If you’re a Maryland fan, you know that the Terps never seem to find themselves on the right side of a buzzer-beater. But tonight, a Maryland manifestation has been answered, and the Terps are advancing to the Sweet 16 after a 72-71 victory over Colorado State.
The 4-seed Maryland were 7.5 point favorites against 12-seed Colorado State after a first-round stampede against Grand Canyon last Friday. But the Colorado State Rams came in tonight with an intensity not many expected.
The Rams appeared to be in control for the majority of the game. They displayed a more successfully aggressive play style, smothering the Terps with an assertive man-coverage and capitalizing on key turnovers and rebounds. Colorado State held a 12-point lead midway through the first half and ended that first half up with a score of 37-30.
Maryland relied heavily on their 3-point talent throughout the game, shooting 10-24 from the arc. Selton Miguel shot 3-5 from downtown, racking up 11 total points for the Terps. Rodney Rice also tallied 16 total points for Maryland, with 9 of those from three. But perhaps Maryland’s most important asset, freshman Derik Queen, led the scoring for the Terps with 17 points, his last shot being the most important one of this whirlwind Terrapin season.
With six seconds left to play, Maryland found themselves down 71-70 after Colorado State’s Jalen Lake hit a clean three for what usually is the dagger for Maryland. After a Terrapin timeout with three seconds left, freshman phenom Queen led a gusty drive to the paint to secure a Maryland victory at the buzzer.
After what felt like a purgatory of heartbreaking buzzer-beater losses this season, the Terps flip the script right into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016. The Crab Five rallied for 70 points, shooting for a field goal percentage of 41.9 and limiting their mistakes to six turnovers and seven fouls. Maryland will take on the 1-seed Florida Gators on March 27.
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