Selection Sunday is two months away, but the Maryland Terrapins already have proved they belong among the nation’s elite — even if the pollsters refuse to rank them.
Maryland’s 90-84 victory against No.9 North Carolina on Wednesday was the Terrapins’ third victory of a ranked opponent this season. With wins over No.1 Florida and No.15 Wisconsin and now the Tar Heels, the young Terps (10-3, 1-1 ACC) have shown themselves to be fearless against the nation’s top teams.
“Every time we step up to big games we come to play,” guard John Gilchrist said. “That’s one thing that Maryland prides itself on no matter what the year is. We expect to win games.”
The Terps play three of their next four games on the road, including stops at No.12 Georgia Tech (13-1, 1-1) tomorrow and No.4 Wake Forest (11-0, 2-0) on Jan.29. They also face No.2 Duke (12-1, 2-0) on Wednesday at Comcast Center.
Even if the Terps survive the next two weeks, the rematches and a litany of other tough conference games await.
“You waste a lot of time speculating,” coach Gary Williams said. “If you win [over North Carolina], you have to play Georgia Tech and if you lose, uh-oh, you have to play Tech. I don’t think anybody has an easy way to go. We have a pretty tough stretch early, but all teams have that stretch.”
Said guard Chris McCray: “We know we have it in us. We can’t just play when we have a ranked team. We have to just come out and do it every game.”
Williams has been unusually patient with a team on which center Jamar Smith is the only upperclassman who plays regularly. There still are the trademark heated moments on the sideline, but Williams has steadily turned his players’ potential into production.
Several freshmen are contributing: Forward Ekene Ibekwe started two straight games, and guards D.J. Strawberry and Mike Jones are playing significant minutes. Sophomore forward Nik Caner-Medley has improved greatly, and Smith has emerged as a leader underneath. On Wednesday, Smith missed his ninth double-double of the season, scoring 22 points and grabbing nine rebounds against the Tar Heels.
“I’ve had to be more patient and overlook some things,” Williams said. “As time goes by, that gets old, too. There’s a time where you just have to play. If you want to be a good team you have to play who you have.
“We’re at the stage with our team that as long as we can get better from those mistakes, we’re OK. I expect to be better as we move through the season.”
Defense and a balanced offense fueled the Terps’ success early, but they added a startling new wrinkle against the Heels: making clutch free throws. The Terps hit 10 of them down the stretch, a vast improvement for a team that entered the game making only 58.1 of their attempts — a weakness that proved costly in losses to Gonzaga and West Virginia.
However, Maryland made 25 of 35 against North Carolina. Smith connected on only six of 14, but he made four in the final 2:23 to help the Terps break a 78-78 tie.
“When players saw him make a couple, that really relaxed everybody,” Williams said. “Sometimes it’s contagious.
“A lot of those ones you make in December don’t really matter. The ones you miss in December don’t matter. It’s when you get into conference play you have to make them. We went through a tough time with our free throw shooting.”
Gilchrist also bested Tar Heels point guard Raymond Felton in a rivalry that began when both were southern Virginia prep players. Gilchrist scored 20 points with five rebounds, five assists and three steals. Felton countered with 16 points, seven assists and four steals.
“In high school … he was getting all the hype,” Gilchrist said. “I just wanted to show I could play with him, one of the best guards in the country.”
Said Williams: “I don’t think you’ll see a better point guard matchup.”
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