The University of Maryland figures the easiest way off the 2008 NCAA tournament bubble is to win the ACC tournament. The Terps (a -5 point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com) will try to pull off that unlikely feat beginning Thursday night against Boston College (13-16).
Maryland (18-13) enters the conference tournament on a lull, having lost five of its past seven games, causing it to finish sixth with a league record of 8-8.
Yet Coach Gary Williams wants Maryland to just focus on tonight and stopping Boston College guards Tyrese Rice (21.3 ppg, 5.1 apg) and Rakim Sanders (11.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg), instead of paying attention to other conference tournaments across the country.
"You start doing that, you can go crazy," Williams said. "That happens every year. You have to earn it. It's gotten harder. It's gotten harder for the major conferences to get as many teams as they used to, because of the automatic qualifiers. Depending on which side of the fence you're on, its good or bad. I remember when you were 8-8 in a good league and you were in. There was no question about it. That's obviously changed."
The Terrapins split the season series against the Eagles. Maryland lost to Boston College, 81-78, in the conference opener on Dec. 9 in College Park. In that game, star sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez fouled out with 10 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the second half. On Feb. 6, Vasquez scored 25 points as the Terrapins posted a 70-65 win, which was career victory No. 600 for Williams.
Vasquez, a second-team All-ACC selection, leads the Terps, averaging 17.5 ppg and an ACC-best 6.8 apg. He can also be inconsistent, leading the league in assists (211), but also in turnovers (138).Players have talked about two ACC tournament victories being the magic number to give the Terrapins a chance to make the NCAA tournament. But they likely need to win at least three to have a good chance to earn one of the final at-large berths.
"Right now, we're in the NIT," Vasquez said. "As hard as I want to deny that, I have to be realistic. We shouldn't be in this position."
BC finished in the league basement, tied with N.C. State for the worst conference mark at 4-12. In addition, the team brings a six-game losing streak into the postseason and has only tasted victory once since Jan. 15. One of its main problems this season has been a lack of offensive depth. The team comes into the postseason averaging just 71.9 ppg (10th in the ACC), despite shooting a solid .460 from the floor (fifth in the league).
Rice can go off, however, as he has scored 20 or more points on 16 occasions this year, including three games of 30 or more. He had arguably the most impressive individual performance of the season in the ACC when he scored 34 of his career-high 46 points in the first half March 1 against North Carolina - the most points scored by a player vs. UNC in 38 years. North Carolina's talent and experience wore down the Eagles, however, in the Tar Heels' 90-80 victory.
Rice says his team is trying to remember when it won 12 of its first 16 games.
"You just have to put the year behind you now," said Rice. "The regular season doesn't matter, the seeds in the tournament don't matter. Now it comes down to who wants it more. They [opponents] know everything about you. You know everything about them."
The winner of this game will take on third-seeded Clemson in quarterfinal action on Friday.
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