Nuts & Bolts
Date: March 21, 2025
Time: 4:35 p.m. ET
Venue: Climate Pledge Arena - Seattle, WA
How to Watch: TBS
Announcers: Lisa Byington, Robbie Hummel, Jalen Rose // Andy Katz
NCAA Tournament Bracket: HERE
Matchup History: First all-time meeting between Maryland and Grand Canyon
Last Meeting: N/A
Prediction: Maryland 72, Grand Canyon 68
Betting Lines: (Via Draftkings)
Spread: Maryland -10.5
Over/Under: 151.5
Follow Along on Twitter
Zach Penrice - DMV Sports: https://twitter.com/Zach_DMVSports
Head Coach: Kevin Willard (3rd season, 63-38 record at Maryland)
Record: 25-8 (14-6, 2nd in Big 10)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 31
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2023
Last Time Out: Lost vs. Michigan 81-80 on 3/15/25 (Big 10 Tournament - Semifinal)
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: Derik Queen
For the second time in three years under Head Coach Kevin Willard, the Maryland Terrapins are in the NCAA Tournament.
Two years ago, the Terps surprised in Willard’s first year by making the tournament and advancing to the Round of 32, defeating West Virginia before falling to #1 Alabama.
This year, Maryland finished second in the Big 10 Conference, advanced to the semifinal of the Big 10 Tournament, and earned a four-seed for the NCAA Tournament.
The Terps are double-digit favorites against their 13-seed opponent the Grand Canyon Lopes, a program that just won the WAC for the third straight year and is coming off an NCAA Tournament victory as a 12-seed in last year’s tournament.
The game will be played at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA at 1:35 p.m. local time. It’s a challenging draw for a Maryland team that has to fly coast to coast to take on a team that doesn’t have to leave its current timezone.
Regardless, Maryland enters the tournament as one of the hotter teams in the field. The Terrapins have won 12 of the last four games played, with the two losses coming by three points, and one point, respectively.
In fact, all eight of Maryland’s losses this season have been by single digits, with the largest margin of defeat being just six points in a January loss to Washington, the last time the Terrapins were in Seattle (Maryland is 0-2 in the West Coast time zone).
Willard’s team has been able to take a massive leap forward in year three thanks to outstanding play from freshman Derik Queen and point guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, amongst other key contributors.
Queen won Big 10 Freshman of the Year, averaging 16.3 PPG and 9 RPG while shooting 53% from the field, racking up 14 double-doubles in 33 games.
Gillespie is a junior transfer from Belmont and has been a revelation for Maryland. The stud point guard is averaging 14.7 PPG along with 5 assists per contest while playing 31.4 minutes per game. In the Terps two Big 10 Tournament games, he had 9 assists in each to go along with 12 points and 10 points, respectively, with just one turnover in both games combined.
With these two at the front leading the way for the Terps, coupled with the experience of Julian Reese and Virginia Tech transfer Rodney Rice, Maryland is set up well to not just beat Grand Canyon, but advance past the first weekend and maybe all the way to San Antonio.
Of course, there are no guarantees in March; one game at a time for Kevin Willard and co.
Head Coach: Bryce Drew (5th season, 120-39 record at Grand Canyon)
Record: 26-7 (13-3, 2nd in WAC)
NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4
Last NCAA Tournament Appearance: 2024
Last Time Out: Won vs. Utah Valley 89-82 on 3/15/25 (WAC Championship)
Highlights HERE
Player to Watch: JaKobe Coles
Grand Canyon has been eligible for postseason play for just eight years after making the jump to Division I. The Lopes have made the NCAA Tournament four of those years.
Grand Canyon is in the WAC, meaning they need to win the conference tournament and get the automatic bid to make the NCAA Tournament, something that Head Coach Bryce Drew has done now four of his five seasons at the helm.
Last season, the Lopes finally made the step forward and won a tournament game, beating St. Mary’s as a 12-seed 75-66 before falling to an eventual Final Four team in Alabama, 72-61.
Coming off the program’s first ever 30 win season, expectations were sky high in Phoenix for Drew’s team.
The Lopes responded, winning the WAC tournament for the third straight year after finishing 2nd in the league, behind Utah Valley, which they beat in the championship game 89-82.
In that game, five different Lopes finished with 12 points or more as the team shot 52% from the field and scored 89 points. If they do that against Maryland, they’ll be very hard to beat.
Entering Friday’s game against Maryland, Grand Canyon has won nine of the last ten games, with the lone loss coming in overtime by one on the road.
In the three WAC Tournament games, the Lopes averaged 87 PPG, scoring in bunches and shooting lights out in every game en route to a title.
For Grand Canyon to advance to the Round of 32 for the second straight year, they’ll be looking to its star guard Tyon Grant-Foster and forward JaKobe Coles to lead the way.
Grant-Foster was a part of last year’s team that beat Saint Mary’s and took Alabama to the brink in the Round of 32. He scored 22 points against St. Mary’s and followed it up with 29 against Alabama, but it wasn’t enough.
Expect the senior guard to lead the way for the Lopes throughout the game, while looking to Coles, who leads the team at 14.8 PPG, to take some of the offensive burden as well.
I’d expect a very high-scoring game between Grand Canyon and Maryland. If the Lopes can keep scoring like they did in the WAC Tournament, they’ll be a very tough out for the Terps. Maryland will have to defend the way it did throughout much of the regular season in order to advance to the Round of 32 and take on the winner of Memphis and Colorado State.
コメント