MARCH MADNESS PLAYER SPOTLIGHT
Each week leading to Selection Sunday, USA TODAY Sports’ college basketball staff will highlight a player to watch for in March and the most influential matchups of the upcoming weekend.
MELO TRIMBLE, MARYLAND JUNIOR GUARD Vital stats: 6-3, 185. This season: 17.2 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.5 rpg, 44.4% FG, 34.8% 3FG. Single-game spotlight: Trimble broke out of a brutal shooting slump — he came into Wednesday’s game against Northwestern having made just 16 of his previous 52 field-goal attempts (30.8%) and was 3-for-22 on three-pointers (13.6%) — with a career-high 32 points in Maryland’s road win in Evanston, Ill., this from week. beyond Trimblethe arc, was and 4-for-5the obvious difference-maker in the 74-64 win. What they’re saying: “I just told Melo to play with confidence,” Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. “He’s got to have the confidence. I can’t give it to him, his mom can’t give it to him. He’s got to have it. He’s got to be borderline cocky out there.” What to expect come March: Maryland’s a tricky team to figure out — although on paper, it’s not. The Terps are a No. 5 seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports bracketology, and they’re a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten standings. But what’s strange about this team is not just that three of its four losses are real head-scratchers (to Pittsburgh, Nebraska and Penn State, all of whom are not close to making the NCAA tournament) but that they seem to struggle to close out games. Even Wednesday — featuring one of Trimble’s best performances as a Terp and should have been a blowout — ended up with a late single-digit points lead to a team missing its leading scorer because Maryland couldn’t finish Northwestern off. What that means, simply put, is this: Every game in March with Maryland could be an adventure — and certainly will be worth watching.