Maryland basketball remains outside top 25 in latest AP Poll

Maryland basketball is 4-0, but after taking down Butler and Bucknell at home last week, the Terps are still well outside the top 25.

Mark Turgeon’s team received nine points in the AP Poll released Monday, placing Maryland 32nd in the rankings. The Terps had received seven and two points in the preseason and Week 2 polls, respectively.

Wednesday’s 14-point victory over Butler (who garnered 20 points in last week’s poll) was a breakout win for Maryland, but it seems the voters docked the Terps slightly for needing a 15-point comeback against Bucknell, who’s 0-4 but favored to win the Patriot League.

Only one new team—No. 25 Alabama—joined the rankings this week. The other 24 ranked teams were in the previous poll. Only Northwestern fell out after losing by 36 to Texas Tech (the Wildcats still received 20 points this week). The Big Ten is represented in the rankings by No. 4 Michigan State, No. 14 Minnesota and No. 18 Purdue. Michigan joins Northwestern and Maryland in the “receiving votes” category.

Maryland made appearances in eight of the 19 AP Polls released last season, with a drought during November after some close calls in non-conference play and a peak of No. 17 as the team climbed to a 20-2 record. The 2015-16 Terps were included in every edition of the rankings and reached No. 2 on several occasions. The current team is still searching for its debut appearance in the top 25, but that might come if it’s still undefeated at this time next week.

This week, Maryland hosts Jackson State at 7 p.m. Monday, then visits Florida for the Emerald Coast Classic, where the Terps will play St. Bonaventure on Friday and either TCU or New Mexico on Saturday.