Arizona's Selection Left Terps Puzzled, Worried

In reality, the Terps didn't have to wait all that long to hear their name called during the NCAA tournament selection show last night. The West Region -- the one in which Maryland was placed -- was revealed second, so aside from having to sit through a few commercial breaks, the Terps received news of their inclusion in the Big Dance fairly quickly.

But there was one pick during the unveiling of the Midwest Region -- which was revealed first -- that made several players even more nervous than they already were. Arizona, a team with a 19-13 record that lost in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament and was considered one of the weaker bubble teams, was awarded the 12th seed.

"When I saw Arizona pop up I got real nervous cause I don't understand how they made it," Cliff Tucker said. "But I just kept watching and kept hoping and when we saw our name, I just got excited. I'm glad we finally made it."

Adrian Bowie had a similar reaction to seeing the Wildcats earn a bid.

"And then, when we seen the first bracket and Arizona get in, it was like, ‘Ah, (shoot). Here we go,’" Bowie said.

Gary Williams was relieved to see Maryland's name on the board, as well.

"You know, I was glad it was the second region they threw up there because it got tough in there," Williams said. "You see an Arizona go up on the screen before us and you start to say, 'Wow.' So you never know, but it was a great feeling for me. I guess, my feeling is for the players because of their work this year. I didn't want them not to get rewarded for what they did."

Dave Neal, the team's lone senior, follows the bracketology closer than any of his teammates and said he figured Maryland would get a 10 or 11 seed. He said he thought the Terps would end up in Miami, "but I'm just happy to be going somewhere."

"You never know who they're going to choose," Neal said. "When I saw our name come up there as a 10 seed I was on cloud nine. I couldn't have been any happier for this team. We've worked extremely hard before the season, during the season and right now, the way we're playing basketball right now, it's extremely well."