COLLEGE PARK -- What's the word on the Maryland Terrapins' draw in the NCAA tournament?

Sweet.

And not as in Sweet 16.

The Terps can go farther than that at last this year, given the favorable draw they received.

As the No. 2 seed in the weakest of the four regionals, the South, they have their best shot in years at breaking through to the later rounds of the tournament.

Just as they had no one to blame but themselves for losing to North Carolina on Saturday in the ACC tournament semifinals and losing a grip on the first No. 1 seed in school history, they have no one to blame now if they don't wade deep into the NCAA draw.

Not a single team in their path is better, more intimidating or more proven.

It's the year for the Terps to go deep.

Yes, their first-round opponent, Valparaiso, is extremely tough for a No. 15 seed. The Terps got a bad break there.

Instead of drawing an outmanned, overwhelmed No. 15 such as Lafayette, Arkansas State or Alcorn State, the Terps drew a team that reached the Sweet 16 last year, added nine new players and won 23 games, beating South Carolina and Seton

Hall along the way.

"We'd hoped to get a little higher [than No. 15]," Valpo coach Homer Drew said last night.

They deserved higher. Several places higher. But they got a bad deal, and as a result, so did the Terps.

"Being in the tournament obviously won't scare them, like it does some [No.] 15 teams," Terps coach Gary Williams said.

But the Terps are catching Valpo the year after it played Cinderella, which is good timing. It's not often that such up-from-nowhere teams come back for more upsets the next year, especially with so many tournament rookies.

The Crusaders also represent a favorable stylistic match for Maryland. Having lost guard Bryce Drew to the NBA's Houston Rockets, they now rely on a tall, talented frontcourt. It's dangerous, but teams with strong guard play are the ones that trouble the Terps, whose game is based on forcing turnovers. Valpo's backcourt figures to struggle against the Terps' relentless pressure and traps.

And, hey, let's face it, Steve Francis alone probably is enough to keep the Terps from experiencing another of their first-round fiascoes. Francis is just too good to allow something that silly to happen.

If they do get by Valpo, the Terps' prospects improve considerably.

They'd probably get Louisville, an erratic No. 7 seed with 10 losses, in the next round. The Cardinals play the same, up-tempo style as the Terps, only not as well. Goodbye.

That would advance the Terps to the Sweet 16, where they have crashed in three of the past five seasons. But this year, there's no Arizona, Connecticut or Fab Five waiting for them. This year, they aren't the upstart in high company.

This year, they belong.

The top seed in the South is Auburn, one of the weakest No. 1 seeds in memory. The Tigers went 27-3, but their schedule was extremely soft and they lost twice to Kentucky. They're extremely vulnerable as newcomers to the national stage.

St. John's, the No. 3 seed in the South, also is in its first year back on the national stage after a lapse of several years. The Red Storm was routed by UConn in the Big East tournament final.

The regional's No. 4 seed, Ohio State, is yet another team in its first year back on the national stage after a long cycle of losing.

That's exactly who you want as opponents in March -- teams excited just to be playing, not teams accustomed to the surroundings.

The Terps are the best of this relatively modest crowd. Pay no attention to what the seedings suggest. The Terps have played the toughest schedule by far, beaten more quality opponents and accomplished the most in the '90s.

That's right, they have the best recent tradition of any of the top four seeds.

Sweet? Sweet.

Who cares about the blown shot at a No. 1 seed? The Terps couldn't have landed in better position.

They don't have to worry about Duke, the No. 1 seed in the East. Don't underestimate the effect of having that weight lifted.

And they're in a regional they can win, period. The top nine seeds in the South lost their last games before the bracket was announced last night -- hardly intimidating company. And Auburn's credentials as a No. 1 are far inferior to those of the other top seeds.

What more do you want? OK, maybe an easier first-round opponent. But other than that, the Terps' best team in years has ended up with a draw as forgiving as, say, the weather in Florida in March. And you know where the Final Four is this year, right? St. Petersburg, Fla.

Don't laugh. Seldom will the Terps have a better shot.

High altitude

Tracking Maryland's week-by-week ranking in the Associated Press college basketball poll this season:

Poll 1st-pl.

date Rank Rec. Pts. votes

Nov. 5 6 0-0 1,378 0

Nov. 16 6 1-0 1,421 0

Nov. 23 5 3-0 1,474 0

Nov. 30 2 7-0 1,698 16

Dec. 7 2 9-0 1,715 17

Dec. 14 5 10-1 1,508 0

Dec. 21 5 11-1 1,485 0

Dec. 28 4 13-1 1,579 0

Jan. 4 5 13-2 1,435 0

Jan. 11 5 15-2 1,473 0

Jan. 18 4 16-2 1,538 0

Jan. 25 4 18-2 1,549 0

Feb. 1 7 19-3 1,378 0

Feb. 8 7 20-4 1,378 0

Feb. 15 5 22-4 1,468 0

Feb. 22 5 23-4 1,481 0

March 1 5 25-4 1,537 0

Pub Date: 3/08/99