COLLEGE PARK - It was supposed to be simply one final tuneup for the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, a time for solidifying league positioning and maintaining momentum.
Instead, the Maryland Terrapins are in Blacksburg, Va., today to play Virginia Tech with nothing short of their whole postseason on the line.
Most college basketball pundits, Maryland coach Gary Williams included, think the Terps (16-10, 7-8) will clinch their 12th straight NCAA tournament bid with a win over the Hokies. Meanwhile, a loss would seemingly force Maryland to win at least one game in next week's ACC tournament to avoid its first appearance in the National Invitation Tournament since the 1989-90 season, Williams' first in College Park.
That's not all. If the Terps are able to beat Virginia Tech (14-12, 7-8), they would finish as high as fourth and no worse than fifth in the league, guaranteeing a bye in the first round of the league tournament at MCI Center.
However, by losing their third straight, the Terps would accept anywhere from a sixth to an eighth seed, depending on this weekend's Clemson-Georgia Tech and Wake Forest-North Carolina State games. That means that the Terps would play Thursday, the first day of the ACC tournament, and have to win four games in as many days if they hope to repeat as league champions.
"We have to win," said Williams, who celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday. "There's no sense of talking about that and worrying about it until you win the game."
Williams said he wiped the slate clean for his team after its 85-83 loss to No. 2 North Carolina on Sunday, telling his players, "Don't worry about anything this week except getting ready to play Virginia Tech."
But even if Williams hasn't discussed with the Terps their status on the NCAA bubble, Maryland's players have watched enough college basketball this week to know where they stand. The Terps are in a four-way tie, which includes Virginia Tech, for fourth in the league. Miami (7-9 in the ACC) fell a half-game back by losing to Duke on Thursday.
"Of course, [Williams told us], we have to win," said junior forward Travis Garrison. "If we win, hopefully we are in. If we don't, then we are out. ... We know what situation we are in."
Still, the Terps may not be the most desperate team at the Cassell Coliseum today. Though their success in their inaugural ACC season has been one of the feel-good stories of college basketball, the Hokies have lost five of their past seven games. Most analysts think Virginia Tech not only needs to beat Maryland today, but make an extended run in the league tournament to earn an NCAA berth.
