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Alex Len had 16 points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots for the Terps (25-13). Nick Faust added 14 points.
Tied at halftime, the Terrapins (23-12) used a 21-2 run to take a 56-38 lead before coasting to the finish. Second-seed Maryland next hosts the winner of the Ohio-Denver game, held late Tuesday.
North Carolina and its four-guard lineup have a chance at another Atlantic Coast Conference championship — thanks in part to a Maryland guard whose last-gasp shot fell way short.
Mike Tobey's tip-in with 1:46 to play in overtime gave Virginia the lead and it held on to beat Maryland 61-58, giving the Cavaliers what they hope will be a push back into the field in the minds of bracketologists around the country.
Since beating Duke, Maryland has lost three of five — including a deflating 79-68 defeat at home against North Carolina on Wednesday night.
Dez Wells led Maryland with 18 points and Nick Faust had 16. The Terrapins missed 20 of 23 attempts from 3-point range.
Wells, a Raleigh native who played AAU ball for the Chris Paul All-Stars, was 11 of 12 from the field and finished two points shy of his career high of 25 set Dec. 2 against George Mason.
It was with much acclaim that Nick Faust arrived at Maryland, giving the Terrapins a homegrown swingman with length, range and a smooth handle — but not necessarily a floor general's vision.
Maryland coach Mark Turgeon knows youthful inconsistency is part of the package when deploying a roster dominated by underclassmen. But during the Terrapins' 72-59 win over Clemson on Saturday, he saw his team showcase an unexpected trait: stability.
Okaro White scored 15 consecutive points for Florida State to fuel a second-half comeback that lifted the Seminoles past Maryland 65-62 Wednesday night, ending the Terrapins' 13-game winning streak.
The stream of early season cupcakes didn't leave Maryland soft and weak Saturday when the Terrapins faced Virginia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Although opponents hadn't offered much resistance as Mark Turgeon's squad reeled off 12 consecutive wins, regular practice sessions made his team hard, strong and hungry to devour a real foe.
Freshman guard Jake Layman scored 18 of his 20 points in the decisive first half, and Maryland rolled past Virginia Tech 94-71 Saturday for its 13th consecutive victory.
Pe'Shon Howard might spend as much time in the Comcast Center media room as anyone on Maryland's roster. Even on days when the point guard doesn't duck in, though, he has a pretty good idea what sort of questions coach Mark Turgeon is fielding from scribes.
A flustered Mark Turgeon walked away from Maryland's final contest before a break for final exams unwilling to give his team a fully passing grade.
Mark Turgeon hadn't slept much in the two nights since his Maryland basketball team outlasted George Mason in the BB&T Classic, a game featuring more than a few turnover issues.
Sophomore guard Nick Faust said, "It is what it is. You've just got to accept and embrace this opportunity. You try to get as many wins as you can and maybe win the whole thing."
Faust said the plan was to get the ball to Aronhalt — a 44 percent 3-point shooter — with tournament MVP candidate Dez Wells the decoy.
Maryland rallies but falls short against North Carolina in ACC semis →
