Tag: Maryland Terrapins

Maryland, first-timers at NCAAs, looks to survive another day as field gets cut to 15 teams

The Terrapins are first-timers here. Not just to the NCAA Championships but to Arizona itself.

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Three strokes. That’s all that separates Maryland from making the 54-hole cut at the NCAA Division I Women’s Championship.

The Terrapins are first-timers here. Not just to the NCAA Championships but to Arizona itself. Five international players whose tournament schedule never took them west of Texas.

“I feel like we’re a little starstuck,” said head coach Diana Cantu, “even though they’re good enough.”

The Terps were first off on Friday morning, when conditions were calm and scoring was ripe in the desert, and they didn’t take advantage. On Saturday afternoon, they were nine strokes better in menacing wind that, at times, could knock a person off-balance. They’ll need more of that grit on Sunday when the field is cut to the top 15 teams. Maryland currently sits in 19th, three shots back of South Carolina and Michigan, who are tied for 14th at 24-over 600.

So much attention at the NCAA regional at Baton Rouge went to the 12 teams who never hit a shot to advance.

NCAA officials scrapped competition all three days due to weather, with committee representative Brad Hurlbut, the Director of Athletics at Fairleigh Dickinson, controversially declaring that the course was playable, but “not playable at a championship level.”

The top six seeds automatically advanced. Maryland was seeded fifth.

Public outcry was so loud that Barstool Sports stepped up to run the Let Them Play Classic earlier this week at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, a last-minute home run for the heartbroken.

But it wasn’t easy for her team either, Cantu noted.

“They wanted to be here in a different way,” said Cantu.

“They still had such a strong season that they deserve it, they just didn’t envision it that way. … They’re so into social media and it just blew up so much. I think that was hard for them a couple days.”

Cantu believes they’ve moved past it now.

Maryland Terrapins
The Maryland Terrapins women’s golf team poses for a photo at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, site of the 2021 NCAA Championships. Photo by Maryland

On Monday, top eight teams after 72 holes of stroke play will advance to match play at Grayhawk Golf Club. Mississippi, LSU and Oregon also advanced out of Baton Rouge and are currently 7, 8, and T-9, respectively in Scottsdale.

Maryland, ranked 20th by Golfweek/Sagarin, placed in the top three in all seven tournaments they played this spring. The team disbanded last March after the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and didn’t reunite until January.

Cantu worried about the time apart might impact them. She couldn’t be happier with how they came back firing. It helped too that in several events the Terps were grouped together because of COVID protocols. Cantu said those rounds were especially key in helping them to understand the importance of their attitudes, momentum and energy within the team.

Before Xiaolin Tian, now a graduate student, came to Maryland from China, the Terps were ranked well outside the top 100. That’s part of the pitch Cantu makes when selling her program to recruits: Come to a place that you can leave better than you found it.

“They’re setting such a high standard,” she said.

Maryland set an 18-hole record score of 278 this spring and senior Virunpat Olankitkunchai set a new individual tournament scoring mark of 11 under. She’s currently ranked 24th in the country.

“I don’t ever really stop and pause and realize what we’ve done,” said Cantu. “I’m a go, go, go what’s next person. What we’ve accomplished in year like this, I think it’s outstanding.”

And they’re not done yet.

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Predicting the kickoff times for Penn State football games in November

Could Penn State potentially play in two primetime games in the final month of the season?

We have taken our shots at predicting kickoff times for Penn State in the month of September (and even got one exactly right!) and have gone on the record for the month of October. That leaves just one final month of games to predict kickoff times for. If things manage to go well, Penn State could be playing some important games in the final stretch of the season in November.

Let’s take a look at the November slate of games.

We want to remind you that we have the fully up-to-date 2021 Penn State football schedule available, and it will be updated as needed.

Ranking of Big Ten’s basketball cities from best to worst

Which Big Ten school has the best basketball city to play in? Which has the worst? Some of the answers may surprise you.

Penn State isn’t necessarily viewed as a college basketball hot spot. Games in the Bryce Jordan Center struggle to bring the kind of electricity another arena around the Big Ten can offer. But how does the college basketball environment in State College rank compared to others around the Big Ten? Is Penn State home to the worst college basketball city in the Big Ten?

Not according to a recent ranking compiled by personal finance outlet WalletHub. Using data comprising of data such as winning percentage, stadium capacity, and social-media engagement, WalletHub ranked every Division 1 college basketball city on the map. Keep this in mind as a city like Philadelphia is home to multiple college basketball programs (Temple, Penn, St. Joseph’s, LaSalle, and Drexel) while Penn State is the only program in the game in State College.

The ranking ranges from No. 1 Durham, North Carolina (Duke), and No. 2 Lexington, Kentucky (Kentucky Wildcats) at the top all the way down to No. 290 St. Georgia, Utah (Dixie State) and No. 291 Stephenville, Texas (Tarleton State).

You can view the full ranking and breakdown of the list here, but we trimmed out the Big Ten-based cities for you below so you can see just where Penn State stands in the Big Ten college basketball scene.

Editorial note: There was no ranking given to Piscataway, New Jersey, the home city for Rutgers. It’s possible Rutgers flies under the New York umbrella for this ranking (New York is No. 6), but it has been omitted from this listicle.

Taylor Mikesell becomes the latest Duck to leave the women’s basketball program

Taylor Mikesell spent just one season in Eugene before deciding it was best to move on and enter the transfer portal.

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We barely knew you, but always sorry to see someone leave.

After just one season in Eugene, senior-to-be Taylor Mikesell has decided to leave the Oregon Ducks women’s basketball program and re-enter the transfer portal.

Mikesell, who transferred to the Ducks from Maryland after two seasons with the Terrapins, joins Jaz Shelley and Taylor Chavez as players deciding to leave via the transfer portal. A record number of players are using the portal since the NCAA said players won’t have to sit out a year after transferring.

As a Duck, Mikesell averaged 9.3 points a game and shot 33 percent from the three-point line. She made an immediate impact with 28 points against Seattle in the season opener.

But Mikesell had difficulty finding a rhythm in her jump shot and was hot and cold as the year went along. She never did manage to have consistency in Kelly Graves’ offense and her numbers suffered. At Maryland, Mikesell averaged over 12 points a game and shot over 41 percent from long range, stats that she couldn’t replicate at Oregon.

Oregon State might wonder why Mikesell picked to her have her best games against the Beavers, however. In the three games against the Ducks’ biggest rival, Mikesell averaged over 20 points per contest and was 9-of-21 from three-point land.

Unfortunately, those three games were the exception, not the rule.

Whatever team winds up with Mikesell, they’ll be getting a player with tremendous talent as she was proven that she can be a player that can shoot her team to victory. She was the No. 32 ranked player coming out of high school and talent like that just doesn’t disappear.

Some things just don’t work out and Mikesell is one of those examples.

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What is ESPN’s FPI for each opponent on Penn State’s 2021 schedule?

ESPN got the ball rolling with its freshly minted batch FPI rankings for the 2021 college football season. We may still be wrapping up spring practices around the country, but it is never too early to take a look at the upcoming fall, right? ESPN’s …

ESPN got the ball rolling with its freshly minted batch FPI rankings for the 2021 college football season. We may still be wrapping up spring practices around the country, but it is never too early to take a look at the upcoming fall, right?

ESPN’s initial FPI for 2021 viewed Penn State favorably with a top 10 ranking, but what about the rest of the teams appearing on Penn State’s 2021 schedule? Where do they all land in the first FPI of 2021?

We’ll rank each Penn State opponent based on their FPI preseason ranking. To see the full football schedule, you can check it out here.

See where Penn State lands in ESPN’s latest power index rankings

We should note that one of Penn State’s opponents does not have an FPI. Villanova, as an FCS program, does not receive an FPI ranking in this ESPN metric.

We will also note that Alabama has the highest FPI at 28.0 and New Mexico State has the lowest FPI at -33.3. This should hopefully give you an idea of the range being covered in this ranking. Penn State carried a 14.9 FPI in the initial index for the 2021 season.

No. 19 Penn State falls to No. 3 Maryland as Mac O’Keefe nets No. 209

The Nittany Lions’ first-half struggles continued this weekend, but Mac O’Keefe edges closer to D-1 lacrosse history.

Mac O’Keefe scored three goals, bringing his career total to 209 goals, as No. 19 Penn State fell to No. 3 Maryland, 17-10 on Saturday. The Nittany Lions drop to 2-5 on the season, while the Terrapins are 7-0 for the first time since 2014.

O’Keefe has put himself in second place in the D-1 record books. He needs four more goals to surpass former Duke star Justin Guterding, who scored 212 goals in 75 career games. O’Keefe has played in 62 games.

Maryland’s defense had O’Keefe locked down in the first half, which proved costly in the second quarter as the Terrapins outscored the Nittany Lions 7-2. Maryland scored four consecutive goals in the final seven minutes of the first half. One of those goals came from Maryland’s Jared Bernhardt to make him the school’s all-time leading goal scorer. Bernhardt finished the game with five goals and three assists.

O’Keefe would find some answers in the second half, but it was too much to overcome after the Terrapins got out to an early lead.

One highlight to take away from this game was the promising talent Penn State has to come for the next few years. Freshman Mac Costin found the back of the net in the fourth quarter to get his first career goal as a Nittany Lion.

The Lions will take on No. 8 Rutgers this Saturday at Pinzer Stadium. The Scarlet Knights are coming off a big win over No. 14 Ohio State.

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Penn State Men’s Lacrosse earns three Big Ten weekly honors

Texas women’s basketball advances to the Elite Eight after thrilling upset over Maryland

Texas women’s basketball team completed a thriller upset over the Maryland Terrapins to advance to the Elite Eight.

The Texas Longhorns women’s team entered the Sweet 16 as major underdogs. Continue reading “Texas women’s basketball advances to the Elite Eight after thrilling upset over Maryland”

The good, the bad, and the MVP: Michigan basketball defeats Maryland

What was good, not so good and who was the MVP for Michigan basketball in the Big Ten Tournament against the Maryland Terrapins.

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The Wolverines defeated Maryland, 79-66, in their first game in the Big Ten tournament, and it was an emotional game, to say the least.

Michigan got off to a slow start — per usual as of late — but thanks to an unlikely cast of characters, the role players, the Wolverines carved a 16-2 run late in the first half to go up 40-38 at halftime. The maize and blue had 21 bench points in the first half, and they had Chaundee Brown, Brandon Johns and Austin Davis to thank.

The second half was just as thrilling as the first thanks to a number of things. The backcourt of Eli Brooks and Mike Smith played at an extremely high level — the best of the season bar none — and coach Juwan Howard got ejected after a scrum with the Maryland bench during a timeout.

The Wolverines went to war for their coach and didn’t allow Maryland to get back into the game. Even when the Terrapins hit a 3, Michigan hit two of its own to extend the lead.

We’re now going to talk about the good, the bad, and the MVP from Friday’s win.

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What Juwan Howard said after Michigan basketball’s BTT win over Maryland

Juwan Howard explains his Big Ten Tournament ejection and talks about how Michigan basketball played in the comeback win over Maryland.

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Well, you know you’re going to want to tune in for this one.

Not only did Michigan rally from a 12-point deficit to beat Maryland 79-66, but head coach Juwan Howard missed much of the second half after he was ejected by the refs after a skirmish saw him being held back by both his own coaches and Isaiah Livers. Howard was so fired up, it appeared he was advancing on Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon.

According to Turgeon, the rumor that he said, ‘Don’t hang the banner, because your banners come down,’ is false, as he claims he said, ‘Don’t talk to me.’

So what’s Howard’s side of the story? What about how Michigan got back into the game?

Here’s everything Howard said after the Wolverines win over the Terrapins.

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Juwan Howard explains what led to his ejection vs. Maryland

Why the Michigan basketball head coach was ejected and why he appeared ready to fight Mark Turgeon.

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As intriguing as Michigan basketball’s ability to rally back from being down 12 to win by 13 against Maryland, that’s not what anyone is talking about in the aftermath of the Wolverines’ victory over the Terps in the Big Ten Tournament.

All anyone wants to know is: What happened that caused Juwan Howard to get so heated which resulted in him getting ejected from the game?

Usually, Howard is relatively even-keeled, mild-mannered and with a very dignified demeanor. However, whatever transpired forced Michigan’s assistant coaches and senior captain Isaiah Livers to intervene, as Howard advanced to midcourt and appeared ready to fight.

According to Howard, he was ready to fight, actually. He shared his side of the story after the game.

“OK. I have respect for everyone’s time and also during this situation. I’m just gonna say it one time, so please, write your notes. After this, let’s talk about basketball,” Howard said. “At the end of the day, first, I want to apologize to my team, which I did in the locker room for my actions. That’s not the way how you handle situations like that under adverse moments. You can’t let your emotions get the best of you.

“I love the fact of how our guys stepped up and supported their coach, because they know I always want to support them. But I always want to take ownership when I’m wrong and admit when I’m wrong. So that’s not the right way to handle that situation.

“Now, my version, because there’s always gonna be so many versions. My version, this version — but at the end of the day, my version, I’ll tell you the truth of how it all happened. I noticed that Smith went for the offensive rebound and it went off his hands last, but the referees called the ball out of bounds and I think it was their possession.

“I’m like ‘no,’ that’s not how I saw it. So I was out of the coaching box. And I went down to explain that it was (not) off of Smith. It’s tough to communicate when it’s loud and also when you have your mask on. So (Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon) saw that I was out of the box. He told the referee to look at my feet. I’m out of the box, and I was like, ‘C’mon man, that’s what we’re worried about? My feet being out of the box?’ So he said to me, ‘Juwan, I’m not gonna let you talk to me. I’m never gonna let you talk to me ever again,’ and then he charged at me!

“And that right there — I don’t know how you guys was raised, but how I was raised by my grandmother and also by Chicago, because I was raised by Chicago and I grew up on the South Side — when guys charge you, it’s time to defend yourself. Especially when a grown man charges you. And that right there, I went into defense mode, forgetting exactly where I’m at.

“Because that’s not the right way to handle a situation, when you come in and charge someone. I didn’t charge him, so when he charged me, I reacted, and I reacted out of defense. So, that’s it, my version of things. And then, I got tossed.

“That’s the story. Like I said, you’re gonna hear his side. You’re gonna hear my side. You guys can write the narrative. But that’s all I have to say about that.”

To some degree, Turgeon confirmed part of Howard’s story, as he said in his postgame press conference that he told Howard, “Don’t talk to me.”

What do you think happened? Judge for yourself from the video of the skirmish during the TV timeout.

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