AP voter Graham Couch proclaimed on Twitter Sunday evening that he not only dropped Maryland from the No. 12 spot he had the Terps in last week, but removed them entirely from his ballot for this week:
Just filed my AP top 25 ballot - left Maryland out entirely. Didn't plan to. But there are 25 teams more deserving, playing better hoops.
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) February 22, 2016
This honestly made me laugh out loud when I read it. My issue, honestly, isn't that he dropped Maryland out of his Top 25. It's the "didn't plan to" but did it anyway. He also argues the Terps haven't played well all season, but if he felt Maryland was over rated, why did he rank the Terps No. 12 last week?
People obviously weren't happy with Couch's rankings and several folks had some great responses:
@Graham_Couch maybe you should stop covering college basketball.... You should join ESPN 8 the ocho and cover dodgeball with Jason Bateman
— matt s (@ShipeSportshost) February 22, 2016
Just ranked my top 68 NCAA tournament teams and left off Maryland. Didn't plan to, but 68 other D1 teams were more deserving.
— Dave Tucker (@TestudoDave) February 22, 2016
Just ranked my top 25 MLB stadiums and left off Camden Yards. Didn't plan to, but 25 ballparks were more deserving.
— Connor (@C_Newcomb_) February 22, 2016
Just filled out my top 25 countries-by-population ballot. Left off China. Didn’t plan to, but 25 UN member states had more people.
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) February 22, 2016
I ranked my top 25 favorite foods and left pizza off. Didn't plan to, but there are 25 foods more deserving. https://t.co/E0DZJNugvj
— Brendan Darr (@BrendanDarr) February 22, 2016
@Graham_Couch Thank goodness the standings are based on outcomes of games not Graham's quality of play paradigm.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) February 22, 2016
Not related to his Maryland omission this week, but you'll be shocked to learn that Couch has said some other contentious things in the past on Twitter. If you want some more fun reading, check out the entire back and forth between SVP and Couch.
After searching through Twitter yesterday, I found voters who still have Maryland in their top ten and ones who have them somewhere in the teens. I'd be shocked if anyone else had them out of the Top 25 entirely. I think the most likely outcome is that the Terps end up somewhere around 12-13, like in Seth Davis' ballot below.
1. Nova 2. Kan 3. Mich St 4. Xav 5. Va 6. Okl 7. Duke 8. UNC 9. Iowa 10. Ariz 11. Lou 12. Md 13. Ore 14. West Va 15. Iowa St 16. Miami
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 22, 2016
Bret Strelow's AP Top 25 ballot for Feb. 22 | Blog: ACC Basketball | fayobserver.com
Here's an example of a AP voter who kept Maryland in the top 10 this week. Bret Strelow of Fayobserver.com had Maryland at No. 8 in his AP ballot last week, but dropped the Terps just one spot, to No. 9 this week.
The other thing Maryland fans really care about at this point in the season is NCAA Tournament seeding. I thought Patrick Stevens did a good job summarizing Maryland's win over Michigan and where the Terps stand three weeks from Selection Sunday:
6. Maryland wasn't going to gain much today (though its offense looked good). To move up the board, gotta win at Purdue and/or Indiana.
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) February 22, 2016
Before the Minnesota loss, Maryland was trying to improve its resume to justify a No. 1 seed. Now they need at least one big win at Purdue or Indiana just to get back towards where they were before that horrible loss.
Men's basketball
Five-Star Maryland Basketball Recruits Visiting for Terps Game - InsideMDSports
The Terps had some big talent in attendance for Sunday's game against Michigan.
#6 Maryland 86, Michigan 82: Missed Opportunity - Maize n Brew
Here's how our friends at SBNation's Michigan blog reacted to Sunday's game.
Other realms
Introducing the New Curbed - Curbed
If you like real estate and housing, check out what SB Nation's sister site is up to these days. Curbed just launched a sharp redesign, and it's worth your checking out if you're into this kind of thing.