PRESE RELEASE
COLLEGE PARK, MD – The Maryland men’s basketball team has earned an eighth seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament and will face No. 9 seed West Virginia in the first round hosted in Birmingham, AL. The first round game will be held on Thursday, March 16, while the second round match-up would be on March 18 against the winner of No. 1 seed Alabama vs. No. 16 seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi/Southeast Missouri Winner.
The Terps enter the tournament with a 21-12 overall record after reaching the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament in head coach Kevin Willard’s season with the program. It marks the first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 2020-21 campaign.
This will mark the 30th all-time appearance for Maryland which has a 43-28 record in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps have reached the Sweet Sixteen 14 times, the Elite Eight four times, the Final Four twice, and won the NCAA National Championship title in 2002.
Most recently, Maryland defeated Connecticut in the 2021 East Regional first round before falling to Alabama. The Terrapins have won 14 of their last 15 opening round games dating back to 1997.
The NCAA Tournament bid marks Maryland’s sixth appearance in the last seven applicable years. It would be the seventh appearance in eight years if the 2020 tournament had not been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Maryland is led this year by Jahmir Young who averages 16.1 points per game followed by Hakim Hart (11.5 ppg), Donta Scott (11.5 ppg), and Julian Reese (11.2 ppg).
The Terps rank No. 31 in NCAA NET, which included three Quad 1 wins and six Quad 2 wins, while ranking No. 22 in the KenPom.com ratings.
West Virginia is 19-14 overall and went 7-11 in the Big 12 this season. West Virginia leads the all-time series with Maryland, 24-14, with the teams last meeting in the 2015 NCAA Tournament, a 69-59 win by the Mountaineers on March 22, 2015.
