Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Five teams that could win the Big Ten Tournament

By Bryce Bennett

Nov 23, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; General view of the Big Ten logo at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Colgate Raiders and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State defeated Colgate 72-59. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 23, 2016; University Park, PA, USA; General view of the Big Ten logo at the Bryce Jordan Center prior to the game between the Colgate Raiders and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Penn State defeated Colgate 72-59. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Feb 11, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) dribbles the ball in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins guard Melo Trimble (2) dribbles the ball in the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports /

4. Maryland Terrapins

I love Maryland’s draw.

The 3-seeded Terrapins (24-7, 12-6) are flying relatively under-the-radar, particularly because they were just 3-4 over their last seven games. However, the Terps picked up some momentum after a huge win at home on a Melo Trimble buzzer-beater Saturday against Michigan State.

I love this draw because their two highest seeded opponents, Northwestern and Wisconsin, were a combined 4-8 over their last third of the season. Wisconsin did defeat Maryland in Madison, but the Terps weren’t really challenged by Northwestern in Evanston. Who knows what type of Badger team will show up on a neutral-court in Washington D.C.

This leads to the other big reason to look at Maryland as a conference tournament champion. The tournament is played 14 miles from campus in Washington D.C.’s Verizon Center. No other university is within 200 miles. Expect the crowd to heavily lean towards the Terrapins.

They’ll have much to root for, especially with Trimble on the court. The junior guard does it all for the Terps. Any run towards a conference tournament championship will be on his shoulders.

The reasons to doubt Maryland is front court depth and inexperience. The Terrapins lost 7’1″ Michal Cekovsky for the season four games ago. As they have all season, Maryland will start two to three freshmen, will postseason play bring out freshmen tendencies? We’ll find out.

I expect Maryland to make it to Saturday against Wisconsin in bottom-half of the bracket. A rowdy pro-Maryland crowd on the weekend could await. Anything is possible then. Don’t sleep on the Terps.

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