The Maryland Terrapins were given a four-seed by the NCAA Tournament’s selection committee. However, the Terrapins were placed in the West Region and, more importantly, will play their Round of 64 game against WAC tournament champion Grand Canyon in Seattle, Washington.
On the surface, placing the Big Ten Conference’s second-best regular season team as a No. 4 seed and sending them over 2,700 miles across the country seems unrewarding. However, when examining the men’s bracket further, the committee may have committed a gaffe.
Maryland has the farthest travel of any No. 4 seed for Round of 64
The committee’s seeding list revealed Maryland as the 15th overall seed. Typically, as the 15th overall seed, you’re at the mercy of the other 14 teams getting preferred locations in the first weekend of the tournament. Arizona, the 16th overall seed, is the only four-seed team ranked below Maryland.
The Wildcats will open the tournament against Akron in Seattle, roughly 1,500 miles from their Tucson campus.
Among the four seeds, Texas A&M (14th overall) got placed the closest to its campus, as the Aggies will play in Denver (334 miles).
Maryland’s Big Ten rival, Purdue, also received a four-seed. Purdue will start the NCAA Tournament in Providence, Rhode Island (938 miles).
Maryland and Arizona scratching their heads about Regions
However, the focus shifts to Maryland’s Region of choice. The Terrapins are in the West. If Derik Queen and the “Crab Five” advance out of the first weekend, they’ll play their Sweet 16 game in San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Arizona is in the East Region. A trip to the Sweet 16 will be in Newark, New Jersey. The committee’s choice to send Maryland (15th overall) to the West and Arizona (16th overall) to the East is fascinating. Maryland’s overall seeding is in line with Duke’s, while Arizona’s is in line with Florida, the fourth No. 1 overall seed.
While Arizona and San Francisco are over 1,500 miles apart, the Wildcats prefer the Bay Area over going 2,900 miles to New Jersey. On the other hand, Maryland would travel 2,700 back and forth to Seattle and then go another 2,800 miles to San Francisco. The potential closest location Maryland would play in the tournament is San Antonio, Texas—the site of the Final Four.
Why the committee didn’t swap the Terps and Arizona regions
So why didn’t the committee just swap Maryland and Arizona to their right seed lines? Maryland fans will be quick to say the committee avoided a potential showdown with former ACC rival Duke in the Sweet 16. Maryland is closer to New Jersey and Duke (Durham, NC).
Duke travels well, and the Blue Devils fans could still outnumber the Maryland faithful. The better explanation may be that the committee is trying to avoid a potential Sweet 16 matchup for Maryland against Big Ten Conference foe Oregon.
The Ducks are the No. 5 seed in the East and the 19th overall seed. The committee avoids rematches in the Round of 64 and 32 unless, like the SEC this year, a conference gets an abundance of bids.
Oregon beat Maryland 83-79 in Eugene in January. The Ducks were on the seed line with Purdue. However, Purdue is also in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers topped the Ducks 65-58 on Jan. 18. Oregon likely got bounced around to avoid Maryland and Purdue, slotting them in the East Region.
Maryland can point to its last four losses as to why it didn’t receive a more favorable seed. The Terps’ last four losses have occurred on buzzer-beaters against Northwestern, Ohio State, Michigan State, and most recently Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
Maryland’s cards are dealt. Understandably, head coach Kevin Willard isn’t dwelling on the travel. Instead, Maryland is focused on the Antelopes of Grand Canyon University. Win, and everything plays itself out.
