ESPN says so.
We've seen enough. After beating Clemson 88-79 at home on Wednesday, Maryland joins Duke and Wake Forest on as locks. The Terrapins' overall body of work still leaves a little bit to be desired, but with a 10-3 record in ACC play it's just very difficult to imagine their being left out of the NCAA's 65-team field.
Patrick Stevens agrees. History does too.
Some cursory (very cursory) research reveals that not once in this decade has a team with at least 10 ACC wins been left out of the NCAA tournament. Not once. Not even cursed Virginia Tech. Everyone with 10 ACC wins has found themselves playing meaningful games in mid-March, and that should just about lock it up for Maryland, whom notched their tenth W last night in College Park.
Now, that's not to say there's no chance Maryland gets left out, because none of the remaining three games are walkthroughs. Four straight losses to close out the season (a loss in the ACC tournament would likely be required to actually miss the NCAAT) might make the committee second-guess Maryland's spot, provided a few mid-major tournaments bust up the bracket a little. Might.
Regardless, get one more win and I'll call it official and put up a dance music video. At that point, the battle begins to move from getting in to getting a good seed. The Bracket Matrix has Maryland as an 8 seed, and I think 6 is a feasible goal for a Sweet 16 set-up. Go 2-1 in the remaining three and grab 2 wins in the ACC tournament, and that'll happen.