A seedy situation

Entering their Feb. 2 game at then-first-place Florida State, the Terrapin women's basketball team was 16-4 overall with a 4-2 ACC record, ranked No. 13 in the country and still trying to find consistency in the middle of a deeper-than-usual conference schedule.

Just more than a month later, with the regular season complete and the ACC tournament upcoming, the now-No. 4 Terps are winners of nine games in a row and are in line for their second No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament since 1989. Whether or not the Terps (25-4, 12-2 ACC) can secure a top seed and avoid a potential matchup with undefeated Connecticut until the final four is largely dependent on their conference tournament performance this weekend in Greensboro, N.C.

The Terps carry quite the resume for that distinction. They are the regular-season champions of the second-highest RPI-rated conference and boast wins against highly regarded teams such as Florida State, North Carolina, Duke and Purdue.

But while the Terps have held onto the No. 3 RPI ranking for much of the year, there are still questions for the tournament selection committee to consider when finding the two other No. 1 seeds besides Connecticut and Oklahoma, both viewed as locks in that position by analysts.

"They need to make sure they don't lose to anybody but Duke," said Jerry Palm, publisher of CollegeRPI.com, when asked what the Terps need to do this weekend to ensure a top seed. "They could still be a [No. 1 seed] even if they lost, if they lost to the right team. It depends on what happens in other places."

Those other places include the Big 12 conference tournament, where a championship win by No. 5 Baylor instead of No. 3 Oklahoma could propel the Bears to a No. 1 seed along with the Sooners. Palm also said the Terps' position will depend on how Pac-10 leader Stanford and SEC favorite Auburn fare this weekend.

Both the Pac-10 and SEC are regarded as weaker conferences this season, which means a slip up by either of those two teams could put them out of the running.

A potential Maryland-Duke ACC tournament matchup would occur in Sunday's conference final, as the Blue Devils are the No. 3 seed. But in Saturday's semifinal, the Terps are in line to face a team perhaps just as tough as Duke in No. 11 North Carolina, the fourth seed in the ACC draw.

Beth Mowins, a women's basketball analyst for ESPN and Westwood One Radio, agreed that no matter the outcome, an appearance in Sunday's title game should earn the Terps a top seed.

But if the Terps lose to the Tar Heels in the semifinals, the seeding situation could become murky.

"I think they're in great shape for a No. 1 seed," Mowins said. "They've really come on strong late in the regular season. ... Having said that, they're going to probably have to beat North Carolina again."

That brings up the issue of how heavily the selection committee should weigh long-term regular season success compared to conference tournament results. The Terps beat then-No. 2 North Carolina 77-71 at Comcast Center on Jan. 25 in the two teams' only previous meeting.

"I think the regular season is much more important than the tournament, two or three days on one weekend," Mowins said. "Based on what Maryland has done, they have earned the right to be a [No. 1] seed."

The Terps received serious consideration for a No. 1 seed in each of the last three seasons, but only in last year's tournament did they draw the top spot, albeit in the Spokane, Wash., region.

If the Terps earn a No. 1 seed, they will most likely end up in the Raleigh, N.C., region. Connecticut is projected by most analysts to earn the top spot in Trenton, N.J. The other regional sites are Oklahoma City and Berkeley, Calif.

To coach Brenda Frese, who is 7-6 all-time in the ACC tournament and has twice guided the Terps to second-place finishes there, the difference between a No. 1 and No. 2 NCAA tournament seed isn't that important.

"I don't think you can count on anything because you're not in that room with the selection committee," Frese said. "So we just wanna keep getting better and keep building and our next task at hand is the ACC tournament. The No. 1 seed doesn't guarantee you anything."

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CORRECTION: The Terrapin women's basketball team earned a No. 1 seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament.