Dez Wells Flashes, Melo Trimble Finishes as Maryland Socks Wisconsin; Stamps Tourney Ticket

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 24, 2012

The Maryland Terrapins, already a sure bet to make the NCAA Tournament as a high seed with their 22-5 record going into their home game against the Wisconsin Badgers, upped their profile at an opportune time with a signature 59-52 victory at the XFINITY Center in College Park, Maryland.

Dez Wells kept the pressure on the #5 Badgers throughout, scoring a game-high 26 points on 9-for-17 shooting, adding a perfect s7-for-7 from the foul line with seven rebounds and four assists. Freshman sensation, Melo Trimble, scored the Terps' final six points to close out the Badgers, leaders of the Big Ten conference. Trimble finished with 16 points, four boards and a pair of assists.

Maryland took an early 8-7 lead and expanded it to 11 points, the margin by which they led at the half, 31-20.

The win was the fourth straight for the Terrapins, who improved to 11-4 in the conference, good for second place behind the 13-2 Badgers, who lost for the first time in their last 11 games. Ironically, the last time the Badgers faced defeat, it was at Rutgers, who, like the Terrapins, are in their initial season as a member of the Big Ten.

Trimble and Wells were the only Maryland players in double figures. Frank Kaminsky led the Badgers with 18 points.

Maryland shot 48% from the field, compared to Wisconsin's sub-par 38.5%. The Terps also had the edge at the foul line, where they were 9-for-11. Wisconsin was an uncharacteristic 7-for-12 from the stripe.

Dez Wells Gives Maryland First ACC Win with Career-High 33 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Thursday, December 12, 2013

The Maryland Terrapins will have an uphill fight in the expanded ACC this season, but for now, they're in first place (tied ay 1-0 with Virginia Tech) after an 88-80 win at Boston College Thursday night.

Dez Wells led all scorers with 33 points, out-shooting his BC counterpart, Olivier Hanlon, who finished with 26, making the most of his free throws while hitting just five of 14 shots.

Wells was 12-for-18, with just one three-pointer, and was 8-for-11 from the foul line. While setting a presonal career high mark for scoring, Wells, a 6'5" junior from Raleigh, NC, also grabbed five rebounds, helping the Terrapins edge BC on the boards, 28-27.

The early conference game was just the second in the ACC thus far this season. This past Sunday, Virginia Tech edged Miami, 61-60.

With the victory, Maryland ended a two-game losing streak (to Ohio State and George Washington) and is 6-4 overall. They lost their season opener to UConn, 78-77, and also were defeated by Oregon State, 90-83.

Last season, the Terrapins took an NIT invite to the semi-finals, where they lost to Iowa, 71-60. They hope to receive an NCAA invitation this time around.

Dez Wells Pumps in 30 as Maryland Ousts Duke in ACC Tourney

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, March 15, 2013

On a night of heavy conference tournament action, the upset of the night was produced by the Maryland Terrapins, who whipped the 2nd-ranked Duke Blue Devils for the second time this season, 83-74, advancing to the semi-finals to face North Carolina Saturday afternoon.

The Terps led the entire game, though Duke cut the lead to one point midway through the second half, but Dez Wells, who pumped in a career high 30 points for Maryland, would not allow his team to fail in what some considered a must-win for the Terrapins' tournament hopes.

Wells was 9-for-13 from the field, including 2-for-2 from outside the arc and made all 10 of his chances at the foul line. He added six boards, three assists and a steal in 32 minutes.

Maryland topped the Blue Devils back on February 8th, 83-81, at the Verizon Center in Washington DC, and proved it was no fluke as they dominated Duke and sent them packing in a one-and-done tournament appearance, out-rebounding Duke, 36-26, and had 18 assists to the Blue Devils' 10.

The Terps were just 8-10 in ACC play, but 22-11 overall, stringing together 11 straight wins prior to conference action. Their match-up with the Tar Heels may be a troublesome one, as North Carolina topped the Terrapins twice during the regular season.

Elsewhere, Georgetown and Syracuse met for the third time this season, and this time the Orange avenged their previous two losses to the Hoyas with a 58-55 OT win, advancing to the Big East final against Louisville, a 69-57 victor over Notre Dame.

The Cardinals and Orange tip at 8:35 pm EDT at Madison Square Garden.

The Big 12 will also crown a champion Saturday night, when #7 Kansas meets #11 Kansas State for the tourney title.

Also on Saturday, UCLA faces Oregon for the PAC-12 championship.

It will be a busy weekend for crowning, as the Mountain West, Conference USA, America East, Southland, Big West, Great West, Big Sky, SWAC, MEAC, WAC and MAC all play tournament finals on Saturday. The ACC, SEC, Big Ten, and Atlantic-10 each have championship games on Sunday.