I feel that if the Terps can win at least 3 out of the last 5 games and at least one ACC tournament game, then a 6 ( and possibly a 5 )seed is not out of the question. This team is capable of winning all five remaining regular season games but they always have trouble in Miami and Wake Forest is playing very good now especially at home.

GO TERPS!

The Terps are currently 17-9, and playing excellent and consistent basketball in the ACC. Our remaining games are all against teams that we can reasonably expect to beat. But maybe we have an off night against Clemson, or more likely on the road at Wake Forest. That puts us at 21-10 for the regular season, probably finishing third in the ACC behind Duke and UNC. Win a game or two in the ACC tournament...

Now, where does that put us in the tournament? A strong conference record and strong end to the season, coupled with the weak crud at the beginning? I would have to think a five seed, maybe a four.

Sorry to be such a politician (or a Yankee pitcher) and dodge your question, but I'm with Gary: it's too early to even think about their seed in the tournament considering the games they have left to play. The team needs to focus on actually getting there. I think it'll be a lot clearer after they play Wake and especially after they play Clemson.

That being said, if they win the last five (which I think is possible), get a first-round bye in the ACC tournament and one win there, I think they could slip in as high as 6.

But then, I'm a homer. :p Go Terps!

Seeding is so much about trends, and if the Terps enter Selection Sunday hot like last season, they'll push another higher seed (prob 4-6) and avoid the difficulty of playing one of the best overall teams in Rd. 2. I believe if two of the following happen they get at least a 6 seed:

1)Finish with at least 11 ACC wins
2)Beat Clemson (last remaining chance for a marquee win)
3)Win at least 2 games in a strong ACC tourney showing

If they don't get 2 of those 3 they probably end up in the 7-10 range. Of course they could end up back on the bubble if they don't win at least 10 conf. games, but I'm not concerned about that at the moment.

http://bracketproject.atspace.com/comparison.htm

This link shows 41 Bracket projections, with MD in on 39 as a consensus 10 seed.

12th in the Western Regional

For now, an 8 or 9 seed is about right. If the Terps finish up 10-6 or better, and win one in the ACCT, that could rise as high as 5 or 6.

The higher the seed, the more likely that MD may end up playing close to home, either in NC or preferably at the Verizon Center.

I think if they only lose one of the last 5 games they play then they have a good chance to be a 7 seed.Maryland can be a very dangerous team when they are playing good like they have been.If Maryland was playing like they are now then they could have beet UCLA and Mizzouri earlier in the season.They could go deep in the tournament.

The NCAA Selection Committee is headed by the representative from George Mason U. and is going to start its meeting a day early to give themselves more time to think things over. As a result, I expect a lot more small league teams will get in and knock MD out, unless MD beats Clemson at home and finishes in a tie with Clemson for third in the ACC. Otherwise, the early and ugly loses to AU and Ohio will doom them getting in at all because the Terps have an RPI in the 60's.

The NCAA Selection Committee is headed by the representative from George Mason U. and is going to start its meeting a day early to give themselves more time to think things over. As a result, I expect a lot more small league teams will get in and knock MD out, unless MD beats Clemson at home and finishes in a tie with Clemson for third in the ACC. Otherwise, the early and ugly loses to AU and Ohio will doom them getting in at all because the Terps have an RPI in the 60's.

Who cares? give them a 16 seed,but not against an ACC team. Better yet start Terps against Memphis at 9 PM for tv ratings. Love to see a 16 beat a 1. all they need to do is go 6-0.

There is still too much basketball to play to determine a team's seeding and who they play. I think Md just needs to concentrate on each game. Right now Md finishing in top 4 of ACC = a bid.
As for Bracketology. I wish people would stop giving him so much attention. The geek trying to pick teams so early is plain stupid. In short, he needs to get a life.

As inviting as it may be, I'm not getting pulled into the projection conversation. The ONLY thing that matters right now is beating VT at home Wednesday. The ONLY thing that should be on this teams mind. Every time we seem to 'look ahead' and assume things before they happen, we end up tripping over the likes of VT, Miami, etc. Also road ahead isnt that assured - WF and Clemson will be difficult games, Miami and UVA are always tough on the road. One game at a time boys...win and let the bracketologists take care of themselves.

What's with all these low projections? I'll admit I'm a homer also, but let's just look at history. Let's assume the Terps can finish 3rd in the ACC, get a bye in the tourney and win 1 game. I don't know the answer to this, but what's the lowest seed the 3rd place team in the ACC has ever received? It doesn't seem like the ACC has ever been more underrated than this year. Neither MD or Clemson is ranked right now, when's the last time the 3rd place team in the ACC wasn't even ranked? I say go with history and my gut says that the selection commitee will do the same and the Terps end up with a 5 or 6 seed.

There's NO way the Terps are going to end up in Carolina. There are already going to be 2 ACC teams (UNC and Duke) in that subregional and the NCAA does whatever it can to prevent teams from the same conference facing each other before the sweet 16.

The Phone Booth is a possibility, but that may necessitate regular-season win-out a run to the ACC Tournament final and a strong performance in that game (final conference record of 14-5). The Terps would need to be at the very least seeded 5th (even that's a stretch) to be placed in the DC subregional because the committee would not want to give a lower seeded team such a strong geographical advantage. Even with a 12-4 regular season conference record (winning out), the Terps' RPI probably would not be any better than 40 because of the remaining teams on the schedule. A home loss could be devestating (Clemson or tomorrow against Va Tech are not automatic and Virginia proved they can still play by beating BC on the road over the weekend) to their RPI and put them back on the bubble. The problem is that aside from the ACC tournament, Maryland will not get another shot against a RPI top 25 team and may not (depending on what happens in the next two weeks with Clemson) get another shot at an RPI top 50 team. That gives the Terps only 1 RPI top 50 win (UNC) and 3 losses outside the RPI top 100 (Missouri, American, and Ohio). The ACC may be one of the top 3 conferences in the country, but only because all of the teams, aside from Duke and UNC, are bunched between 40 and 100 in the RPI. Maryland only has the UNC win to fall back on, and even though they have a strong strength of schedule (losses to UCLA, Duke (twice) and VCU), they don't have a marquee non-conference win to point to (Charlotte on the road is looking better but Illinois at home is not).

If the Terps cannot get to 10 conference wins (including the tourney), they may be in the NIT, and may get leapfrogged by an ACC team lower in the standings even if they finish 3rd or 4th in the ACC.

Clemson has wins against Purdue (HUGE right now), ODU, and Alabama, while it's only "bad" losses are to Charlotte and Mississippi at home (definitely not in the American or Ohio range). Don't forget those two overtime losses to UNC that the committee could discuss as positives for Clemson's competitiveness against top teams.

Miami has wins against VCU, at Mississippi State, and at home to Clemson with a "bad" loss at home to Winthrop and a deteriorating conference record (4-6) with home games against Duke and Maryland, and a road trip to Clemson in the next two weeks.

Wake Forest had the big win at home against Duke on Sunday along with wins against BYU and at Iowa with "bad" losses at Georgia and Charlotte.

NC State has quality wins at Villanova and Seton Hall and at home to Davidson and Cincinatti with "bad" losses to New Orleans and ECU. NC State also has home dates with both Duke and UNC on the schedule that could put the Wolfpack back into the conversation for a tournament bid.

Ga Tech has a quality win at Notre Dame with a "bad" loss to UNC Greensboro with one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the ACC (Vanderbilt, Winthrop, Kansas, Indiana, and UConn) and a sub-.500 record that eliminates them from consideration unless they make a run with a trip to Cameron still on the schedule.

VaTech doesn't have a quality win to point to on their schedule but a number of "bad" losses at Richmond and Penn State, other non-conference losses to mid-majors Butler, Gonzaga, and ODU, and the most recent devastating blowout loss to UNC.

Looking at the teams below them, the Terps cannot afford to go any worse than 3-2 in the stretch run, and depending on what 3 games they win, it could cause a leapfrog situation (assuming a 1 and done in the ACC tourney) and leave a 10-win ACC team out of the big dance for the first time ever. 4-1 (with a loss on the road to Wake) and at least one win in Charlotte would be the ideal situation to assure the Terps of a bid to the dance and a 6 seed to avoid a potential second round NCAA matchup with a 1 or 2 seed.

I think the Terps will get in. Playing so well ( I think they'll finish with at least 10 wins) in the conference with the highest RPI will put them in. Seeding however is is another matter. Bottom line: Win the ACC tourney and this is all moot. The Terps are automatically in, nad will get a higher seed.

Interesting article this early. I can assure you Memphis, or any number 1 seed don't want to see Maryland in the second round of the tournament is MD is a 9 seed. I don't think the committe want to see that either. They pride themselves in hoping that the number one seed at least makes it to the sweet sixteen so therefore you won't see UMD at a 9 seed. More than likely they are either a 4, or 6 seed in this years tournament, and yes get your pop-corn ready they are going to make a deep run. They have the guards that can get it done even though Vasquez is a little shaky at the point, but he makes up for it by scoring points and getting his team involved, and LM is really going to show out here soon. That Dunk was incredible on Sat.

If the Terps cannot get to 10 conference wins (including the tourney), they may be in the NIT, and may get leapfrogged by an ACC team lower in the standings even if they finish 3rd or 4th in the ACC.

LOL. You are out of your mind. If the Terps finish 3rd or 4th in the ACC, they are in the tournament and will not be leapfrogged by any of the teams you mention. And to suggest they could get 10 wins and not get in shows you can do a lot of research, study RPI, and still have no idea what you're talking about. The reason no team has ever been denied a bid with 10 wins in a conference like the ACC, is because there is no logical argument for it. That's why it won't happen. The Terps need a total of three wins to get to 20, including the ACC tournament. 20 wins and above .500 in the ACC = you are in. The only question is what will the Terps seed be. BTW: Maryland beat NC State, GT and WF, so they are not leapfrogging Maryland. Miami isn't leapfrogging Maryland either. What planet on you on?

Some of you folks gotta get positive. I know the AU and Ohio L's don't look good but surely a 3rd place ACC finish leaves you no higher than a 7th seed. Plus, we're rolling right now.

Go Terps: i don't know where you get your RPI data, but ohio is currently #57 and Missouri is #76.