California vs Maryland NCAA Tournament free pick and preview

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California vs Maryland Pick and Preview

Maryland Terrapins (20-13) vs California Golden Bears (22-9) – West Region, Glendale

Maryland is one of those teams that the NCAA Tournament selection committee has to wrestle with each season: A major-conference team that finishes below .500 in league play, that plays a Top 20 schedule, that loses a few games to bad teams, but that picks up big upset wins against the top teams. Should such teams receive at-large invitations to the NCAA Tournament? This season, the answer was "yes" for Maryland. The Terrapins tied for seventh in Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 7-9 record, but they won two games in the ACC Tournament, including a 75-64 upset win in the quarterfinals against Wake Forest. A hard-fought six-point loss to ACC Tournament champion Duke in the semifinals gave Maryland's NCAA Tournament resume just enough of a boost to place the Terrapins in the field of 65. Maryland will enter the NCAA Tournament having lost five of its last nine games. In fact, the Terrapins are just 7-11 since early January. However, during that stretch, they own an 88-85 win against North Carolina as well as the win against Wake Forest. Maryland also owns a key non-conference win against Big Ten regular-season champion Michigan State, 80-62. Maryland's non-conference losses include an 81-59 setback against Gonzaga, a 75-48 loss against Georgetown, and a 66-65 loss against Morgan State. Greivis Vasquez, a 6-6 junior, leads the Terrapins in three statistical categories: Scoring (17.2), rebounding (5.5), and assists (5.1). BEST WINS: 80-62 vs. Michigan State; 88-85 vs. North Carolina; 75-64 vs. Wake Forest; 75-70 vs. Michigan. WORST LOSSES: 75-48 vs. Georgetown; 66-65 vs. Morgan State; 68-63 at Virginia.

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After tying for third place in the Pac-10 regular-season race, California will try to put some erratic play during the regular season behind it as it enters the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Bears were 4-5 against the Top 50 of the RPI and a respectable 11-6 against the Top 100, but they lost three games to teams that finished outside the Top 100 of the RPI. California was swept in two games against Oregon State, which finished eighth in the Pac-10, and Cal lost at Stanford, which finished ninth. California picked up two huge road wins against Top 15 RPI teams, though, winning 88-85 at Washington and 72-69 at Utah. Cal swept both games against league-champion Washington this season. Besides playing the Utes, California played a strong non-conference schedule, defeating Nevada at home (75-66) and UNLV on the road (73-55), while losing at Missouri (93-66) and in a neutral-site game against Florida State (80-77). California relies on three junior perimeter players, all of whom average more than 33 minutes per game. Jerome Randle, a 5-10 junior, scores 18.4 points per game to go with 5.0 assists per game. Patrick Christopher, a 6-5 junior, scores 14.6 points per game, while Theo Robertson, a 6-6 junior, adds 12.8 points per game and shoots 49.5% from 3-point range. California did not finish the regular season on a strong note, losing three of its final five games. The Golden Bears had another stretch in Pac-10 play where they lost four of five games. On the other hand, Cal put together win streaks of four, five, and nine games at various points during the season. BEST WINS: 88-85 at Washington; 86-71 vs. Washington; 81-71 vs. Arizona State; 72-69 at Utah. WORST LOSSES: 69-65 vs. Oregon State; 65-54 at Oregon State; 75-69 at Stanford.