Maryland Basketball: Senior Day and a Game That Doesn't Matter

The Maryland Terrapins' loss to Miami officially ended any hopes the Terps had of receiving a NCAA Tournament at-large berth. The loss also made Saturday's showdown with Virginia inconsequential. A win does nothing for the Terps resume, because, at this point, the Terps aren't even on the bubble. And if they lose, their in the same position.

Maryland is officially in NC State mode, circa 1983. Anything less than an ACC Tournament championship will likely result in a trip to the NIT.

Is it possible for the Terps to win the ACC Tournament?

Yes.

Will they?

No.

The Terps running the table requires two things that haven't happened all season: the seniors playing well and the shooters knocking down open threes.

Coming into the season, the conventional thought was that the Terps would make the NCAA Tournament, if the seniors stepped up and one of the freshman made an impact.

Terrell Stoglin made more of an impact than anyone expected, but, unfortunately, of the three seniors, only Dino Gregory played well.

At the beginning of the season, it looked as if Cliff Tucker had also made the leap. He kept the Terps close in narrow losses against Pitt, Illinois and Duke. After those games, every Maryland fan was thinking the same thing: if we can just get a third scorer to go along with Tucker and Jordan Williams, we can be a very good team.

Maryland fans' got their third scorer in the form of Stoglin.

Unfortunately, they lost their second scorer. Since the start of February, Tucker has scored a paltry 5 points per game, including two games in which he was shut out.

Adrian Bowie has been solid all year, but Maryland needed more than solid. His scoring is up from last year, as is his assist-to-turnover ratio, but he hasn't really improved from his sophomore season to his senior season.

Both Tucker and Bowie were nothing more than role players through their first three seasons, and maybe that is the they role they are best suited for. Even Gregory, who has far exceeded expectations, is really just a role player forced into being an impact player.

These guys have spent their careers following, and when it came time to lead, they just couldn't.

But let's not just dwell on their deficiencies that have been exposed this season. Bowie, Tucker and Gregory have had their moments, and they were fantastic in lesser roles earlier in their career.

Cliff Tucker has been a jack of all trades, even if he was a master of none.  His buzzer-beater against Georgia Tech last year started the hot streak that ended in a share of the ACC regular season Championship. His stellar game against North Carolina may have gotten that year's team into the dance.

Adrian Bowie brings so much energy to the court, which sometimes gets him into trouble, especially with turnovers and offensive fouls. He is also good at getting to the basket and finishing for a man of his size (even after four seasons in the ACC, it seems that no one realizes he is left handed).

Dino Gregory is your classic overachiever. He could always bring energy to both ends of the court, but now he has developed into a lethal mid-range shooter and a decent pow-post threat. At the end of his sophomore year, Gregory played great in ACC Tournament wins over NC State and Wake Forest, which resulted in a NCAA Tournament berth.

Ultimately, the senior class of 2011 will, most likely, be looked at as a disappointment, due in large part to the failures of their final season, but that may be a little unfair.