College basketball fans are already falling in love with the 'Crab Five' in March Madness

On February 14, 2025, X account @LimNeeson shared his name for the Maryland starting five for the first time. His 'Crab Five' post, as people can still see in the comments, received some pushback in the comments. In their NCAA encounter against Grand Canyon, the homage to the storied Michigan players appears to be picking up steam.

The Terrapins ended up defeating the Lopes 81-49. Throughout the game, the nickname garnered greater attention and approval compared to the original release. While upsets have happened during this year's March Madness as in any other, the Maryland squad took care of business as the four seed against the double-digit underdogs.

With the game well out of hand by the second half, it allowed the starters to be pulled and MD fans to celebrate while the game was still going on. The in-game extracurriculars involved a heavy dosage of the phrase originally used by Liam.

When the opposing fanbase gives a team props during a blowout, then there must be something worthwhile there. One of the Grand Canyon supporters, also named Liam, even acknowledged so much in his post on X.

When a game is handily decided and it's clear which roster is better, all one can do sometimes is give a tip of the cap. From a Lopes-backed Liam supporting a Terrapins-backed Liam, 'Crab Five' appears to be universally accepted now.

As an added solidifying point, even Jalen Rose chimed in. Sometimes former players can be upset about these types of things. The former Wolverine, however, spoke all in favor of the inspired reference to his UM efforts from when he was a player.

The moment provided an interesting historical what-if. According to Rose, 'Five Times' was very nearly the designation for the Michigan squad. Even he admitted, though, that it is a good thing that their idea fell through and that the general consensus went against what they were pushing for.

All of that is a side note if coach Kevin Willard is unable to parlay this early tournament success into a deep tournament run. It has been since 2016 that the Terrapins made a Sweet 16 appearance. A lopsided First Round win followed by an early Second Round exit would make the coined phrase more of a brief footnote rather than anything significant.

This isn't keeping the Mark Sears Enthusiast X account from expressing his belief in the power of the name. Winning two or more games would cement this year's Maryland team into 2025 lore. They know they have plenty of work to do. If they make it to the Elite Eight or even Final Four, then their place in March Madness history would undoubtedly be solidified.

Getting up to a big lead and being able to give players deeper in the rotation increased minutes, which is a good sign for coach Willard's group. While their road will only get tougher from here on out, getting this big victory on the national stage was a fantastic way for Maryland to introduce themselves to the national college basketball audience. A picture is worth a thousand words, and the photo shared by the Rudy Gersten X account belongs in an NCAAB time capsule.