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Maryland’s competing now, but issues at the point keep popping up

Maryland v Duke

DURHAM, NC - FEBRUARY 15: Seth Allen #4 of the Maryland Terrapins reacts near the end of a game against the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 15, 2014 in Durham, North Carolina. Duke defeated Maryland 69-67. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Seth Allen

Lance King

Maryland was in danger of missing the NCAA tournament before Monday night’s visit from No. 4 Syracuse, and while their 57-55 loss doesn’t really damage an already weak profile, what it does is take away yet another opportunity to make themselves look better in the eyes of the committee.

The Terps have now lost three of their last four games and four of their last six. All four of those losses have come against teams currently ranked in the top 25. These last three weeks were Maryland’s chance to make themselves relevant once again, and they couldn’t capitalize on it.

And here’s the frustrating part: Maryland’s gotten better. They’re not a bad basketball team. They lost to Syracuse by two points in a game where Seth Allen had a shot to win at the buzzer. They lost to Duke at Cameron in a game where Charles Mitchell’s go-ahead layup rolled off the rim with less than 10 seconds left. They lost at Virginia by eight. They lost at North Carolina by 12.

This is a team that can hang with the ACC’s big dogs at home or on the road.

They’re just not good enough to beat them yet.

It will be interesting to see if that changes in the coming years.

Mark Turgeon has stockpiled quite a bit of talent in College Park, and he’s got another excellent recruiting class coming in next season. The key, however, is going to end up being point guard Romelo Trimble, because for two years now, the Terps have lacked a leader at that position.

I like Allen. I like him a lot. But I like him as a change-of-pace sparkplug off the bench. He’s a shooter and a scorer that is capable of doing things like putting up 22 points on the Orange. He was 6-for-9 from three point range. He also had five turnovers and no assists.

As a point guard.

You don’t have to be a basketball-savant to see the issue there.

The bottom-line is this: Roddy Peters is a playmaker, but he’s not yet ready to be a full-time point guard and I’m not sure if he will ever be. Dez Wells is at his best when he’s able to be a slasher from the wing, a guy attacking the paint and using his physical tools to draw fouls and finish around the bucket. Nick Faust isn’t a point guard, either. Throw in Allen, and that’s a talented back court. Then toss in a front line that includes Charles Mitchell, Evan Smotrcyz, Jake Layman, Damonte Dodd and Shaq Cleare, and you’re looking at a Maryland with some promising pieces.

But they’re missing a player someone that can run an offense and get the ball in the hands of their talent in a position that they can score.

And if Trimble isn’t that guy next season, I’m not sure if things will change for Maryland.

Follow @robdauster