And last night’s game was particularly ugly, with West Virginia’s punishing style of full-court-press leaving the Terps out of sorts and exposing their greatest weakness—lack of depth at the point guard position. Except for their extraordinary freshman point guard Melo Trimble, the Terps don’t really have any elite ball handlers, which is exactly what you need to break the press. So there was cause for concern—lots of it—when Trimble got flattened by a moving screen from WVU’s Nathan Adrian (with no foul call, no less). He stayed on the ground for a few minutes, got up, rubbed his head and was later seen smiling on the bench. Whew! However, in the second half, Trimble and the Terps weren’t so lucky. Trimble went for a steal, got tripped up by his own feet, fell, and was inadvertently kicked in the head by his own teammate, Damonte Dodd. This time he was much slower to get up. When he went to the bench, Terps medical staff immediately rushed to him. Soon, TNT cameras showed him crying. A few minutes later, we found out why: Trimble was officially out for the game.

Here’s the thing: We know a lot more about the dangers of concussions than we used to, but many athletes have played with mild concussions over the years. Simply put: players want to play. And Trimble clearly wanted to get back in the game. The Terps staff could’ve turned a blind eye, put him back in, knowing the season would almost definitely be over without him. But they didn’t. They protected the health of the player over the success of the team. And Twitter took notice.

The Terps went on to lose the game, 69 to 59. It’s impossible to say what would’ve happened if Trimble had stayed in the game (in fairness, the Terps were already losing when he got hurt), but one thing was nearly certain—they had virtually no shot without him. There were lots of reasons to love these 2014-15 Terps: Trimble’s ascendance, the big upset of Wisconsin, Mark Turgeon winning Big 10 Coach of the Year, all of Dez Well’s thunderous dunks. But yet another reason to love them came during their darkest hour. They care about players first. And that makes them winners to us.

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Anybody out there upset that the Terps got bypassed for Iowa State and Baylor for that No. 3 seed now? Be careful about what you ask for, people.

We love the Terps. They had a great year, no doubt. But they didn’t reach the Big Ten Championship finals and they were ranked No. 12 in the final AP poll—a borderline No. 3 or No. 4. So they’ve drawn Valparaiso (it’s in Indiana) in their opener and not Georgia State or UAB and we took a little moment yesterday to give thanks for that.

The Terps’ opener is scheduled for a 4:40 start this afternoon on TNT and you absolutely have our permission to cut work and go catch the game at your favorite bar. Hell, it’s Friday and the boss should be buying the first round anyhow.

Here’s the thing. Maryland didn’t blow anybody away this year, but instead won a ton of tight games, which is a kind of double-edged sword. The oddsmakers have noticed, installing us as only a 4.5-point favorite. One computer prediction has it a 66-64 Maryland win.

The Terps are great down the stretch because our big three—Dez Wells, Melo Trimble (@_STAYMELO), and Jake Layman—all handle the ball well, can shoot from the outside or drive to the bucket, and excel at the free throw stripe. Our most obvious hole is a lack of a genuine low-post threat offensively, but we do rebound and play defense. (When the Terps have made NCAA tourney noise in recent years, they’ve had big men like Lonnie Baxter and Joe Smith doing damage inside as well as outstanding guard play.)

Here’s the bottom line: We’re going to beat Valpo today, but it might be closer than is comfortable. Then we’ll get West Virginia or Buffalo, who play right before our game, and we’ll inevitably dispatch either one of them in a tight contest as well. What school is the traditional basketball power in that match-up?

After that, it’s Kentucky.

Bring ’em.

Whatever your seed, you’ve got to knock off a couple of somebodies to win the title. Sure, we’ll need a big game inside from Evan Smotrycz, Damonte Dodd, or the 7-foot Slovakian freshman Michal Cekovsky, and probably from Jared Nickens or Richard Pauk behind the arc, too. But what could be more fun for an underdog bunch of college kids—no one expected these Terps to challenge for the Big Ten title this season—than facing the undefeated, consensus tournament favorite in the Sweet Sixteen?

After the NCAA selections were made, Dez Wells, our senior, first-team All-Big Ten swingman, unlike so many fans, didn’t care where the Terps got sent or who they had to play—an attitude we like. He was only looking forward to getting his shot.

“I’m just ready to get to where our location is,” Dez said, “and I’m ready to rock.”

Fear the Turtle.

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