Tourney File: Maryland

Here is the fourth of a periodic breakdown of teams expected to be in the NCAA Tournament

Maryland

What to Like: Grevias Vasquez and Eric Hayes. Neither freshman point guard is ready to carry the load by themselves at this point. They have complimentary playing styles with Vasquez the scoring, flashy type and Hayes serving in the mold of Steve Blake. Next year, I would not be surprised to see Maryland go back to the two point guard styled offense it ran during Steve Blake and Drew Nicholas' senior years, as they have a core of those two, Bambale Osby (more on him in a second) and James Gist.

What to Be Pleasantly Surprised By: Mike Jones finally playing like an All-American. Highly rated out of high school, Jones has been nothing but disappointment, as he had to compete with John Gilchrist and Nik Caner-Medley for touches in the past. This year, however, he seems rejuvenated with two real point guards getting quality minutes. Jones single-handedly crippled North Carolina last weekend, but will be overlooked when the ACC votes on it's awards this season.

What Will Keep Them From Winning: Maryland does not have a consistent outside shooter who they can truly rely on to keep teams from playing zone defense against them. Eric Hayes is their best shooter by percentage, but is usually a non-factor when it comes to scoring. D.J. Strawberry is a streak shooter who can knock down a few, but they lack a Juan Dixon type of shooter to stretch the opposition.

What We Don't Know: Maryland is on a torrid winning streak, and one has to wonder if they can keep it up for an extended period of time.

X-Factor: Bambale Osby, a transfer who sat last season out. Instead of relying on Will Bowers (who can be best described as a slower and less offensively skilled Aaron Gray), Gary Williams has an energy guy who can rebound, defend, and contribute with an occasional bucket or two. Osby was huge in last night's win against the Blue Devils, snaring down nine rebounds and blocking a shot in just thirteen minutes.

Who Do They Want to Play: Wisconsin, Air Force, and Butler. The Falcons and the Bulldogs are two teams that are not athletic enough to cover the Terps on the perimeter, and would have a tough time with their defense on the other end. Maryland has a premier defensive stopper in D.J. Strawberry, making Alando Tucker work as hard as he did against Ohio State to get his shots off.

Who Don't They Want to Play: Florida and Texas A&M would give Maryland fits because of their superior point guard play. Neither Vasquez or Hayes are ready to take on players of the caliber of Taurean Green and Acie Law in the Big Dance. Both players are too accomplished to be upstaged by guys who were wrapping up their high school careers a year ago.

Prediction: Fifth to seventh seed. At this point in the season, I believe Maryland is the third best team in the ACC behind probably #1 seed UNC and probable fifth seed Virginia Tech. Depending on how much the committee weighs the past three weeks, it could put the Terps as a low five, or a high six or seven.