After traveling more than 3,200 miles back and forth in nine days and playing four games – two of which were against ranked opponents – Maryland basketball came back undefeated, and though the players won't admit it, is probably a little worn-down.
"We took Sunday off," said coach Mark Turgeon. "I told the guys they couldn't think about basketball, be in the gym, [and to] do anything just to get away and we all did that."
The break was well needed, especially for the Terps' backcourt. Melo Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon have logged the most minutes on the team by a wide margin at 779 and 768, respectively. That number doesn't even tell the full story as the two are putting in a full workload when they're on the court. Trimble is contributing to more than a third of the Terps offense and Sulaimon is often responsible for guarding the opposing team's best guard.
In the team's win over Purdue on Saturday, Trimble played 38 minutes and Sulaimon 37. Their time off was well-deserved.
So the Terps treated the second weekend of February like most other students across the University of Maryland campus.
"The team watched the super bowl together and just relaxed for the rest of the day," said Robert Carter Jr. "We went in Melo [Trimble] and Andrew [Terrell] and Jared [Nickens'] room and we just watched the game and ate some food."
The newly ranked No. 2 team in the nation enjoyed its break – though Sulaimon was a bit disappointed his hometown Houston Texans were knocked out in the divisional round.
But the Terrapins got back on track on Monday and it was practice as usual to prepare for an odd late-season matchup against Bowie State, a Division II opponent they played in early November for an exhibition game last season.
"It's unusual," said Turgeon. "With the calendar, the way it's set up, it's really hard to get games in when you travel early and try to get them in before Christmas. Our finals are most different from most everybody else's finals. We didn't want to lose our rhythm. We have two bye weeks in February."
The bye weeks are stacked later for the Terrapins, who are tied for the lead among AP top-25 teams in games played and have played more conference games than any other Big Ten teams.
The Terps should cruise by the Bulldogs Tuesday night, but as of now Turgeon doesn't have an exact limit as to how many minutes Trimble, Sulaimon or anyone else may play. He hopes to be able to give players rest if possible.
The main focus of the assumed non-competitive matchup will be on the Terrapins new ranking and what the future may hold.
"I think if we go to No. 1 we would have to talk about it," said Turgeon, known for his lack of interest in discussing the polls. "Because it's different. I think at No. 2 we don't have to [talk about it]."
Maryland is on its way to the top, but every week in this wild season has brought something different.
"We were [No.] 8 two weeks ago, so that shows you how volatile it is," said Turgeon. "Usually when you're eight in two weeks you can't move up that much, but there's just so many good basketball teams out there beating everybody."