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Maryland Basketball: Is Belmont or Temple the better NCAA Tourney matchup?

By Anthony Brown

COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins drives to the basket through Ignas Brazdeikis #13 and Jordan Poole #2 of the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MD - MARCH 03: Jalen Smith #25 of the Maryland Terrapins drives to the basket through Ignas Brazdeikis #13 and Jordan Poole #2 of the Michigan Wolverines in the second half during a college basketball game against the Michigan Wolverines at the XFinity Center on March 3, 2019 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 01: Bruno Fernando #23 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts after he is called for a foul late in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 01: Bruno Fernando #23 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts after he is called for a foul late in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Sixth-seeded Maryland Basketball (22-10) is going dancing in Jacksonville, Florida. They will play the winner of the 11 seeds in either the Belmont Bruins (26-5) or Temple Owls (23-9) Thursday at 3:10 pm ET on truTV. Which is the tougher opponent?

Maryland Basketball hit a brick wall in their Big Ten Tournament 69-61 loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.  James Palmer Jr. and the Cornhuskers were ready for the Terps and they looked like they didn’t know what hit them. Nebraska frustrated Bruno Fernando by double-teaming him and neither he nor Anthony Cowan Jr could produce a substantial amount of offense. Palmer Jr. not only hurt the Terps defensively, Glynn Watson Jr. and Isaiah Roby followed suit.

That is behind Maryland basketball now. They are looking to prove that they belong in the conversation when it comes to good playoff basketball. They’ve had to hear over and over that they’re a young team. Yes, they’re a young team that won 22 regular season games, finished fifth in the Big Ten and had three players garner All-Big Ten honors.

When Maryland basketball was at its very best this season, they attacked the basket, drew fouls, knocked down their free throws, dominated the rebounding battle and their frontcourt had solid games. When the Terps haven’t been at their best this season, teams have beaten them by forcing turnovers, taking away Cowan and Fernando, pushing the ball down the court on the fastbreak and moving the ball well in the halfcourt.

Sure, Cowan Jr., Fernando, and Jalen Smith are the stars of this team but no one can ignore the effort of guys like Eric Ayala, Daryll Morsell, and Ricky Lindo Jr. Ayala has been a nice complement to Cowan Jr. all season. He’s shoots the ball well and proved he could be the point man allowing Cowan to play off the ball. Morsell has not been known for his offense but he can score. He has played his best basketball on the boards and defensively this season. I’ve been high on Lindo Jr. because he comes in and gets the Terps extra possessions by rebounding the basketball. I think he could develop into one of Maryland’s best players in the next few years.

Maryland basketball has the talent to make a run in the 2019 NCAA Tournament but they cannot afford to beat themselves by not being focused and turning the ball over among other things. If they want to make a statement, make a statement with this team and set up for future success.

The Terps will have to wait to see who they’ll play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It’ll be between Temple and Belmont who, faces off in a “First Four” battle. Which team does Maryland Basketball match up better with?

*Sports Illustrated Realtime Brackets is the first bracket game that lets college basketball fans switch their picks, in exchange for points, between and during live tournament games to keep their brackets alive all month long. Sign up now!

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