Terps travel to Minnesota for NIT game

[shawn555]

After season goes south, Terps head north for NIT
UM assigned No. 5 seed, will play at Minnesota tomorrow

By Don Markus

sun Reporter

March 17, 2008


Making the best out of a bad situation, Maryland was hoping to host its opening-round game in the National Invitation Tournament.

Now the Terrapins will try to make the best out of a really bad situation, having to go on the road for the first round of the NIT.

Loser of five of its past six games, fifth-seeded Maryland (18-14) will face fourth-seeded Minnesota (20-13) tomorrow in a 9:30 p.m. game at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

It marks the third trip to the NIT in the past four seasons for the Terps.

It also marks the first time Maryland will play a road game in the NIT since coach Gary Williams' first season, when the Terps lost a second-round game at Penn State in 1990.

The Gophers are coached by Tubby Smith, who went to Minnesota this season from Kentucky, where he won a national championship in his first season but never could win over the fans who still clamored for Rick Pitino.

Minnesota upset then-No. 22 Indiana in the second round of the Big Ten tournament on a shot at the buzzer before losing to Illinois. Maryland lost in the opening round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament to Boston College.

It is not surprising that the NIT selection committee, which now operates under the auspices of the NCAA, decided to send the Terps on the road. Mary land drew around 5,000 fans for its NIT opener in 2006, when the Terps lost to Manhattan.

Williams was not available to comment.

Morgan State (22-10), which saw its chance of going to the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time disappear when it lost to Coppin State in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference tournament championship game Saturday night in Raleigh, N.C., will play as a No. 8 seed in the NIT against top seed Virginia Tech (19-13) at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Blacksburg.

 

[shawn555]

Sports
Terps look to play golden against Gophers

Sean Welsh, The Examiner
2008-03-18 08:00:00.0
Current rank: # 156 of 7,483
BALTIMORE -

Maryland coach Gary Williams wants to salvage one of the most disappointing seasons in recent memory when the Terrapins play at Minnesota tonight in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament.

“We’re trying to win the game,” he said. “If we can use some guys, great, but I owe it to the team to try to win. We finished tied for fifth in the ACC, so we don’t have our tail between our legs or anything like that.”

The fifth-seeded Terrapins (18-14) visit the fourth-seeded Golden Gophers (20-13) at Williams Arena at 9:30 in front of a national television audience on ESPN. It’s the third time in four years the Terrapins are playing in the second-tier tournament composed of 32 teams that were not selected for the NCAA Tournament. Maryland is 10-5 all-time in the NIT, including winning it in 1972.

The Terrapins didn’t envision playing in the NIT a month ago, when they were 17-9 overall and 7-4 in league play before suffering a collapse in which they lost five of their final six games.

But still, Williams doesn’t understand why the Atlantic Coast Conference, which boasts the country’s top Ratings Percentage Index, has just four teams in the NCAA Tournament.

“From their standpoint, your league RPI doesn’t mean anything,” Williams said. “I think the one thing our league was this year was competitive, top to bottom. What they’re saying is, that doesn’t matter. It’s what you do in December and against outside competition.”

Williams did not make any of his players available to speak with the media.

But Maryland’s non-conference schedule won’t be easier next year. Aside from a Big Ten-ACC Challenge game, the Terrapins tentatively are scheduled to face Gonzaga and Arizona before the beginning of conference play.

But as Maryland’s fans are distraught with the culmination of their team’s season, Minnesota’s fans are ecstatic their team made a postseason tournament a year after going 9-22.

The Golden Gophers, who are led by St. Mary’s County native Tubby Smith, advanced to the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament before falling to Illinois, 54-50, on Saturday. The Gophers are led by senior guard Lawrence McKenzie (12.2 ppg) and senior forward Dan Coleman (11.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg).

“Tubby is a proven winner,” Williams said. “Wherever he’s been, he’s won. He won a national championship [at Kentucky in 1998]. I think he’s excited. It’s nice having people saying nice things about you instead of killing you all the time, and he was in that [situation] in Kentucky. People can say it doesn’t bother you, but it bothers you.”

 

[gardenweasel]

i have an aunt that lives right on the water in berlin.md.......

beautiful place...

 

[Chadman]

Heard this morning that the Goph's may be missing two of their "best" players tonight - haven't heard an update yet. McKenzie hurt his foot last game and Tollackson has a bad ankle.

Would think this game might be where Tubby's real value will show up. He has turned this ragged bunch of kids into a pretty good team - and if the Barn can come close to filling up, they might get it done with or without the players.