Laron Profit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Maryland Terrapins seemed on the verge of another miraculous comeback last night, reminiscent of the one they made Jan. 8 at North Carolina. And Florida State appeared on the brink of another second-half collapse.But the Seminoles regained their composure just in time, and with several big plays from junior point guard Kerry Thompson down the stretch, held off the fifth-ranked Terrapins, 74-70, at Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center.Maryland coach Gary Williams wasn't around to see the end of his team's first road loss in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season.

WASHINGTON -- See, they don't all grow up to be spoiled brats. They don't all commit their stats to memory, become me-first showboats, listen to friends who tell them how great they are, tell them to be selfish, tell them to prepare for the NBA.Laron Profit, benched twice as a sophomore for breaking team rules, ignores such talk. He's a senior now, a senior threatened by the emergence of Steve Francis. He's a senior, and he wants to win, and he's smart enough to understand that everything else will take care of itself.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Laron Profit sat in the Maryland dressing room at The Pyramid late Thursday night, his eyes closed, his mind as exhausted as his body. Like many of the Terrapins, the sophomore guard seemed worn down by a roller-coaster season.The ride that took Maryland to 17 victories in its first 19 games and a No. 5 national ranking ended with nine defeats in its last 13 games and the Terrapins likely to fall out of the Top 25 rankings when the final poll is announced.It ended with a 75-66 defeat to the 12th-seeded but 16th-ranked College of Charleston in the opening round of the NCAA tournament's Southeast Regional.

West1. Arizona (27-4)Location, conference: Tucson, Ariz.; Pac-10Conference finish: FirstNCAA tournament record: 23-15 in 16 seasonsCoach: Lute OlsonLast 10: 9-1Top scorers: Michael Dickerson 18.7; Miles Simon 17.3; Mike Bibby 17.2Top rebounders: A. J. Bramlett 7.6; Bennett Davison 6.5Scouting report: Defending champions obviously have the talent to repeat but they've shown some lapses during season with losses to Duke and Florida State and they struggled the...

COLLEGE PARK -- There will be a new No. 1 team in college basketball next week, and a change near the bottom of the Top 25, too.Unranked Maryland won a war of attrition and beat top-ranked North Carolina, 89-83, in overtime before a sellout crowd at Cole Field House last night.The Terps got big games from Laron Profit and freshmen Mike Mardesich and Terence Morris and outscored the Tar Heels 13-7 in the extra five minutes.It was the first loss for coach Bill Guthridge, who replaced the legendary Dean Smith and got North Carolina off to a 17-0 start.

HONOLULU -- Before leaving his home in Philadelphia to begin his new role as Maryland's starting point guard, Terrell Stokes told his parents that he expected the Terps to get off to a great start this season."

With the stunning reality of a 22-point comeback at North Carolina still echoing across the Atlantic Coast Conference and all of college basketball, it is time to ask a basic question about the Maryland Terrapins.What in the world is going on here?Picked by the cognoscenti to finish eighth in the ACC and miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in four years, the Terps have a 13-1 record after Wednesday's come-from-way-behind win at Carolina.With only one starter back from last season, and three sophomores playing key roles, they have beaten real teams such as California, George Washington, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Georgia Tech and now Carolina at the Dean Dome with a 41-9 flurry to end the game.

WASHINGTON -- Maryland was trying to prove it belonged. Kansas proves that every time it plays. The Terrapins had already taken nationally ranked South Carolina and Clemson to overtime and lost. The No. 2 Jayhawks had been making their usual early-season tour and, typically, won every game.So, when these teams came down the stretch in the final minutes of a wide-open, in-your-face, early December game at the MCI Center on Sunday afternoon, Kansas, which had overcome a 15-point, second-half deficit, figured to win. So much for accepted wisdom.

COLLEGE PARK -- If January went out like a lion, February came in like a lamb.Three days after the Maryland basketball team was embroiled in a controversial dispute with the officiating crew at Duke, the Terps posted a clean and routine 77-70 victory over Virginia at Cole Field House that strengthened their hold on third place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.Other than the bump-and-grind showdown low between former Dunbar High teammates Rodney Elliott and Norman Nolan, this matchup would have gotten Miss Manners' seal of approval.

WASHINGTON -- Maybe No. 5 Stanford won't be able to stack up with Maryland, either, and will be tossed atop the heap that includes UCLA, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest.Every time the No. 2 Terps have prepared for a game in this young basketball season, the presumption has been that improved competition will finally test coach Gary Williams' gang.As the blowouts have piled up in an 8-0 start, however, it's become obvious that the opposition has to worry more about adjustments than does Maryland.