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In the 2002 national title game, Juan Dixon led Maryland to a 64-52 victory over Indiana, giving the Terps their first-ever national title, and putting an end to the best season of the Mike Davis era. This was the last time both teams have made the Final Four. One of the most interesting counterfactuals about the Hoosiers in recent years is what would have happened had IU won that game. Is Mike Davis still our coach today? Does the Kelvin Sanctions era happen? Is Tom Crean still at Marquette? Lots to consider there. Anyways, onto our second new B1G opponent.
MARYLAND TERRAPINS.
Location: College Park, Maryland. The suburban campus is located a mile from the Green Line of the DC Metro and only 20 minutes outside of the District.
Revelant SB Nation Blog: Testudo Times
Football Coach: Randy Edsall. Rescued a dormant UConn program before coming to Maryland but has yet to put it together in College Park. When he came to Maryland, he said he was a "not a name-on-the-back-of-the-jersey guy,"thus getting players' last names removed from the jersey. Edsall is the same guy who, while UConn coach, made Jordan Todman address all of his teammates after he announced his decision to enter the NFL Draft. Then, he later left UConn for Maryland without notifying any of his players after getting blown out in a BCS bowl game. What a guy.
Football Stadium: Byrd Stadium. After a recent expansion, it always looks half-full. I once saw Weezer and Ben Folds perform there while I was living in DC.
Basketball Coach: Mark Turgeon. Rescued a dormant Texas A&M program before coming to Maryland but has yet to put it together in College Park. Gary Williams probably still gets thousands of emails a day asking him to come back and coach.
Basketball Arena: Comcast Center. After being built a decade ago, it also always looks half-full. Except when Duke plays there.
What happens if I try to badmouth Gary Williams while on campus? Your body will end up at the bottom of the Potomac River within three hours.
Academic Reputation: The academics are good, but not on the level of UVA's or Georgetown's, though it's a cheaper and comparable alternative to schools within the District such as GW or American.
National Perception: Maryland joining the B1G was probably the first time the Terps had been nationally relevant since when their women's basketball team won a national title in 2006.
Do Maryland fans exist? Yes, but mainly for basketball. The DC area is a college basketball hotbed, with several D-1 teams in the area and a history of great high school players (such as Victor Oladipo). Maryland-Duke may be the most one-sided rivalry in all of college hoops, since Duke fans don't care about it at all, but it consumes Maryland fans, who are still going to obsess about Duke long after the B1G move. The fact that Maryland doesn't play Georgetown on a regular basis is an absolute travesty, especially now that both Gary Williams and the elder John Thompson, who hated each other, are no longer there. Maryland lacrosse fans may actually outnumber Maryland football fans, and bro, don't you dare hate on lacrosse, bro. Crabcakes and football may be what Maryland does, but the Old Line State is more of an NFL state, since both the Ravens and Redskins have their home stadiums in Maryland and have strong fanbases in the area.
History with IU: Oh yes. See above.
Was leaving for the B1G a financially sound decision? Heck no. Maryland is currently entangled in a lawsuit with the ACC, claiming that they do not need to pay the $52 million ACC exit fee. This comes on the heels of Maryland cutting several varsity programs in order to save costs. And unlike Rutgers, which was dying to get away from its sinking ship of a conference, Maryland was already in a stable league in the ACC when they opted to join the B1G.
Fact that should endear Maryland to the rest of the B1G: That they're not Rutgers? Maryland used to play Penn State in football regularly, and will again starting next year, but their all-time record in this rivalry against the Nittany Lions is 1-35-1. Michigan State's Korie Lucious beat the Greivis Vasquez-led Terps on a buzzer-beater in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Tournament as well.
Other fun facts: Kevin Plank, the founder and president of Under Armour, went to Maryland. So at this point, Maryland is basically an Under Armour subsidiary. You think IU's football helmets were radical last year? They're nothing compared to Maryland's crazy uniform choices recently. Scott Van Pelt is also a proud Maryland alum, and references the Terps on SportsCenter or his radio show at every chance he can get. We may be getting Edsall into the B1G, but we're also getting Van Pelt. Seems like a fair tradeoff to me.