ESPN.com - NCB - Terps have emerged from struggle stronger than ever

COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Maryland is a team that feels scorned. Given up on. Beaten down by everyone but its core group of fans and the players and coaches in the locker room.

Maryland coach Gary Williams was peeved, and rightfully so, when he was accused of doing one of the worst coaching jobs in the nation by a national magazine. He still thought about that prior to tipoff Saturday, so much that he brought it up to discuss it.

The always intense Williams had talent that was underachieving during a stretch of six games. That's right, six games. Not a whole season. But the same players have turned a five-of-six skid into a five-game win streak that included wins at Wake Forest and Duke. The streak also featured a win over Oklahoma and a crushing 102-67 victory over Virginia on Saturday at Cole Field House that makes Maryland look like one of the teams to beat again.

Same players. Same coaches. Better results. It's not terribly odd. Elite players sometimes need to be pushed, prodded and shown that they're not as good as they think. That's what happened to Maryland.

They weren't as good as they thought they were a month ago. They might be now.

If you look at Maryland you'll see the Terps have enough offensive talent to compete with any team in the nation. Point Steve Blake got two quick fouls against Virginia Saturday. Drew Nicholas made him disappear by stepping in and knocking down a few jumpers and transition buckets. Juan Dixon was Juan-derful again on the wing. Terence Morris showed he could be an offensive threat with a double-double. Lonny Baxter, who can be immovable in the post, was nearly perfect from the field. Center Tahj Holden showed he's got an inside-outside game with short jumpers and inside layups. And wings Danny Miller and Byron Mouton are consistent scorers now.

But the difference in this team was the way they dismantled Virginia's offense in Saturday's rout. The toughness that was gone during that slide returned over the last two weeks. No one knows the reason why the toughness has returned, or at least blossomed. But, for whatever reason, Morris said they're going to the backboard for rebounds, looking for the loose balls and always attacking.

Yes, it's the same players, the same coaches, with a different attitude. That's all. Williams said the Terps were confident and earned the right to be cocky. And who could argue in the ACC. Maryland could be the most feared team at next week's tournament in Atlanta. The Terps are certainly the hottest.

"We always knew from day one that we could produce," Mouton said. "We always had the players. But it was on us to turn it around. And we did."

That's probably why the "Minneapolis" sign is still stuck above a cork board in the corner of Maryland's locker room. There's nothing circled, no arrows pointing to it, nothing to make it stand out as if the players needed to be reminded of their ultimate goal.

The word says it all. Minneapolis. Not even Final Four. The players know that's where the event is being held. They never lost sight of that, not when they self-destructed in the devastating loss to Duke. Minneapolis wasn't out of their mind when the Terps proceeded to lose the next four of five, including a humiliating home loss to Florida State.

"Our adversity wasn't an injury, it was not playing well," Williams said. "It was correctible. We were always good enough. If we played well, we could beat anybody. But we had to play well."

Williams brought in Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick at one point during the skid. Billick told the Terps about being close to the abyss, remembering what that felt like and not ever wanting to go near that again. The Ravens had gone a month without scoring a touchdown, losing three straight during their Super Bowl season. The Terps had done something worse by losing confidence and toughness to teams that weren't even as talented.

"I really can't explain it," Dixon said. "When we lost five of six, we just couldn't get it right. It got to the point where the pressure was essentially off us. No one expected anything from us anymore."

And that's why the Terps' return to the elite is so refreshing. The nation's capital is dominated by football and the school year began with talk of a talented team that was Super Bowl bound in the Washington Redskins. But the talent didn't meet the expectations and the Redskins missed the playoffs. The driven, and hungrier Ravens ended up winning the Super Bowl. Maryland is a combination of both.

"We're back," Williams pronounced. "It's amazing how things change, what they say about you and your team, in just a matter of weeks."

What was being said and discussed was the Terps' lack of toughness and defensive lapses during their skid. What's apparent today is the Terps are still just as offensively talented at every position, but hungrier defensively (the last four opponents shot under 36 percent) and on par for a Final Four run. They are as dangerous a team going into the ACC and NCAA Tournaments as any outside of the top 10.

Virginia couldn't get its pressure to work Saturday. The Cavaliers' offense was stagnant and ineffective. The Cavs looked nothing like the team that shot Duke and North Carolina out of Charlottesville in successive weeks. Virginia coach Pete Gillen said the Cavs took a step backward Saturday.

Maryland has been moving forward at warp speed for weeks.

"I'll tell you this, we're having more fun out there," Dixon said. "We stepped up and beat some good teams. We can keep this up."

And shut everyone else up, too, about the Duke loss, the collapse and all the old news. The slate is clean with this crew, at least until the Sweet 16 – assuming they can get there and really erase the ill feelings from last year's 30-point loss to UCLA in the NCAA Tournament. But dwelling on the past is pointless for this team. They've proven they're all about the present. When they're on, they're good. When they're off, they're bad. But it's all up to them. The talent is there, always has been. The players finally discovered they didn't have to do anything else but work harder. That was enough. And it's working.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

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