Maryland Basketball: Takeaways from blowout win over No. 22 Ohio State

2. What Might Have Been

At some point, it became clear that this would be a lost season for Maryland. But it didn’t have to be. Based on their strong showings in the latter half of the season, it’s easy to envision an alternate scenario where the Terrapins are in the NCAA Tournament picture. The Terps were No. 21 in the Preseason AP Poll. While this may have been a little lofty, that evaluation didn’t just come out of nowhere. Had Maryland maximized their talent, they would be a tournament team.

Mark Turgeon’s abrupt departure in December left this team in a tough spot. They opened to a 1-6 start in Big Ten play and never truly found their footing until recently. However, they have shown what their ceiling could have been over the last couple weeks. They defeated Illinois at home and Rutgers at the RAC in consecutive games. They narrowly lost to both Michigan State and Purdue. The Terrapins dominated Nebraska and now Ohio State. This team is not going to make the 2022 NCAA Tournament, but they sure aren’t playing like they know that.

It’s hard not to think about what could have been with this UMD squad. If an unknowing observer were to look at the talent on the roster combined with the current motivation the team seems to possess, I doubt they would say that the Terrapins are a bottom-four team in their conference.

There was a chance to be more than that, but the window essentially disappeared when their former head coach left them rudderless after just eight games. Perhaps the Terps go on a run in the Big Ten Tournament, but it appears Maryland Basketball fans will have to wait for a new coach and new season for a chance at new success.