Maryland's destruction of Grand Canyon makes March Madness school history

The West Region's No. 4 seed, Maryland laid a beatdown on 13 seed Grand Canyon University in the first round of the 2025 March Madness tournament.

The Terrapins took a 14-point lead into the half before smacking the Antelops around by an 18-point margin in the final 20 minutes, leading to a decisive 32-point margin of victory once the final buzzer sounded.

As expected, the team was led by its massively popular "Crab Five" starting lineup, especially starting center Derik Queen, who posted another double-double and led all players with 15 rebounds. Though Rodney Rice fell just shy of the mark, the team's other three starters joined Queen and reserve guard DeShawn Harris-Smith in posting double-digit points in the box score.

And while the highlight of this victory means the team will be advancing to the Round of 32 for the first time since 2023, the Terrapins did set some school history with their victory over GCU.

Maryland Terrapins post biggest March Madness margin of victory in school history

Maryland, who first went dancing back in 1958 and has made the tournament a total of 31 times (including the 1988 season that was vacated from official records due to the use of an ineligible player), has a long history of grabbing victories in March, with their win over GCU marking the 45th March Madness victory in school history.

Beyond that, the 32-point margin of victory also set a new high-water mark for the Terrapins, whose previous biggest win in the tournament came over Wisconsin in the second round of 2002.

That 30-point win over the Badges portended a bright future for the 2002 Terrapins, as they went on to win the only National Championship in school history over Indiana. Perhaps a repeat performance is in order this year?

Either way, Maryland is one of the best schools in the country this year, a narrative that was only fueled in their decisive Round of 64 victory. KenPom has them ranked as the 11th-best team in the nation, and they rank top-10 in adjusted defensive efficiency and top-25 on the offensive end.

They are balanced and come equipped with one of the most ferocious starting lineups in college basketball, though their depth has been questioned all season. To that end, head coach Kevin Willard was able to rest his starters more than usual against GCU thanks to the team's early and commanding lead.

In the next round, Maryland will square off with No. 12 seed Colorado State, who upset No. 5 seed Memphis 78-70. Kyan Evans dropped a career-high six 3-pointers and finished with 23 points to lead the Rams to their 11th straight victory. CSU won each of their Mountain West Conference tournament games by double digits.