Testudo Times Roundtable: Maryland-Clemson predictions

Q: Spring sports are in full-swing, which one are you most looking forward to the rest of the season?

John: Men's lacrosse without a doubt. Living in Syracuse, I got great satisfaction when Maryland knocked them around a bit, especially after being picked last in the ACC. I'm excited to see the team continue to grow under Tillman. By the way, could there have been a better hire than Tillman?

Andrew: Lax, brah.

Todd: Spring sports are underway? I hadn't noticed. Seriously, I can't pick just one. Right now, I want to see how the young guns come along in MLax. Can Cathy Reese's WLax team get over the hump and bring home the Natty that's been so close the last few years? Will Szefc's small ball approach work and the baseball Terps finally break through into post season play? I even want to see if the softball team can recover from its surprisingly disastrous start.

FlaTerp: Spring football. (Sorry Todd.)

Brendan: Well, FlaTerp stole my zing. So, let's go with men's lacrosse.

Q: We saw an article this week that showed Maryland gets called for more fouls than any other team in the ACC, is it sloppy play or ... something more?

John: I'm not a guy to come for when it comes to conspiracy theories. If I won't buy into the lights theory when the Ravens were in the Super Bowl, I won't buy into that too much. With that being said, there have been some shaky series of events, with the double-possession arrow at Duke and some shaky calls when it comes to Maryland, but sloppy play has a lot to do with it. I won't go on a tirade too much, but a lot has to do with this new rule on hand-checking.

Andrew: I just can't in good conscious bring myself to think there is a grand conspiracy to screw Maryland and only Maryland...but I do not have a good conscious so of course I think that.

Todd: I'm always suspicious of these broad brush statistical analyses. They're usually too simple. For example, what happens to this number if you extract the Valvano fouls? On the other hand, I'm always suspicious of the ACC.

FlaTerp: I'm not a conspiracy theorist either. When you're losing close games, you foul more than when you're winning them. That could factor in.

Brendan: I like a good conspiracy theory. I watch shows like Ghost Adventures. To quote the great Zack Baggins, "We can't debunk it as false, but we can't say it's true."

Q: Maryland's at-large hopes are shot, but do you see any way Maryland could win the ACC Tournament or is the team destined for the NIT?

John: If they make any tournament, it will be the NIT at this point. I don't see a magical run through the ACC tournament, but anything is certainly possible. Best bet is NIT.

Andrew: I said during our New Years Eve roundtable that if I could make one resolution for Maryland sports in 2014 it would be a magical, incredible, impossible ACC tournament run in the last year, in North Carolina. I cannot imagine anything more sweet. I would do anything for that to happen. Obviously that probably isn't going to happen, so at this point I'll take a nice trip to NYC for the NIT Final Four.

Todd: I sought an answer for the first question. The reply was: My sources say no. I tried again and the answer came up: Don't count on it. Tried a third time and got: Ask again later. As for the second part of the question, I'll wait until they win at least one more game.

FlaTerp: You sure the Terps will even get invited to the NIT? I don't think a run in the ACC Tourney is out of the question. Maryland is playing well enough to beat people, and nobody in the conference is above being prone to a bad upset.

Brendan: I think they are looking at an NIT bid unless they lose their next four games. That said, Maryland would need a miraculous run to make the Championship. I'm putting a 1% chance on them winning the ACC Tournament. I think that may be generous, but how awesome would it be?

Q: Your prediction for Maryland-Clemson:

John: Clemson 67-62 (Bear with me, I'm testing a theory.)

Andrew: Clemson 67-62 (I don't know John's theory but I want in on some hot theory action.)

Todd: Maryland 67-62 because whatever theory John's testing, I'm testing the contrarian theory.

FlaTerp: Isn't a theory just a hypothesis when you're still testing it? Allow me to put forth a for-real, actual theory: The Terps can't beat decent teams on the road. Clemson 70, Maryland 63.

Brendan: Like I said, I'm a fan of theories... let's play this one out. Clemson 67, Maryland 62.