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Forecasting Maryland’s potential AP poll ranking

By Chris Bengel

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With Maryland’s huge week that featured victories against No. 5 Wisconsin and Michigan, the Terrapins look primed to take a significant jump in the weekly Associated Press poll.

Maryland currently stands at No. 14, but many teams above the Terps lost games this past week. There could be quite a bit of movement when the latest AP poll is released on Monday afternoon.

The likes of Kentucky (No. 1), Virginia (No. 2), Duke (No. 4), Villanova (No. 6), Arizona (No. 7), Wichita State (No. 11), and Utah (No. 13) all won last week, so they will likely be staying in their respective spots, if not moving up even higher in the poll.

From No. 3 to No. 14 is where most of the movement will likely be taking place. No. 3 Gonzaga, who only had one loss entering last week, fell to an unranked BYU squad. Of course, No. 5 Wisconsin lost to Maryland last Tuesday thanks to a stellar effort from guard Dez Wells. No. 8 Kansas (lost to Kansas State), No. 9 Notre Dame (lost to Syracuse), No. 10 Northern Iowa (lost to Wichita State), and No. 12 Iowa State (lost to Baylor & Kansas State) all fell as well.

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Now where does that leave the Terps?

First of all, Maryland will almost certainly move up at least one spot. Iowa State lost a pair of games last week and lost to the Terps back in November in the CBE Classic title game. Not to mention the Cyclones have three more in the loss column than the Terps.

Northern Iowa lost to No. 11 Wichita State, so Maryland definitely has the potential to leapfrog the Panthers. While Northern Iowa has only three losses on the season, their resume is far from stellar. Their biggest is against Iowa and they lost against VCU back on Dec. 13. The Terps could move up to their No. 10 spot, depending on how the voters view Maryland.

The 9-10 range is likely the highest that the Terps can climb on Monday. The Jayhawks and Fighting Irish will lose to unranked teams, but each has had remarkable seasons, so it’s hard to imagine voters dropping them too far. No. 10 would be ideal landing spot for Maryland.

The highest that Maryland has been in the AP poll this season was No. 11 during the week of Jan. 5. That was after the week in which the Terps defeat Michigan State on the road and Minnesota at home.

If Maryland is able to move up a few spots, it’s huge heading into postseason play. If the Terps can finish out the season by beating Rutgers and Nebraska and winning a game or two in the Big Ten conference tournament, this could be a team capable of receiving a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament if the cards fall in their favor.

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