Maryland hasn't secured an outright league title in 18 years.
But that should change no later than next Sunday.
"We've got a team of fighters," Terrapins coach Mark Turgeon told reporters late Wednesday, minutes after Darryl Morsell sank a 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left that lifted Maryland to a 74-73 victory at Minnesota.
The Terrapins closed at Minnesota on a 10-1 run, erased an eight-point deficit in the final 2:06 remaining and flipped what looked like a loss into a win. As a result, Maryland is now 23-5 overall and 13-4 in the Big Ten -- two games ahead of Penn State and Michigan State in the league standings (with just three regular-season games remaining). So, barring a surprise, the Terrapins are about to win their first outright conference title since 2002. And you remember what happened in 2002, right?
Yep, Maryland won the national title.
Whether history will repeat itself in that way remains to be seen. But, undeniably, the Terrapins are good enough to win six games in the NCAA Tournament. They're experienced, talented and, like Turgeon said, filled with fighters. If nothing else, with March just around the corner, they definitely look the part.
Maryland is No. 8 in Thursday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Next up is Saturday's game with Michigan State inside Xfinity Center. After that, the Terrapins will close the regular season with games against Rutgers (away) and Michigan (home).
Thursday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Kansas
| Udoka Azubuike finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds in Monday's 83-58 victory over Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks will take a 13-game winning streak into Saturday's game at Kansas State. | -- | 6-0 |
2 |
Baylor
| Matthew Mayer got 19 points off the bench in Tuesday's 85-66 victory over Kansas State. The Bears' lone loss is a single-digit loss to top-ranked Kansas. | -- | 4-2 |
3 |
Gonzaga
| The Zags missed 20 of the 25 3-pointers they attempted in Saturday's 91-78 loss at BYU. The loss snapped Gonzaga's 19-game winning streak. | -- | 5-0 |
4 |
Dayton
| Obi Toppin finished with 19 points and seven rebounds in Tuesday's 62-55 victory at George Mason. Both of the Flyers' losses are OT losses to schools also ranked in the Top 25 And 1 -- namely Kansas and Colorado. | -- | 5-2 |
5 |
San Diego St.
| Malachi Flynn finished with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists in Tuesday's 66-60 victory over Colorado State.The Aztecs' lone loss is a Quadrant 3 loss at home to UNLV. | -- | 3-1 |
6 |
Creighton
| Marcus Zegarowski made seven 3-pointers and finished with 25 points in Sunday's 81-59 victory over Butler. The Bluejays are 9-1 in their past 10 games with the lone loss in that stretch coming at Providence. | -- | 4-2 |
7 |
Florida St.
| Trent Forrest finished with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists in Monday's 82-67 victory over Louisville. The Seminoles will take a four-game winning streak into Saturday's game at Clemson. | -- | 7-1 |
8 |
Maryland
| Darryl Morsell made the game-winning 3-pointer and finished with 13 points in Wednesday's 74-73 victory at Minnesota. The Terrapins are atop the Big Ten standings with a two-game lead over the closest competition. | -- | 5-1 |
9 |
Kentucky
| Immanuel Quickley made eight 3-pointers and finished with 30 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 69-60 victory at Texas A&M. The Wildcats are 11-1 in their past 12 games with the lone loss in that stretch coming at Auburn. | -- | 6-0 |
10 |
Seton Hall
| Myles Powell finished with 18 points, five rebounds and four assists in Sunday's 81-65 victory over St. John's. Seton Hall is 4-2 in its past six games with wins over Villanova and Butler. | -- | 4-3 |
11 |
Villanova
| Saddiq Bey made four 3-pointers and finished with 23 points in Wednesday's 71-60 victory over St. John's. The Wildcats are one of just six teams with zero losses outside of the first quadrant. | -- | 3-4 |
12 |
Auburn
| Austin Wiley finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 67-58 victory over Ole Miss. The Tigers have only lost twice this season with Isaac Okoro in the lineup. | -- | 5-0 |
13 |
Louisville
| Jordan Nwora missed 10 of the 14 shots he attempted in Monday's 82-67 loss at Florida State. Louisville is alone at third in the ACC standings with a 14-4 league record. | -- | 3-1 |
14 |
Duke
| The Blue Devils allowed Wake Forest to shoot 51.5% from the field in Tuesday's 113-101 double-overtime loss on the road. Duke is 1-2 in its past three games with multiple losses to sub-50 NET teams. | -- | 4-2 |
15 |
Penn St.
| Myles Dread made the game-winning 3-pointer in the final seconds and finished with 11 points in Wednesday's 65-64 victory over Rutgers. The Nittany Lions will enter the weekend tied for second in the Big Ten standings. | -- | 6-1 |
16 |
Oregon
| Payton Pritchard made six 3-pointers and finished with 38 points in Saturday's 73-72 overtime victory at Arizona. The Ducks' resume features seven Quadrant 1 victories and just two losses outside of the first quadrant. | -- | 6-0 |
17 |
BYU
| Yoeli Childs finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 91-78 victory over Gonzaga. The Cougars are 15-2 with Childs in the lineup. | -- | 5-0 |
18 |
Michigan
| Franz Wagner made three 3-pointers and finished with 22 points in Saturday's 71-63 victory at Purdue. The Wolverines are 7-1 in their past eight games with the lone loss in that stretch coming to Ohio State. | -- | 5-1 |
19 |
Butler
| Aaron Thompson missed 10 of the 11 shots he attempted in Sunday's 81-59 loss at Creighton. The Bulldogs will take a three-game losing streak into Saturday's game at DePaul. | -- | 4-1 |
20 |
Colorado
| The Buffaloes missed 14 of the 19 3-pointers they attempted in Saturday's 70-63 loss to UCLA. Colorado is the only team besides Kansas to beat Dayton this season. | -- | 5-1 |
21 |
Michigan St.
| Cassius Winston finished with 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds in Tuesday's 78-70 victory over Iowa. The Spartans have six Quadrant 1 wins and only one loss outside of the first quadrant. | -- | 5-2 |
22 |
Marquette
| Markus Howard made five 3-pointers and finished with 30 points in Wednesday's 93-72 victory over Georgetown. The Golden Eagles are 12-9 in Quadrant 1/Quadrant 2 opportunities with just one loss coming outside of the first quadrant. | -- | 6-0 |
23 |
Iowa
| The Hawkeyes missed 21 of the 27 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's 78-70 loss at Michigan State. Iowa is 4-4 in its past eight games with two losses in that stretch coming to unranked teams. | -- | 6-1 |
24 |
West Virginia
| The Mountaineers allowed Texas to shoot 52.4% from the field in Monday's 67-57 loss at UT. West Virginia is 1-5 in its past six games. | -- | 3-1 |
25 |
Houston
| DeJon Jarreau missed 11 of the 15 shots he attempted in Saturday's 60-59 loss at Memphis. The Cougars are 4-3 in their past seven games with all three losses in that stretch coming to unranked opponents. | -- | 3-2 |
26 |
Arizona St.
| Remy Martin made three 3-pointers and finished with 17 points in Saturday's 74-73 victory over Oregon State. The Sun Devils will take a seven-game winning streak into Thursday's game at UCLA. | -- | 5-1 |