Terps go dancing — Men’s and women’s basketball selected for NCAA Tournament
Both men’s and women’s Maryland basketball teams qualified as No. 4 seeds in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Members of the team expressed how skillful and competitive this conference is, making the top four seed a blessing for this team. The Big Ten has eight teams in the NCAA Tournament, only second to the Southeastern Conference with 14 teams.
Selton Miguel was thankful that after five years he finally made it to the tournament, especially representing Maryland. Senior center Julian Reese was relieved in the moments following their No. 4 selection.
“Just seeing your name going across the board, just kind of a sense of relief, kind of a sense of confidence,” Reese said.
The announcement came a day after their fourth last-second loss for the season in the Big Ten Tournament. Maryland head men’s basketball coach Kevin Willard expressed a sense of frustration.
“I’d almost rather get blown out to be honest with you,” he said.
Reese added that, “the guys that didn’t play as well as they wanted to, they’re kind of playing with that chip on their shoulder and wanting to prove themselves over there.”
The men’s basketball team will be traveling to Seattle for the tournament, which has presented challenges for the team in the past, but Willard has optimism.
“We’ve traveled out there [before], so this is not new, this is nothing that we have to adjust to,” Willard said.
Willard gave praise when asked about what he knew about their upcoming opponent, No. 13 seed Grand Canyon University and head coach Bryce Drew.
“Bryce [Drew] is a heck of a coach. It’s his third straight NCAA Tournament. They play fast, they’ve been there before,” he said.
As the men’s team held press conferences, the women’s team was celebrating their No. 4 seed draw. Guard, Kaylene Smikle, detailed how they deserve their spot.
“We’ve put in work all season,” she said. “Even if we lose games, we learn from it. We started off with a hard schedule and we’ve proven that we’re capable.”
“Your heart beats a little bit faster. I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning just knowing it was Selection Sunday,” Maryland head women’s basketball coach Brenda Freese said. “When you’ve had the COVID year that we all had, just knowing how hard it is to get into the NCAA Tournament is something we’d never take for granted.”
Freese said seeing the women’s team being selected as one of the best 16 teams in the nation, and to be able to host, is a testament to how hard this team worked over this year. This is the Terps’ 16th top four seed under Freese and their 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament dating back to the 2011 season.
Smikle knows it’s a blessing coming into the NCAA tournament.
“I’m actually really excited, I know this is big time,” she added. “Being here at Maryland, great staff, teammates, I feel like this is where I want my first time in March to be.”
Shyanne Sellers spoke briefly about their opponent, Norfolk State, and how they’re a great group that has put in a lot of work just to get to this point. She emphasized how important their scouting will be, especially when handling their head of the snake, guard Diamond Johnson.
Sellers said her knee is also feeling better coming into the tournament as she has been resting. Freese gave the team a few days off, which Sellers was very grateful for, as the team gears up for what Sellers says will be a “deep run.”
“We have the best fans in the world, it’s surreal that it’s my last time. It’s going to be fun, I’m going to make it fun for sure,” Sellers said.
Sellers said the team is coming into the tournament with an underdog mentality.
“Just knowing that there’s hundreds of other teams that want to be in the position that we are. Going out and being hungry coming off the loss in the Big Ten Tournament,” Sellers continued. “We still got a chip on our shoulder. I think people don’t respect us in the way that they should. I think we have something to prove this time.”
The men’s squad kicks off play at 4:35 p.m. on Friday. The women’s team will play Saturday at 4 p.m.