Derik Queen has historic performance in final game at Maryland

The "Crab Five" has officially met its maker.

In the Sweet 16 against No. 1 seed Florida, Maryland's thrilling story came to an end. Despite only being down by two at halftime against the SEC Tournament champions, the Terrapins' lack of depth finally caught up with them, and they fell to the Gators by a final score of 87-71.

As usual, the starting lineup dominated the show for head coach Kevin Williard's squad, scoring a whopping 68 of the team's 71 points. Senior guard Selton Miguel picked a heck of a time to have his worst game of the season, contributing zero points and assists on 0-7 shooting in 29 minutes on the floor. The team is now 2-13 all-time in the Sweet 16.

However, despite the sour vibes warping an objectively positive campaign for the Terps, freshman center Derik Queen made sure that fans would at least have some fond memories from the team's last game of the season.

Derik Queen explodes for 27 points in Sweet 16 loss to Florida

Queen, who already had his "March Madness moment" with his buzzer-beating game-winner against Colorado State in the second round, made good on his NBA potential in the game against the Gators, dropping 27 points on 8-17 shooting, including a perfect 10-10 performance from the free throw line.

With the point barrage, Queen also became the record holder for points by a freshman at Maryland with 594.

Peculiarly, Queen took four shots from three-point range, hitting just one. Considering he's just a 20% shooter from distance, it felt like he was settling (and perhaps trying to impress NBA scouts) against a really good Florida defense, though he had been 4-7 from three in his previous three games coming into the contest.

Overall, in his three NCAA tournament games, Queen averaged 18.6 points and 8.6 rebounds, contributing more than one block per game for good measure. On the season, the freshman center wrapped up his freshman campaign with averages of 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks.

Though he was already considered a top prospect coming into March Madness, his tournament performance has likely solidified him as a lottery pick. The latest CBS mock draft has him all the way into the top 10 picks, with the San Antonio Spurs projected to select Queen at No. 9 overall. A front-court pairing of Queen and Victory Wembanyama would be practically unguardable.

It is worth noting that, after the loss to Florida, Queen was non-committal about his future, matching the same tone shared by Willard, who has long been rumored as a potential option to fill Villanova's head coaching vacancy.

Still, it's hard to believe Queen will stick around in Maryland after raising his stock so high in his final performance. Terrapins fans can hope the star freshman wants another crack at March Madness glory, but Queen's next stop is likely in the NBA.