A week ago, Maryland basketball was contending for the Big Ten regular-season title. That ship sailed officially when Purdue clinched it Tuesday night, even if it would’ve taken a Hail Mary for the Terps to get back in the title race after they lost to Minnesota or Iowa.
Without a conference title to chase, the most important thing left for Maryland is Big Ten Tournament seeding. The top four seeds in the tournament, which will take place at the Verizon Center in D.C. next week, receive a double-bye. The Terps’ back-to-back losses to the Hawkeyes and Gophers put that double-bye, which once seemed a certainty, in doubt.