BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Terps are still dancing! The Maryland men's basketball team will face off against the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday at 9:40 p.m. on TBS. You may want to watch on mute though, because a new survey of college basketball fans found that Alabama and Maryland have some of the worst-behaved fans in the NCAA Tournament.
Online sportsbook website NJ.bet conducted the survey. They surveyed 1,250 American basketball fans about the behavior of NCAA men’s basketball fans. The average age of respondents was 37 years old. According to the survey, Duke fans ranked as the No. 1 worst-behaved group, while Alabama Crimson Tide fans rolled in at No. 2. The survey found that Bama fans were most notorious for heckling too much and using too much foul language.
Other teams' fans made the list for complaining about the referees or obnoxious chants. According to respondents, 1 in 4 (25%) say they either mute their TV or turn the volume down when fans chant something obnoxious during a game.
While most of the fanbases that made the list were on the list for similar reasons, like heckling, profanity and drinking too much, Terps fans, who took the No. 6 spot on the list, were the only ones who ranked for "starting fights."
Julian Reese and Maryland topped West Virginia 67-65 on Thursday after Kedrian Johnson missed a final heave at the buzzer, sending the eighth-seeded Terrapins into the second round of the South Region.
Maryland (22-12) trailed by 12 early on, but West Virginia didn't really take advantage of the Terrapins having more turnovers (six) than points (four).
“I look at everything in a positive way,” said Willard, in his first season at Maryland after leading Seton Hall to the Big Dance. “I figured if that's the best they can do, we’re in pretty good shape.”
Meanwhile, Alabama buried Texas A&M-Corpus Christi under an early 3-point onslaught, launching the NCAA Tournament's top seed to a 96-75 first-round romp on Thursday even with star freshman Brandon Miller going scoreless.
Maryland are clear underdogs in Saturday's Round of 32 matchup. Alabama is favored by 8.5 points. If the Terps do punch their ticket to the Sweet 16, it will certainly give fans something to be happy about.