Extreme Commanders

4 Maryland
13 Grand Canyon

ixcuincle wrote: Sun Mar 16, 2025 6:32 pm

4 Maryland
13 Grand Canyon

Can’t lose to a fake school…

I never knew there was something called Grand Canyon University until last year, I just had to root for them.

I was not happy they were in the west but happy with the 4 seed and thankful the game starts at 4:30. This Maryland team is the strangest I've seen in a while. 5 guys who have all scored 20 in a game but those same players are also capable of starting the next game 1-9. The exception is Queen who has elevated his game to a new level as the season has gone on. I have never seen a freshman big with that footwork, so fun to watch but please no more 3's.

What a fun season, one I was not expecting. When you consider their last 4 losses were 2 buzzer beaters, a banked in 3 at Ohio State and a half court shot their record could be even better.

Other loser per CBS Sports is Michigan...


Maryland Terrapins: Loser
Why: That Round 1 draw is no joke, then it gets tougher

Maryland has been one of my favorite darkhorse, Final Four picks for awhile, but this draw for the 4-seed Terps is brutal.

First up is a date with 13-seed Grand Canyon who is just teeming with high-major players. Maryland is the more talented team but it's not a major advantage. Plus, top-200 teams are shooting just 50% at the rim against Grand Canyon, who has a wealth of athletes and size. Woof. The top guy on the scouting report has given Maryland fits for the last month or so, and Grand Canyon star Tyon Grant-Foster is a big-time player capable of going for a 30-piece whenever he wants. He's one of the best foul-drawing wings in the country and that's a problem against a thin Maryland squad.

If the Crab Five advance past that matchup, it could get a date with 5-seed Memphis, who also has one of the elite isolation scorers in America in PJ Haggerty and a two-big lineup of Dain Dainja and Moussa Cisse (or Nicholas Jourdain) who can physically handle the challenge that Derik Queen and JuJu Reese present. Like Grand Canyon, Memphis has been a very good rim protecting team all season.

Maryland has its work cut out for itself.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-baske ... rst-draws/

ixcuincle wrote: Thu Mar 20, 2025 2:47 pm

Not gonna shed a tear over this.

Evans got the Willard pick right, but dragged his feet, and Willard was not his first choice by a long shot, so I’ve been told. Maryland football won three consecutive bowl games, but all were bottom tier bowls, after regular seasons with no more than 7 wins.

I’ve been calling for Terrapins nation to move on from Evans for some time now. IMO, if Maryland wants to become a “Big Time” athletic program, they need someone better in charge. Good luck to Evans, if he moves on, but with the fertile recruiting ground that is the DMV, for both basketball and football, right in their backyard, Maryland needs to find the right person to move their program into the upper echelon.

That is a wild quote, especially given the timing.

I guess it's better to be fiery than checked out, but sheesh.