College Basketball: Busting Brackets Midseason Awards

Surprise Team

Mike Granse-USA TODAY Sports

Maryland Terrapins

No one saw this coming. Not only are the Terps the unrivaled biggest threat to Wisconsin in the Big Ten, they may even be the frontrunner at this point (only thanks to the injury to Wisky’s Traevon Jackson). The roster looked to be talented, but the way coach Mark Turgeon has melded his formidable pieces into a sum greater than its parts has been the story of the season.

Very rarely does a college team feature a dominant scorer such as Dez Wells, and a separate player that serves as a lethal closer at the end of the games. It is even more surprising when the player capable of taking the ball out of Wells’ hands is only a freshman, but that is the case with Melo Trimble. Though highly touted coming out of high school, this type of contribution in his first year was totally unforeseen. His combination of yo-yo ball-handling and deft shooting from the free throw stripe and beyond the three-point line make him one of the most potent late game weapons in the country.

With Wells and Trimble handling the heavy lifting, Jake Layman has finally found a consistent stride as an inside-outside threat that can now afford to let his game come to him. It’s a situation that has allowed him to improve his decision making, and become a match-up nightmare for opposing teams.

Considering that the rest of the roster is stocked with solid role players, Maryland is poised to not only challenge in the Big Ten, but also in the Big Dance. Fear the Turtle in March, because the Terps will be a dark horse Final Four contender.

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