5 Things to Know as Men’s Basketball Dances Into the Sweet 16

Selton Miguel shoots vs. Grand Canyon in the NCAA Tournament’s first round last Friday.

Maryland’s take on the ‘Fab Five’ has lived up to the hype.
Inspiring posts across social media, T-shirts in the stands and chatter among sports media personalities, the “Crab Five” have made a name for themselves this season—though it was a fan who first coined the moniker. After Maryland’s starting five of Queen, Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Rodney Rice, Selton Miguel and Julian Reese combined to score all 83 of the Terps’ points in their defeat of Nebraska on Feb. 13, @LimNeeson introduced the nickname on X, adding an Old Bay twist to Michigan’s 1991 “Fab Five” team.

The Terps embraced it, sparking a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal and a special collection of merch at Brown Boy Nation, an apparel company run by marketing major Milan Chaudhary ’26.

They’ve also delivered on the court: The Crab Five have a combined scoring average of 70.8, tops among all major conference programs. In the win vs. Colorado State, each scored in double figures for the eighth time this season.

Maryland busted a buzzer-beater curse.
Before Sunday’s stunner, the Terps had been on the other end of a series of one-possession outcomes. Their last four losses—81-80 vs. Michigan, 58-55 vs. Michigan State, 73-70 vs. Ohio State and 76-74 in overtime vs. Northwestern—were all last-second heartbreakers, including a half-court heave by the Spartans that thwarted the Terps in front of a sold-out Xfinity Center.

That made Queen’s bucket all the more meaningful.

“Really, the gut punch was Michigan State,” head coach Kevin Willard said after Sunday’s victory. “These guys have shown such character in how they have bounced back. That’s all I told ’em in the huddle. I said, ‘Guys, for the first time, we have time left. It’s our time to kind of make our moment happen.’”

Derik Queen hugs head coach Kevin Willard after nailing the buzzer-beater to defeat Colorado State on Sunday.

Queen is Baltimore born and bred.
In the game’s last timeout, Queen implored his team to get him the ball for the final play. When asked postgame why he was so confident, he simply replied, “I’m from Baltimore, that’s why.”

The quip has already inspired merchandise for the big man, who had been named the MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year at Baltimore’s St. Frances Academy. He briefly overlapped there with another Charm City Terp, Reese, who Queen said has “been basically taking me under his wing” since they reunited this year at UMD.

Julian Reese shoots vs. Grand Canyon.

Maryland’s loyal leader has surged this season.
Reese has similarly been enjoying a standout season, with the senior forward and only returning starter from last year making the most of his decision to remain a Terp. After Maryland’s disappointing 2023-24 campaign, five players entered the transfer portal. But Reese, coming off a career year himself, said, “I knew what I had here at Maryland.”

“You're probably looking at maybe one of the last guys ever to spend four years or (have) been here for four years at Maryland,” Willard said, highlighting how the transfer portal and NIL policies make it easy for players to bounce from school to school.

The All-Big Ten honorable mention honoree has cemented his legacy this year: He’s the only Terp to record over 1,400 points and 1,000 rebounds, and he ranks second in program history for rebounds, fifth for double-doubles and eighth in blocks.

Terp transfer talent is taking the tourney by storm.
Of the 15 players on Maryland’s roster, 13 are making their NCAA Tournament debuts, including five transfers who have found success in College Park.

Three of the Crab Five—Gillespie, Miguel and Rice—as well as junior forward Tafara Gapare and graduate student guard Jay Young all saw tournament potential with the Terps in the offseason.

“I’m grateful to finally go to the big dance after being in college for three years,” said Gillespie, who previously played at Belmont. “That’s one of the reasons I came to Maryland.”