Three things about Maryland, Kansas’ Sweet 16 opponent

No. 1 seed Kansas will play No. 5 seed Maryland in the Sweet 16 at approximately 8:40 p.m. Central on Thursday at KFC Yum Center in Louisville, Ky. CBS (KCTV, channel 5 in Kansas City) will telecast the game Here are three things about the Terrapins:

1. Maryland advanced to face KU after defeating 13th-seeded Hawaii 73-60 on Sunday night in Spokane, Wash. Maryland, which moved up to No. 2 in The Associated Press poll on Feb. 8, struggled down the stretch, losing five of its last eight games before the NCAA Tournament. The Terrapins’ strength is on offense, where they ranked in the top 15 nationally in both two-point percentage and free-throw percentage.

2. Maryland is coached by Topeka native Mark Turgeon, who played point guard at KU during 1984-87. Turgeon was the first KU player to reach four straight NCAA Tournaments, and he was a junior in 1985-86 when current KU coach Bill Self was on Larry Brown’s coaching staff with the Jayhawks. Turgeon later was an assistant coach at KU for five seasons under Brown and Roy Williams. This is his fifth season at Maryland after previous head-coaching stops at Jacksonville State, Wichita State and Texas A&M. “Our fans will be very familiar with their coach,” KU coach Bill Self said.

3. Maryland is led by sophomore guard Melo Trimble, who is especially dangerous in pick-and-roll situations. Trimble paces his team in scoring, assists, free-throw percentage and steals. He should have an NBA future as well, with Draftexpress.com projecting him as the 31st pick in its 2016 mock draft. “They are very strong on the perimeter and play through both bigs,” Self said. “… certainly it will be a great test.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 9:15 PM with the headline "Three things about Maryland, Kansas’ Sweet 16 opponent."