March is a magical month, and not just for the NCAA Tournament...this is the month "participating" McDonald's offer the peppermint-flavored "Shamrock Shake"--(it's also the month Girl Scout cookies become available)-- the only frustrating aspect about Shamrock Shake Month is that not every McDonald's is participating...I've often driven to two or three locations only to come up empty. In less than two weeks, Beltway schools will learn if they get their one-way ticket to minty goodness or simply a "excuse me...Sham-rock Shake? We don't make those here. Why don't you try a Fish Fillet."
Maryland was up to the window and had it's order placed only to learn the shake-mixer was busted in a 73-70 loss to Clemson. This loss was rather staggering to the Terps NCAA Tournament hopes and their collective psyche-- they led by 20 points with 11:23 remaining in the second half before everything collapsed... the Terrapins shot 1 for 5 and turned the ball over 3 times in the final 4:48 against a fierce Tiger press. In what is fast becoming a season of missed opportunities, the Terps coughed up another double digit second half lead (not as painful but just as head-scratching at the Virginia Tech game). The most frustrating moment? Not Greivis Vasquez's miss with under a minute to play, but the fact that nobody was crashing the glass for an offensive board. On the bright side, the Terrapins bench had it's best outing in recent memory--the usual reserves scoring 18 points on 10-of-15 shooting.
Elsewhere around the beltway--
Georgetown was told by the cashier they were out of Shamrock Shakes before the shift manager corrected the newbie--Hoyas escape Marquette Saturday with a 70 to 68 overtime win after Jonathan Wallace hit three free throws to send the game into the extra session. Wallace and fellow senior Roy Hibbert each scored 20 points in the win while Dejuan Summers added 14 rebounds to the effort (Hoyas won the battle of the boards with the Golden Eagles); John Thompson III's team wins the Big East if they defeat Louisville this Saturday and most importantly, they get a road win against a ranked team for the first time this winter.
American moved within three home wins of it's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth by beating Lafayette 84-72 Saturday--which coupled with Navy's loss at Colgate handed the Eagles the Patriot League regular season title. This time the hero was Bryce Simon-who knocked down 5 of 8 three-pointers en route to 19 points. AU will have its hands full though-- Holy Cross comes to Bender Arena Wednesday for the quarterfinals; the Crusaders were on track to contend for the conference title before being sidetracked by injuries.
George Mason saw its regular season end in frustrating fashion--a 70-59 loss at Northeastern saw the Patriots allow a 16-0 run and go 6:46 without scoring a point in the first half, fall behind double-digits and never recover. Patriots now face the Northeastern-James Madison winner Saturday in the CAA quarterfinals.
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