There’s not as much pressure on ninth-ranked Maryland this week, but the Terrapins still have plenty of motivation entering this weekend’s ACC tournament.
The Terps (6-5) meet No. 3 Virginia (9-2) in tonight’s ACC semifinals at Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium, a rematch of Virginia’s 10-2 victory earlier this month. A win would all but assure an NCAA tournament berth for the Terps, who finally broke out of a 1-4 slide with a 9-6 win Saturday at Fairfield.
“Monday was a lot easier — it’s hard doing what you do for a living when you don’t have any success at it,” Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. “We didn’t play exceptionally well [the first time against Virginia], so we get a chance to get a do-over.”
A loss would force the Terps to defeat Penn (2-10) on May 7 to clinch a .500 record and postseason eligibility. A weekend sweep — a feat that might require topping two of the top three teams in the nation — could vault Maryland into contention for a top-four NCAA tournament seed.
“We’re more interested in beating Virginia,” said Cottle, whose team won last year’s ACC tournament. “We have some kids with a lot of pride, and we got shellacked the first time. We have to step up.”
Bright lights
The ACC will play its tournament at a pro stadium for the first time, lending an atmosphere of significance to an event that doesn’t carry an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament despite its quality field. That could be enough to make for a smallish crowd that won’t approach the 40,000-plus the NCAA semifinals and final drew last season in Baltimore.
“The buzz around the team, I think the guys are excited, and that’s the point,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “I think 10,000 would be a great crowd. It would get swallowed up, but it would still be exciting for the kids. The locker rooms, the flavor, the place — it’ll be a little bit of an event.”
Said Cottle: “The non-Ravens fans talk about going on strike, the Redskins and Eagles fans. It’s just a fun atmosphere and having the [conference] banquet [last night] will get them going. I think they’ll start to get a stark realization that it’s a big-time arena.”
Heels still hopeful
No NCAA bid will be handed to the winner of the ACC tournament, but North Carolina knows its postseason hopes ride on this weekend’s event in Baltimore.
The Tar Heels (5-7), who meet No. 2 Duke (13-1) in tonight’s first semifinal, must win the ACC tournament to secure postseason eligibility. It has been a strange year for Carolina, which was touted as a final four contender before stumbling to a 2-7 start. The Tar Heels have won three straight and remain dangerous, thanks to senior attackmen Mike McCall (30 goals) and Jed Prossner (28 goals).
“Every year is different, and obviously the makeup of your team changes,” North Carolina coach John Haus said. “It just took us a little bit longer to find that team concept. Now we have done that. Maybe early on, I didn’t have them as prepared [as they needed to be]. We put them in a tough situation where we played five games in a two-week period, so maybe that’s my fault.”
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