March Madness: 10 key freshmen in 2019 NCAA Tournament

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MARCH 16: Zion Williamson #1 of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after defeating the Florida State Seminoles 73-63 in the championship game of the 2019 Men's ACC Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

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6. Jalen Smith, Maryland

The Maryland Terrapins managed to survive the ire of the NCAA Selection Committee, but they’ll need to perform well or it could come back to haunt them. One player they’ll need playing at a high level is 6-foot-10 forward Jalen Smith.

Alongside Bruno Fernando, he carved out quite the role for himself with Maryland. Smith put up 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as the Terrapins versatile forward in the rotation.

Smith opened the season with a double-double (19 points, 13 rebounds) against the Delaware Blue Hens and in total, he recorded four double-doubles on the year. In win or go home territory, he’ll need to put his foot on the gas a whole lot more for the Terrapins.

Maryland earned themselves a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In 6/11 games, the lower seed has won a whopping 51 times. Last year, Loyola-Chicago and Syracuse both made their own runs in the NCAA Tournament as 11-seeds. The Terrapins don’t want to fall victim in this one.

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