COLLEGE PARK - After 17 years and much prodding from Maryland coach Gary Williams, the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball tournament returns to the Washington area today.
The fate of the Terrapins' season rests on their staying power as tournament hosts.
Eighth-seeded Maryland (16-11, 7-9 in league) probably needs to beat ninth-seeded Clemson (15-14, 5-11) in the tournament's opening game today at noon at MCI Center to have any chance of making its 12th straight NCAA tournament appearance.
Top-seeded and second-ranked North Carolina is on deck in the quarterfinals if the Terps survive, but first things first. The Terps need to stop a three-game losing streak to save what has been a disappointing season.
Said junior guard Chris McCray: "Whether it's ugly or pretty, we just have to win."
"It's a great opportunity for us," said Williams. "We do have a lot of pride as a basketball program and I think we've earned that - 11 straight NCAA appearances, only Arizona, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kentucky and ourselves have done that and we came from a lot further away than those schools to get that done. Hopefully, we'll use that pride [today] that we have in the program."
The Terps don't need to look back too far to find inspiration. Last March, Maryland went to Greensboro Coliseum for the ACC tournament, fresh off a 7-9 regular season, and badly needing some wins to secure itself an NCAA berth. All the Terps did was knock off the tournament's top three seeds in a stunning three-day span to capture Williams' first ACC championship and an automatic NCAA bid.
To repeat, the Terps will need to win four games in four days.
"We were successful last year just taking it one game at a time," said junior forward Nik Caner-Medley. "We went into each game with the mentality of just playing hard and trying to get a win. It's a new season now and we just have to win. That's our mentality."
Williams wants the Terps to remember how that weekend in Greensboro felt, but the disappointment of two losses to Clemson earlier this season is much fresher in the Terps' minds.
The Tigers beat Maryland, 88-73, in South Carolina on Feb. 1, and 97-93 three weeks later at the Comcast Center. A victory in either of those games would have likely translated into a bye today and secure status as an NCAA tournament team.
But those two games have been emblematic of Maryland's up-and-down season. The Terps got off to slow starts and played with little intensity, particularly on the defensive end. Clemson shot over 50 percent in both games and Tigers center Sharrod Ford exposed the Terps' weaknesses inside, totaling 49 points, 20 rebounds and 11 blocks.
After his team lost at Virginia Tech last Saturday, Williams admitted that the Terps are not a good defensive team. Sophomore center Will Bowers said that defense has been the "central focus" all week in practice.
"We know that's our downfall," said McCray. "We just have to learn to stop people."
Maryland played Ford straight up the first game and couldn't stop him. Williams authorized quick double teams in College Park and Ford still did as he pleased, plus he found open shooters. The Tigers hit on eight of 12 three-point shots that night at Maryland.
The Terps might have one less defender to throw at the Clemson senior as freshman forward James Gist, coming off an 18-point effort on Saturday, is questionable with a deep bone bruise in his left knee from practice Monday.
Mike Jones, one of Gist's closest friends on the team, said he thinks Gist will play because of what's at stake.
"We feel our backs are against the wall and we are just anxious to play," said sophomore center Ekene Ibekwe. "We really want this win bad. This is basically our season."
The fate of the Terrapins' season rests on their staying power as tournament hosts.
Eighth-seeded Maryland (16-11, 7-9 in league) probably needs to beat ninth-seeded Clemson (15-14, 5-11) in the tournament's opening game today at noon at MCI Center to have any chance of making its 12th straight NCAA tournament appearance.
Top-seeded and second-ranked North Carolina is on deck in the quarterfinals if the Terps survive, but first things first. The Terps need to stop a three-game losing streak to save what has been a disappointing season.
Said junior guard Chris McCray: "Whether it's ugly or pretty, we just have to win."
"It's a great opportunity for us," said Williams. "We do have a lot of pride as a basketball program and I think we've earned that - 11 straight NCAA appearances, only Arizona, Cincinnati, Kansas, Kentucky and ourselves have done that and we came from a lot further away than those schools to get that done. Hopefully, we'll use that pride [today] that we have in the program."
The Terps don't need to look back too far to find inspiration. Last March, Maryland went to Greensboro Coliseum for the ACC tournament, fresh off a 7-9 regular season, and badly needing some wins to secure itself an NCAA berth. All the Terps did was knock off the tournament's top three seeds in a stunning three-day span to capture Williams' first ACC championship and an automatic NCAA bid.
To repeat, the Terps will need to win four games in four days.
"We were successful last year just taking it one game at a time," said junior forward Nik Caner-Medley. "We went into each game with the mentality of just playing hard and trying to get a win. It's a new season now and we just have to win. That's our mentality."
Williams wants the Terps to remember how that weekend in Greensboro felt, but the disappointment of two losses to Clemson earlier this season is much fresher in the Terps' minds.
The Tigers beat Maryland, 88-73, in South Carolina on Feb. 1, and 97-93 three weeks later at the Comcast Center. A victory in either of those games would have likely translated into a bye today and secure status as an NCAA tournament team.
But those two games have been emblematic of Maryland's up-and-down season. The Terps got off to slow starts and played with little intensity, particularly on the defensive end. Clemson shot over 50 percent in both games and Tigers center Sharrod Ford exposed the Terps' weaknesses inside, totaling 49 points, 20 rebounds and 11 blocks.
After his team lost at Virginia Tech last Saturday, Williams admitted that the Terps are not a good defensive team. Sophomore center Will Bowers said that defense has been the "central focus" all week in practice.
"We know that's our downfall," said McCray. "We just have to learn to stop people."
Maryland played Ford straight up the first game and couldn't stop him. Williams authorized quick double teams in College Park and Ford still did as he pleased, plus he found open shooters. The Tigers hit on eight of 12 three-point shots that night at Maryland.
The Terps might have one less defender to throw at the Clemson senior as freshman forward James Gist, coming off an 18-point effort on Saturday, is questionable with a deep bone bruise in his left knee from practice Monday.
Mike Jones, one of Gist's closest friends on the team, said he thinks Gist will play because of what's at stake.
"We feel our backs are against the wall and we are just anxious to play," said sophomore center Ekene Ibekwe. "We really want this win bad. This is basically our season."
