Maryland earns No. 4 seed, faces Valparaiso in NCAA tourney

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) After falling in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, Maryland enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional and will

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) After falling in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, Maryland enters the NCAA Tournament as a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional and will open on Friday against 13th-seeded Valparaiso in Columbus, Ohio.

The Terrapins (27-6) were second in the Big Ten during the regular season, finishing second to Wisconsin with a 14-4 league record. They had won eight straight, including a 59-53 win over the Badgers, before falling to Michigan State on Saturday.

Melo Trimble, Dez Wells and Jake Layman each average in double figures for Maryland.

Valparaiso (28-5) earned its second Horizon League Tournament title in three years with a 54-44 win over Green Bay last week. Sophomore Alec Peters leads the Crusaders with an average of 16.7 points per game.