Terps: A team nobody can read

In a season in which inconsistency has been Maryland’s lone constant, the Terrapins probably should figure to upset No.2 North Carolina today at Comcast Center.

Maryland (16-9, 7-7 ACC) has beaten Duke twice when the Blue Devils (21-4, 10-4) were ranked second and seventh nationally. The Terps also have contributed two of Clemson’s ACC-low three wins. Maryland has been both inspiring and frustrating, but rarely trackable.

After falling to Clemson 97-93 on Tuesday, Maryland appears to be reeling with two regular-season games remaining. That vulnerability is usually bad news for opponents, though.

“We can beat any team on any given day,” forward Mike Grinnon said. “That’s the scary part about us. We’re definitely a team you don’t want to play in the [NCAA] tournament. We just have to do a better job getting up for all the different games.”

It shouldn’t be hard against second-ranked North Carolina (23-3, 11-2), which thrashed Maryland 109-75 on Jan.8. The Tar Heels once were the Terps’ biggest rival before Duke took over that role in the 1990s. Older alumni who fill the upper half of Comcast remember when “Big Blue” was among the nation’s best.

The crowd delivered a smattering of boos when the Terps walked off the court after the Clemson loss, with some students sarcastically muttering, “Nice effort.” Maryland’s inconsistency has troubled fans as much as it has coach Gary Williams, who fended off second-guessers during his radio show Thursday.

Williams knows the Terps can deliver the upset. After all, beating Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium this season — which North Carolina failed to do — means the Terps are good enough to stun the Tar Heels.

“We’ve beaten a second-ranked team on the road before,” Williams said. “That means you’re capable of winning the game. I think we can come out and have a great effort. I’d be surprised if we don’t.

“You’ve got to get a mind-set as a team that you’re going to get every loose ball, fly around, deflect passes. That’s where we have to be [against North Carolina]. We didn’t have that mind-set against Clemson.”

An eighth conference win should propel the Terps to their 12th straight NCAA appearance, but Maryland must either upset North Carolina or win at Virginia Tech (14-10, 7-6) on Saturday — and the Terps are an ACC-worst 2-7 on the road.

Otherwise, Maryland falls into the first-round ACC tournament games March10 at MCI Center — for seeds six through 11 — and probably would need two victories to impress the NCAA selection committee.

“A lot of people have doubted us for a while,” Grinnon said, “but if we win one of these games, we have a chance to finish fourth in the league. We all know the importance of this game. This team has done a good job of getting up for big games.”

Maryland gets a break with the absence of North Carolina scoring leader Rashad McCants (15.8 points), who will miss his second game with an intestinal disorder. He scored 19 points in the first meeting while converting seven of eight shots. Melvin Scott (5.7) will start at guard.

“Scott’s a veteran player,” Williams said. “It’s not a big deal to them for him to start. Anybody as good as McCants you miss, but [North] Carolina did a good job without him against N.C. State [on Tuesday].”

Maryland led North Carolina 21-20 in the first meeting — and Williams joked that was when he burned the game film. The Tar Heels went ahead 47-25 at halftime and by 40 points soon after intermission before playing reserves for the last 15 minutes.

Spurts by opponents have bedeviled Maryland all season. The Terps often seem powerless to thwart them, especially when defending 3-pointers. Clemson’s 97 points represented its most ever in an ACC regulation road game. North Carolina’s 109 was its most ever versus Maryland and the most the Terps had allowed in 14 years. Williams conceded the Terps defense has been “up and down.”

“Defense is one of those things that to get good takes time,” he said. “Usually by this time of year you’re playing pretty good defense. I thought we were, and then we ran into Clemson. If we play defense like that, we’ll give up 125 [to North Carolina].”