The Terps NCAA resume is hurting because they did not capitalize on their Out-of-conference games, and do not have a marquee win.
They lost by 9 points to Pittsburgh on a neutral-floor. They lost by 4 points to Illinois on a neutral-floor. They lost by 3 to Temple on a neutral-floor. They lost by 7 points at Duke. They lost by 8 points at Villanova. A win in anyone of those games dramatically changes how the Terps would be looked at.
What Maryland has currently is four Top 100 RPI wins: Charleston (72), Penn State (62), Clemson (30), Georgia Tech (84).
While the NCAA Selection Committee is not supposed to award bids based on conference affiliation, the ACC is the 4th ranked conference (ahead of the Pac 10, SEC, Mt. West, A10, CUSA, etc. etc). It is my belief the ACC will have 5 teams selected to the Tournament.
For Maryland to finish Top 5 in the ACC, they are going to need that win over Virgina Tech. The Terps can not afford to 0-4 against Boston College and the Hokies. If the Terps can beat Virginia Tech, a Top 5 ACC finish can occur. Below is the remaining schedule, RPI rank, and my predicted outcome.
2/15 @Virgina Tech (31st, L)
2/20 NCST (99th, W)
2/23 FSU (38th, W)
2/27 @UNC (11th, L)
3/2 Miami (71st, W)
3/5 Virginia (118th, W)
That would have Maryland finishing 20-11, 9-7 before the ACC Tournament. The Terps would have 7 Top 100 wins on their resume. I think if that happens, the Terps would probably need to 2 wins in the ACCT to reach the Big Dance.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.