Maryland men’s basketball (21-12) earned the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 9-seed West Virginia (19-14) Thursday in Birmingham.
In coach Kevin Willard’s first season, the Terps earned an at-large bid for March Madness. Willard is the only coach to bring Maryland to the tournament in his first season. It also marks the 30th time in school history Maryland has qualified for the tournament.
The Terps previously lost to Indiana, 70-60, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament after soundly defeating Minnesota in the second round, 70-54. But their success during the regular season at home (16-1) helped them qualify.
Maryland’s last NCAA Tournament appearance came in the 2020-21 season when they made it to the second round before falling short against No. 2-seed Alabama. The Terps were the No. 10- seed and upset No. 7-seed Uconn in the first round.
The Mountaineers upset Texas Tech in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament before falling to Kansas, 78-61. West Virginia also began its season 0-5 in conference play but closed out the regular season strong, going 3-1 down the stretch.
The appearance is West Virginia’s 31st in school history with its last also coming in the 2020-21 season. West Virginia earned a No. 3-seed that year and defeated Morehead State in the first round before falling to Syracuse.
The Mountaineers rank 17th in Kenpom and 25th in the NCAA net rankings. They’re led by senior guard Erik Stevenson, who averages 15.5 points per game. Still, five Mountaineers average 9.5 points or more, and they rank 15th in adjusted offensive efficiency per Kenpom.
Maryland is 14-24 all time against West Virginia. In the last matchup, the Terps lost in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament, 69-59.
The Terps have won 14 of their last 15 games in the first round since 1997.
If Maryland wins, it will face the winner of No. 1-seed Alabama vs. either No. 16-seed Texas A&M Corpus Christi or Southeast Missouri State.
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