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#4 Maryland and #12 Colorado State deliver the most dramatic finish of the tournament so far

Nationwide, there had been claims of a “boring” tournament occurring throughout the first weekend, one lacking any “madness”. Those claims seem to have been put to rest after Sunday though, with a thrilling finish between Maryland and Colorado State in Seattle. Both teams came in fairly confident, with Maryland steamrolling Grand Canyon in round one and Colorado State putting together a rather comfortable 12-over-5 upset in a win over Memphis.

Colorado State was the team in front early in Sunday’s game, jumping out to a 22-10 lead less than ten minutes in. A few minutes later after a 12-2 Maryland run, the Terps got back into the game as Selton Miguel cut the deficit down to two with just under seven minutes left in the half. Kyan Evans and Nique Clifford led the Rams to a strong finish into the locker room pushing Colorado State back in front 37-30 in response.

After falling behind by as many as nine early on in the second half, Maryland stormed in front with a 16-5 run, as Rodney Rice’s and-one pushed the Terps in front and pushed his second half total to 11 points in under seven minutes. The game was back and forth for much of the next eight minutes, as Bowen Born and Clifford shined for CSU and Miguel came up with big shots for Maryland.

Finally, a team broke through, as Colorado State took a 64-59 lead off a Rashaan Mbemba layup on a dish from Clifford. Maryland responded with a 9-0 run in just over two minutes, as four straight Julian Reese points gave the Terps a 68-64 lead. After a pair of Clifford free throws, Jalen Lake leveled the game at 68-68 with under a minute to go on a deep mid-range pull-up.

On Maryland’s next possession, Julian Reese was fouled after hauling in an offensive rebound, giving the Terps a 70-68 lead with the shot clock turned off. With 12 seconds left and nothing going offensively, coach Niko Medved called timeout to draw something up for Colorado State.

Out of the timeout, Nique Clifford got the ball in the post, but a double came just as quick. Clifford, a do-it-all forward and veteran leader, didn’t hesitate to kick it out in the clutch though, finding Lake who was standing in NBA-range. Lake fired on the catch, and Derik Queen’s long, extended closeout came up just short, while Lake’s shot rippled through the net. Colorado State then led 71-70, as Maryland called timeout with 3.7 seconds left after rushing the ball up the court.

According to the postgame interview, Kevin Willard asked who wanted the ball during the timeout, and Derik Queen responded with “Give me the f—ing ball!”

Maryland did just that, and the true freshman delivered, banking in a left-handed floater/fadeaway that dropped in as time expired to lift Maryland past the upset-minded Rams 72-71.

There’s been plenty of discussion about whether Queen traveled or not, but I think I speak for many when I say I’d rather the game not be decided on a “maybe” travel with a second left on the clock. Nonetheless it wasn’t called and that’s what happened, giving Queen a team-high 17 points as the “Crab Five” for Maryland combined for 70 of the team’s 72 points in the win, all reaching double figures.

For Colorado State, it will be a season to remember regardless, as Niko Medved brought the program to its first round of 32 appearance since 2013 before his exit Monday morning to Minnesota. The Rams finished 26-10 on the year, winning their last 11 games of the season before the loss to Maryland, including a Mountain West Conference tournament championship.

Maryland will keep on pushing with what is perhaps the most well-rounded starting five in college basketball. The “Crab Five” – Derik Queen, Julian Reese, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, and Selton Miguel – and the rest of the Terps head to San Francisco for the West Regional on Thursday, facing top-seeded Florida at 7:39 ET with the winner facing the winner of Texas Tech and Arkansas on Saturday with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Other Things to Note:

• The NCAA D1 transfer portal is now open and fully underway with players such as Josh Dix, Kezza Giffa, and Dailyn Swain already in the portal