Maryland Basketball: Don't Fear Terrapin Fans, It's Not That Bad

Following a 91-83 loss to Virginia Tech, the Maryland Terrapins seemed to have played their way off the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Barring a miracle finish to the season, Gary Williams and the Terps will likely need to win the automatic berth given to the ACC Tournament Champion to go dancing for a third straight season; the odds of which are as good as pigs flying, hell freezing over or an Adrian Bowie three-point make.

Throughout the closing moments of Tuesday’s defeat, I kept asking myself, "how did it get this bad?"

And then I realized what a ridiculous question that was.

Maryland is 16-10, 5-6 in the ACC, and I’m asking myself how did it get this bad?

What must NC State fans be asking themselves? What about Indiana fans? What do you think those fan bases would do for a 16-10 record?

Maryland is going to win 20 games and finish in the top half of the ACC—albeit a weak ACC—and it’s all doom and gloom for Maryland fans.

And this was supposed to be, as it has turned out to be, a transition year.

What were Maryland fans thinking? Our most experienced players have been nothing more than role players throughout their careers and nothing has changed. The fact that Maryland was even in the NCAA tournament discussion in the middle of February should be cause for celebration itself.

Fans should be celebrating the play of Maryland’s freshmen, Pe’Shon Howard and Terrell Stoglin—and even Haukur Palsson, for that matter. We should be celebrating the evolution of Jordan Williams, who faces constant double- and triple-teams and still manages to put up double-doubles almost every game.

Instead, Maryland fans dwell on the negative. They say Sean Mosley is having a terrible year, although his defense has only gotten better, even if his scoring has taking a hit.

So they won’t make the tournament, but the team is still fun to watch. The way they pass the ball is refreshing. They have come to play every night and have not quit or been out of a game once all year. Their play should be applauded, not ridiculed.

Despite popular opinion, this team has overachieved. What did you expect from an ACC team with two freshman point guards and no three-point shooting to speak of?

Maybe I’m too easy on them.

Maybe my expectations aren’t high enough.

Or maybe, I’m just a realist.

Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter Angelina Jolie Erica Leerhsen