Kansas City, MO (My Sportsbook) - The Maryland Terrapins and California Golden Bears meet in first-round action of the NCAA Tournament's West Regional this afternoon, from the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
Gary Williams' Terrapins finished the season with 20 victories and despite stretches of poor play, the team posted some big wins on the year, including a thrilling overtime victory against North Carolina in late February. In the ACC Tournament, the Terps were able to get post wins over both NC State and Wake Forest, before bowing out against Duke in the semifinals. Maryland has a great deal of history in this event, boasting of a 36-21 record in 22 previous appearances, including winning the national championship in 2002.
The Golden Bears were in the hunt for a Pac-10 crown for most of the season and their 22 victories on the year are certainly indicative of their highly successful campaign. At 11-7 in league play, the Bears finished in a tie for third place in the conference. Still, a quick exit in the Pac-10 Tournament in a loss to eventual champion USC (79-75) has probably left a bitter taste in the players' mouths. California ia 18-14 in 14 previous stints in this tournament, with a national championship coming a half a century ago (1959).
This is just the second all-time meeting between these two teams, with Maryland posting an 80-64 win back in 2006. The winner of this game will face the winner of the Memphis/Cal State Northridge game in second-round action.
Maryland is always a dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament and is coming off its 10th 20-win campaign in the last 13 years. The Terps are not an offensive juggernaut by any stretch, averaging a modest 71.5 ppg, but does make the most of its trips down the floor in addition to making opponents pay at the free- throw line, where Maryland ranks eighth nationally at 76.8 percent. The centerpiece of the Maryland attack is guard Greivis Vasquez, who became the first player in school history to pace the team in scoring (17.2 ppg), rebounding (5.5 rpg) and assists (5.1 apg) all in the same season. Forward Landon Milbourne (11.6 ppg) and guard Eric Hayes (10.2 ppg) provide adequate offensive support.
California is one of the better offensive teams in the Pac-10 and comes into the postseason averaging a hardy 75.0 ppg, getting it done on an impressive .485 shooting. The team is really dangerous thanks to its three-point accuracy, as Cal is draining 43.4 percent from behind the arc. Jerome Randle is the offensive leader, shooting .500 from the floor and putting up 18.4 ppg. Randle is also shooting a ridiculous .468 from downtown, with a team-high 80 three-pointers to his credit. He is also responsible for getting others involved and leads the team with 158 assists. Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson are also solid scorers at 14.6 and 12.8 ppg, respectively. The pair have combined for 102 additional treys this year for a team that has 203 three-pointers made this season.
