of how the job works than anyone on the list. But there won't be a groundswell of support, and it seems unlikely they'll hire someone so closely affiliated with Evans. A fresh start might be needed.

​

Maryland 76
Colorado State 67

Are the refs from B1g,because, wow. Let the players play. 38 fouls so far in 34 min. Great players and fouls every minute. Ugh

We’re less than a half hour from tipoff between the Terps and GCU in Seattle.

Terps are 9.5-point favorites and KenPom predicts the Terps by a score of 82-68 with a 90% win probability.

GCU returns last year’s conference POY in Tyon Grant-Foster and multiple starters from a team that won a game in last year’s NCAA tourney.

All that said, the Terps have one of the best front court duos in the country in Queen and Reese and one of the best shooting back courts.

Will be good to finally see some hoops with all the distractions this week. Game can be seen on TBS.

35 + years ago SMU was penalized for undue recruiting violations in their football program, and to this day they are the only major program, I believe, that was hit with the " death penalty ". In the ensuing years they were perceived as a pariah who only succeeded thru cheating.

Fast forward to the present era, and with a new conference affiliation and the advent of NIL, why would SMU hire an AD who has shown no ability in hiring a football coach who cannot win conference games or enliven a fan base.

I cannot believe that SMU's deep pocketed oil alumni is happy with this chose.

Maryland vs. Colorado State: Tipoff time, TV details and point spread for Terps-Rams in Round of 32​

Fourth-seeded Maryland basketball fought through five minutes of rigorous competition from No. 13 Grand Canyon on Friday night, then casually shifted into overdrive and turned the Antelopes into a fast-shrinking sight in their rearview mirror for the other 35 minutes. Now they face what looks like a tougher test.​

Fourth-seeded Maryland basketball fought through five minutes of rigorous competition from No. 13 Grand Canyon on Friday night, then casually shifted into overdrive and turned the Antelopes into a fast-shrinking sight in their rearview mirror for the other 35 minutes. The Terps outclassed their smaller-name opponent, 81-49, their largest margin of victory ever in an NCAA Tournament game.

Their next opponent is just one seed better than this one, but 12th-seeded Colorado State might provide a tougher challenge when the Rams (26-9) and Terps (26-8) meet Sunday night at 7:10 p.m. on TBS.

Maryland is a 7.5-point favorite over CSU, which enters on an 11-game winning streak after beating No. 5 seed Memphis. Colorado State trailed by five at halftime against Penny Hardaway's team, which had been 18-0 in games during which it led at halftime, before CSU came back from a halftime deficit and piled 47 second-half points en route to their first Round-of-64 win since 2013.

Led by fast-rising coaching prospect Niko Medved, Colorado State is one of the hottest teams in the tournament. Nick Bromberg of Yahoo Sports wrote:

The Rams went from a team without much shot of making the NCAA tournament to on the bubble and a guaranteed entry over the final month of the season. CSU was 15-9 overall and 9-4 in the Mountain West after losing 93-85 to Utah State on Feb. 11.
Since then, Colorado State has won 11 straight games, including all three of its matchups in the MWC tournament by double digits. The Rams took down Boise State 69-56 on March 15 to get the conference's automatic berth and kick Boise State off the bubble.

Click to expand...

A lot of smoke this evening that Villanova has offered Willard the job behind the scenes. Asked one of my top sources who has strong ties to Nova and this definitely seems to have some legs.

The timing seems to come as Odom appears to be all but done to UVA and I’m also hearing Chris Collins has been leaning towards staying at NU and is quickly falling down Nova’s list. The other top name at the moment appears to be Oklahoma’s Porter Moser.

But this has officially become something to now watch and keep a close eye on.

3 Terps showing early All-American Potential.


Also, both grandsons looked good in their loss to # 1 Malvern Prep. Loyola maybe the surprise team in the MIAA.

Watch Willard, Reese, Gillespie and Queen react following the Terps' win over GCU in the opening round of the NCAA tourney.

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Ok, so someone asked me about this rumor about Evans to SMU late last night and I frankly had heard nothing about it. Talked to an AD source just a little bit ago and it seems there is absolutely some smoke with Evans to SMU. My question was why? We are talking about a guy who was essentially black balled from the profession before Kevin Anderson threw him a life jacket.

With it being the heart of hoops season, I had almost forgotten that Evans was named to the College Football Playoff selection committee at the beginning of the month. From what I was told, it sounds like SMU, with a borderline Top 25 football team coming back, is intrigued by the idea of hiring someone who could come in and have some influence in them possibly making the playoffs again.

I have no idea if this is anywhere near happening, but I’ve pretty much confirmed he’s in the mix and a source seems to believe the reason above is a big reason he has a chance of landing the gig. Will post if I hear more.

We’re about 15 minutes from tip off between the Terps and Wolverines in Indy.

Terps won the first matchup between these two and the difference was turnovers. Michigan really cleaned up the sloppy play yesterday, but we’ll see if they can do it again today against a stiff Maryland defense.

Darian DeVries from WVU. Seeing on twitter some shady stuff including a backroom agreement for months. Also,his son took a medical red shirt this year after a mystery injury, around the time of the under thr table agreement.

heard the coach is a good coach, but this is kind of scummy

Thought I'd suggest two or three possibilities, but there are considerably more.
(N) Villanova 76-75
(H) Ohio State 83-59
(H) UCLA 79-61
(A) Illinois 91-70
(A) Indiana 79-78
(H) Wisconsin 76-68
(A) Michigan 71-65

The late 3 by Rice to beat Indiana was memorable, but I think I'd go with the wins over Wisconsin and Michigan. What do you think?

Lol

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Terps set for a "deep run" or a team on upset alert? What the experts are predicting for Maryland-Grand Canyon​

2025 NCAA Tournament winners and losers from bracket reveal: Who got the best and worst draws? - CBSSports.comMaryland has been one of my favorite dark horse, Final Four picks…​

Should Maryland basketball be on upset alert in its NCAA Tournament opener against Grand Canyon? The Antelopes' home-state newspaper believes so.

"Bryce Drew's team gained valuable experience winning an NCAA Tournament game last season. Can they do it again? It's certainly possible. We predicted an 81-77 upset win for the Antelopes in the first round over Maryland in our first-round March Madness pick for the game," Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic wrote.

"Memphis and Colorado State are certainly beatable in the second round, but we're not prepared to pick GCU to make the Sweet 16. The Lopes are more than capable of proving us wrong. Prediction: Grand Canyon loses to Memphis or Colorado State in second round of NCAA Tournament."

Isaac Trotter of CBS Sports likes the Terps, but not their draw.

"Maryland has been one of my favorite dark horses, Final Four picks for a while, but this draw for the 4-seed Terps is brutal. First up is a date with 13-seed Grand Canyon who is just teeming with high-major players. Maryland is the more talented team but it's not a major advantage. Plus, top 200 teams are shooting just 50% at the rim against Grand Canyon (GCU breakdown here), who has a wealth of athletes and size. Woof," he wrote.

"The top guy on the scouting report has given Maryland fits for the last month or so, and Grand Canyon star Tyon Grant-Foster is a big-time player capable of going for a 30-piece whenever he wants. He's one of the best foul-drawing wings in the country and that's a problem against a thin Maryland squad."

Here's a look at more analysis and predictions for Maryland's opening-round game against Grand Canyon:

Dan Treacy of The Sporting News​

This year's Grand Canyon team relies much more on defense than simply outscoring opponents, which was the goal last season. The 'Lopes hold opponents to 68.7 points per game and just 45.9 percent from the field, the latter of which is a top 30 mark nationally. The style of play has changed just a bit, but Grand Canyon has the experience and defensive tenacity to contend for another win in the big dance. Grand Canyon can sit down and lock in defensively, but it lacks the defensive manpower to slow down Maryland's high-octane offense. Even if the 'Lopes try to muck things up by making it a defensive battle, they're doing it against one of the country's best defensive teams. Grand Canyon is well-coached and will be ready to play, but Maryland's array of talent and principles on both sides of the floor make it a team that is very hard to upset."
Maryland Basketball Scoop: The latest on Kevin Willard, a top portal prospect, a new name and more

Analytics guru Evan Miyakawa​

"I really like Maryland's path to a Sweet 16, if not further. If they beat GCU, they would face either Memphis or Colorado State, both of which they would be favored to beat by 6 points according to EvanMiya.com. They are the strongest 4-seed in the tourney and could give Florida a test in the 2nd weekend."

David Aldridge of The Athletic​

"They jobbed your Terps, man. Sent them out to Seattle. That's terrible. Thats awful. Thats awful ... You just can't fly to Seattle. That's asking a lot of people.
"And I know Maryland travels, so they'll have people out there. But hey say they make every accommodation to make sure people can send their fans out." Totally unfair to great fanbase that would happily go to Florida or to North Carolina. You can get there in less than half a day. [Seattle] is not reasonable."
(On BMitch and Finlay)

Trotter on Maryland's second-round potential draw​

"It could get a date with 5-seed Memphis, who also has one of the elite isolation scorers in America in PJ Haggerty and a two-big lineup of Dain Dainja and Moussa Cisse (or Nicholas Jourdain) who can physically handle the challenge that Derik Queen and JuJu Reese present. Like Grand Canyon, Memphis has been a very good rim protecting team all season. Maryland has its work cut out for itself."

Gilbert McGregor of The Sporting News on the Match-up​

"Grand Canyon can sit down and lock in defensively, but it lacks the defensive manpower to slow down Maryland's high-octane offense. Even if the 'Lopes try to muck things up by making it a defensive battle, they're doing it against one of the country's best defensive teams.
Grand Canyon is well-coached and will be ready to play, but Maryland's array of talent and principles on both sides of the floor make it a team that is very hard to upset."

Reuters on the 10.5-point spread​

"Grand Canyon, coached by NCAA legend Bryce Drew (remember his last-second shot and dive on the floor after Valparaiso's victory over Ole Miss in 1998), is ranked 67th in defensive efficiency and has a history of upsets, including taking out Saint Mary's in the first-round last year. Maryland is uber talented, but this line might be a bit high."

Maryland legend Steve Blake​

Former Maryland point guard Steve Blake also chimed in on X.
"I believe this team can get it done this year!" he wrote.
A prominent alum expressing excitement isn't unusual, but it is for Blake, who rarely posts on social media and hasn't been seen much in College Park since he left more than 20 years ago. And he knows what to look for; Blake, still No. 6 in NCAA history in assists, was the point guard the last time the Terps got past the Sweet 16.

ESPN's Jay Bilas​

"Player to watch: Derik Queen (Maryland). The freshman big man has unusual skill and great feet. He averages 16.3 PPG and is a big part of a Maryland offense that outscores its opponents by 16.4 PPG (seventh best in Division I).
Winner: Maryland
Potential for upset: High. Grand Canyon can play. Last season's roster was a bit better, but the Lopes will not be scared. The Terps will have to play well to win."

Jordan Brenner of The Athletic​

"Tyon Grant-Foster, the star of last year's team, has struggled with injuries this season, playing in only 25 games (and starting only 16). But he returned for the WAC Tournament and played 29 minutes in the championship game. If he can play as he did in last year's tournament, the Lopes are better than their advanced metrics suggest. Like last season, Grand Canyon pressures the ball on defense, forcing turnovers on 20.6 percent of opponents' possessions. But this season, they play faster, shoot worse and are less effective on the offensive glass, all of which are problems, according to Slingshot. That's why the Lopes' secret sauce is actually a negative number … Maryland is a rough matchup for Grand Canyon."

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander​

"Sixty-nine points from your starting five is a pretty nice number and give that you've got Derik Queen at the center of it. He's been one of the three or best freshman in the country this season. It's not just him, though. Julian Reese is a very accomplished big man veteran. Ja'Kobi Gillespie can really shoot it. Selton Miguel is highly undervalued. He might even have a career at the next level. He's really, really the guy that keeps it all together. I think it is enough. I'm not saying that depth doesn't matter, but coaches will tell you, when you get into the tournament as long as you don't have injury issues, you want to shrink that rotation overall. I do like Maryland's chances to make a deep run in the tournament.