Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Media Credit: Adam Fried

It wasn't all that long ago that the Terrapins lost at home to Ohio and American - it just seems like it.

The Terps still have the same players from back in December, but there's no doubt it's a completely different team now.

Halfway through the ACC season, the Terps are in third place and are one of the hottest teams in the country. Believe it or not, the Terps are only one game behind No. 3-ranked North Carolina in the conference standings.

If they continue to play like they have during the past month, the Terps shouldn't have a problem getting invited to the NCAA tournament, which is remarkable given the way the season started.

"I think we had two ways to go," coach Gary Williams said. "We could try to get better or we could just say, 'Well, we're not going to be very good this year because we had six freshmen.' And we've stayed tough - that's the biggest thing. What I'll remember about this team is their toughness."

Williams was also impressed with the way the Terps fought through the miserable 2-4 stretch in December, usually a month reserved for power conference teams to beat up on inferior teams.

"Who knows what's going to happen the rest of the year," Williams said, "but we had to be tough just to come back from that because we were really criticized, and probably rightly so. People want their team to be good; we weren't very good."

So, what changed?

"Our freshmen thought about it and realized it's important for us and for them to play hard," sophomore guard Greivis Vasquez said. "I thought Landon Milbourne is playing well. Adrian Bowie, Cliff Tucker are helping us out a lot and we need those guys. I can't play 40 minutes; I need some rest. At the end, I'm the one who's gonna hurt the team by making horrible decisions. So we need those guys to play and they're playing well."

Tomorrow at 8 p.m., the Terps (15-8, 5-3 ACC) will host N.C. State (15-7, 4-4) at Comcast Center. The Terps know they began ACC play without much margin for error, and that thought will most likely continue into the second half of the conference season.

For that reason, the Terps will be taking N.C. State just as seriously as if it were Duke or North Carolina.

"I'm keeping it simple," Vasquez said after the Terps beat Boston College. "[It was] a great win for us on the road, but we gotta come tomorrow ready to practice and be focused for N.C. State. I'm happy, but I'm not satisfied. We just have to keep working hard, and hopefully we get this win on Saturday."

The Terps handily won both meetings against N.C. State last season, and, unlike the Terps, the Wolfpack's roster hasn't changed much. But right now, they might not be anything more than a bubble team.

"We just have to keep playing hard," Vasquez repeated. "We're doing OK right now. I'm just trying to take it game by game and, to me, Saturday's like a final game."

Williams has been known to have his teams playing their best basketball in February and March, when it matters most.

Last year, the Terps ran off seven straight wins to end the regular season. Right now, they're at three, a number that senior forward James Gist hopes they extend.

"We gotta keep it tough," he said. "Right now, we're playing good, but we gotta get better. As the season goes on, we're going to continue to get better and hopefully keep this winning streak running."

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