Terps Toppled in Sweet 16
The 18th-ranked and 5th-seeded Maryland Terrapin’s run to the NCAA Championship ended abruptly in a Sweet Sixteen loss to the number 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks, 79-63 at the KFC Yum! Center.
Maryland’s season begin with a top 10 ranking and they peaked at number 2 before a series of late season losses took them out of the top 10. They rallied in the Big Ten Tournament, reaching the semi-final game before losing to the eventual champion Michigan State Spartans.
They then beat South Dakota and Hawaii to reach the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2003. They hung with the Jayhawks for a half, down 36-34 at the break before a cold shooting second half ended their season. With an elite player at all five starting positions, the Maryland faithful were expecting a deep run into the NCAA Tournament but it was just not meant to be.
The Terrapins were led by their guards. Rasheed Sulaimon led the team in scoring against Kanas with 18 points. Melo Trimble added 17 points. The Terrapins heralded big man Diamond Stone was in foul trouble all game and finished with five points and four rebounds.
Robert Carter Jr. led the team with nine rebounds and scored eight points along with Senior Jake Layman who collected five rebounds, had four blocked shots and three assists in his last game as a Terrapin.
The Jayhawks, winners of 17 straight games, were led by their senior Perry Ellis who scored a game high 27 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the field.
The Terrapins tied the score at 41-41 with 18:06 to go on a Sulaimon layup but an 11-2 Kansas run gave them a 52-43 lead with 14:43 to on a free throw by Ellis. The Terrapins cut the lead to 54-48 with 12:08 left in the game but that was as close as they would get to victory. The Jayhawks were never really threatened down the stretch and led by as many as 16 points at 71-55 with 4:06 to go.
The Terps were held to 29 points in the second half on 8 for 23 shooting from the floor. Meanwhile, Kansas shot 14 for 25 in the second half good for 56 percent shooting from the field. The Terrapins also struggled from long distance going 5 for 25 from beyond the arc while Kansas was 3 for 9 on three pointers.
Kansas won the rebounding battle 43 to 28 and out scored the Terps 13 to 5 on second chance points. The Terps sank 14 of 20 free throws while Kansas was 18 of 21 from the charity stripe. Wayne Selden Jr. added 19 points for the Jayhawks. The Terrapins finished with a record of (27-9) and were ranked in the Top 20 the entire season.
