NCAA Tournament 2017: Maryland basketball’s future is bright

So, in case you haven’t heard, Maryland basketball’s season is over. It stinks. We’re sad. It’s OK to be sad.

This was Damonte Dodd and L.G. Gill’s final game in a Maryland uniform, and it may have been Melo Trimble’s too.

On a positive note, Maryland has a solid core already in place for next season. Anthony Cowan, Kevin Huerter and Justin Jackson look set to take the conference by storm with the right cast of characters around them.

Maryland will have a handful of new, talented players on the court next season. Forwards Micah Thomas and Joshua Tomaic will see live game action after redshirting this year. Incoming freshmen Bruno Fernando and Darryl Morsell will arrive over the summer and should contribute immediately. If Melo does leave, another scholarship opens up. Mark Turgeon could use that on a grad transfer or save it for a class of 2018 recruit — and that class could be loaded.

So yes, losing in the first round does sting. Remember when Maryland was projected to finish ninth in the Big Ten after four starters left last year? Then remember how the team started 20-2 en route to the best start in program history while starting three freshmen for most of the season? That was pretty cool. So smile!

In other news

Make sure to keep up with your picks if you’re participating in our bracket pool. I (half seriously) picked Maryland to win it all, so I’m out. Here are the rest of the editors’ picks.

The women’s basketball team plays Bucknell today at noon. The Terps are a No. 3 seed in the Bridgeport region with Connecticut. That was a bit surprising.

The Big Ten went 3-2 on Thursday. Northwestern’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win was particularly exciting. Minnesota fell to Big Ten-killer Middle Tennessee State.

Damonte Dodd took to Twitter to thank Maryland after the game.

Game times and TV schedules for Saturday have been released. Plan your days accordingly.

The football team is practicing in this nice spring weather we’re having. Some players could really benefit from a good spring session.