Maryland, built on defense, will try to out-tough Alabama to advance to the Sweet 16

That’s who the Terps had to be to reach this moment. Maryland trekked through this season without a true point guard, without a dominant post player and without an obvious star. But the 10th-seeded Terps advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament anyway, and they’ll face No. 2 seed Alabama on Monday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Maryland has played well in the postseason, and the Terps have steadily improved since the season began. Essentially, they had no choice. Last year, when the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic halted sports, Maryland had a team poised to make a tournament run. This year? The Terps were hardly in the NCAA tournament picture midway through the season.

“Our talent level’s not where it’s been,” Turgeon said after Saturday’s 63-54 win over the seventh-seeded Huskies. “But our toughness is at an all-time high.”

And that led Maryland (17-13) to its first-round victory. The Terps embraced being a gritty team with a defensive-minded coach and a senior leader in Darryl Morsell. They grabbed a double-digit lead by halftime, and they had to weather the Huskies’ late surge. But they survived, thanks to one of their best performances of the season.

Junior guards Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins were offensive sparks. Sophomore Donta Scott, playing in his first NCAA tournament, had one of his best outings. After the Terps slumped to 4-9 in Big Ten play, they committed to playing stifling defense. That formula worked. As they climbed the conference standings during a five-game winning streak, their offensive woes began to fade. And in March — the most important month for college basketball programs — the pieces have started to come together on a consistent basis.

Maryland’s core of rotation players has experience, but Connecticut was making its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2016 — and Turgeon said that might have been the difference Saturday. The Terps didn’t flinch. Multiple players delivered when needed, and Maryland joined eight other double-digit seeds in the second round.

“We’ve been here,” Morsell said. “I’m a senior. I’m confident. I think I’ve seen everything. Eric and Aaron are gamers. They’re big-time, big-game players. Donta is a gamer, tough. So we’re ready for it. This is what we’ve been talking about all year.”

The Big Ten season, including that worrisome start during a schedule front-loaded with top opponents, forged Maryland’s mind-set. The Terps started to rely on a four-guard lineup, which leaves them with a significant size disadvantage in the paint but more quickness on the perimeter, creating mismatches in both areas. In the post, Scott, a 6-foot-7 forward, battled some of the nation’s top big men, including Iowa’s Luka Garza and Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, so Maryland could play that way. It became the Terps’ best solution. That mentality — a commitment to out-tough the opponent — prepared the Terps for their underdog status in the postseason.

“I don’t think we initially intended on having to be that scrappy, defensive-minded team, but throughout the season you’ve got to make adjustments,” Wiggins said. “That’s one thing we’ve really had to emphasize throughout our entire season, which was we’ve got to be tougher than the other team.”

The matchup with the Crimson Tide is in line to be far more difficult. Alabama (25-6) won the SEC’s regular season and tournament titles. Turgeon called the Crimson Tide the “fifth number one seed” in the NCAA tournament field. Alabama plays fast and shoots a lot of three-pointers, which will test the Terps’ ability to guard the perimeter. The Crimson Tide mirrors Maryland in some ways, leaning on a smaller lineup and strong defense.

Maryland’s Galin Smith, a 6-9 reserve forward, will face his former team after transferring in the offseason. He is still close with some Alabama players, and Turgeon said, “I know Galin will be fired up.” Maryland needs more from its bench — Smith’s one point in seven minutes against the Huskies was the only scoring from the reserves — so a strong outing by the senior would offer a boost.

The winner advances to the second weekend of the tournament, and Turgeon has never made it beyond the Sweet 16, reaching that round at Maryland in 2016 and at Wichita State in 2006. For Maryland, the path to the Elite Eight would go through No. 11 seed UCLA or No. 14 seed Abilene Christian in an upset-ridden section of the bracket.

It’s too early for Maryland fans to dream that far ahead, but the players are showing they believe.

“We love the big game,” Morsell said. “We’ve got an us-against-the-world mentality.”