Maryland Upset Keeps Hope Alive

After finishing just 7-9 in ACC regular season play, the Maryland Terrapins needed yet another big win to remain in the NCAA tournament discussion.

Their win over Wake Forest in the ACC tourney quarterfinals on Friday night is exactly what they needed. At worst, the Terps will be prominently featured in the discussion on Saturday afternoon, and even if they lose on Saturday Maryland now has a good chance of receiving a bid.

Maryland 75, No. 8 Wake Forest 64: Recap | Box Score | RPI | Scores

Greivis Vazquez had a game-high 22 points, although he was only 6-for-19 from the floor. The story of the game, though, was Maryland's defense, as they held Wake to just 29.7 percent shooting from the field, including 3-for-25 from three. Most notably, they did a good job of holding down star guard Jeff Teague (3-for-13 from the floor, 0-for-5 from three) and freshman stud Al-Farouq Aminu (2-for-12 from the floor).

The Terps led by five at the break, and extended that lead to as much as 15 midway through the second half. They move to 9-9 in ACC games, and add a third "signature" win to a resume that already included victories over North Carolina and Michigan St. The only real black mark for them is a one-point home loss to Morgan St. in their final non-conference game.

In his most recent update, ESPN's Joe Lunardi has Maryland as the second-to-last team in the field. It's worth remembering though that the situation is very fluid, and the number of bubble spots is going to go down rather than up, especially if teams like Baylor keep winning.

The loss snaps a four-game winning streak for the Demon Deacons. They'll still be in the field as a protected seed, probably either a three or a four. That's nothing to scoff at, of course, but it's been a somewhat disappointing year for Wake after they started 16-0 and ascended to No. 1 in the polls.