MD March Madness

Maryland basketball has had good seasons with both the men’s and women’s teams, with both of them making it to the NCAA tournament. The men’s team, 5th in the Big Ten, went 11-9 against conference teams in the regular season, and 22-13 overall. On the other hand, the women’s team, ranked 3rd in the Big Ten, went 15-3 against conference teams, and 27-6 overall.

The men’s team, seeded 8th in the NCAA tournament, played a challenging first-round game against West Virginia, who they eventually beat 67-65. This game was decided by which team could go on a run and maintain the lead, which proved troublesome for both teams. At one point in the game, West Virginia was up by 13, which was eventually cut down by Maryland. 

Looking strictly at the stats, Maryland was outclassed, even though they secured the win. West Virginia had more rebounds, less turnovers, better 3PT% and better FT%. Maryland did significantly shoot the two better though, having a 51FG%. After this win against West Virginia, Maryland Men’s Basketball had their biggest test yet, Alabama.   

No.1 seed and powerhouse team, Alabama was one of the favorites to win the entire tournament. They showed their skill against Maryland, who they beat, 73-51. UMD looked strong in the first half, keeping up with the Crimson Tide, only being down by 5 by halftime. 

However, the Alabama defense locked down on some of Maryland’s big-name players, and propelled themselves to a 20-point lead by the end of the game. Maryland lost their edge in the second half, and turnovers and bad shots made the Alabama lead higher and higher. It was a good season for the men’s team, and they look to be a strong team next year.

On the other hand, the women’s team is doing very well. They beat Holy Cross (93-61) in the first round, then Arizona (77-64) in the second round, followed by 3rd seed Notre Dame (76-59) in the sweet sixteen. They lost to defending champions from the University of South Carolina on March 27. The Gamecocks as the only undefeated team in the nation, moved on to the final four, set to play Iowa. 

After the first quarter, Maryland was up by 6, and were looking dominant. This however came to a quick end, as they would be outscored 9-23 in the 2nd quarter. This was the ultimate downfall for the women’s team, as the rest of the game they remained pretty much even with South Carolina, but unable to overcome the 2nd quarter deficit.