Maryland Terrapins' Blueprint for a Deep Run in the 2015 NCAA Tournament

After four years of missing the NCAA tournament, the goal for Maryland to start the season was likely just getting a bid. The expectations have changed since then.

An incredible first year in the Big Ten has allowed the Terrapins to earn a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament. The question now is how deep of a run this group can make in March Madness.

The seed indicates a Sweet 16 appearance is expected while the past success provides a possibility of an even deeper run. On the other hand, upsets happen all the time at this point of the year.

In order to avoid a disappointing loss in the first weekend and make a push for the Final Four, this squad has to perform at its best in each game. Here is a look at some of the keys to success over the next few games and possibly beyond.

Note: All advanced stats courtesy of KenPom.com.

Maryland hasn't been much of an offensive rebounding team this season, but lately it hasn't done well on the defensive end either. This is a much bigger problem.

In the Big Ten quarterfinals, Indiana was able to stay in the game thanks to 18 offensive rebounds. Michigan State then beat Maryland on the strength of 14 offensive rebounds on 31 opportunities.

If an opponent is bringing down almost half of its missed shots, it's almost impossible to keep it off the scoreboard.

In the NCAA tournament, the Terps will have to do a better job of boxing out and really making sure they bring down every missed shot to end the possession. This could mean a slower pace with fewer fast breaks, but it will be more important to prevent easy putbacks on the other end. 

Maryland's top trio of Melo Trimble, Dez Wells and Jake Layman has carried the offense for the majority of the season, although the third leg has gone through a bit of a cold streak.

Layman has had a solid season, averaging 12.8 points per game while hitting 46.8 percent of his shots, including 37.4 percent from three-point range. He has shown the athleticism and versatility that have caused scouts to consider him as a potential NBA prospect currently ranked No. 34 on DraftExpress.com.

However, he has gone cold lately with an average of just 10.2 points over the last 10 games, shooting only 39.5 percent from the floor. He was involved in the offense against Michigan State with five assists, but he still only took three shots.

This team will not be successful this postseason without Layman playing at a high level. That means the squad has to aggressively work to get the forward involved in the action, specifically getting him the ball in positions to score.

He is not going to take over a game like Trimble or Wells, but he can be a valuable mismatch to help out the offense.

They say you live by the three or die by the three. Well this team can either live by the three or succeed because of the threat of it.

Maryland had an impressive year of outside shooting, hitting 37.2 percent of its three-point shots as a team. Melo Trimble, Jared Nickens and Jake Layman were consistent producers from deep while Dez Wells, Richaud Pack, Dion Wiley and Evan Smotrycz have been threats as well.

Despite the overall success, the Terrapins ranked only seventh in the Big Ten in three-point attempts per game. Based on the way they shoot, they shouldn't be afraid to take even more attempts from beyond the arc.

Even if the shots don't fall, the defense is forced to defend it, and the middle of the lane opens up. This will leave more room for the penetration from Trimble, Wells and others. This spacing has led to some of the best offensive performances from Maryland, which will be necessary for a deep run in March.

If you're going to succeed in the NCAA tournament, you might not need inside scoring, but you certainly need interior defense. Having players in the low post who can either block shots or at least alter them makes a huge difference in each game at this point of the year.

While Evan Smotrycz has done a great job with on-ball defense, the team still needs a true rim protector to keep teams from getting easy layups. This is where either Damonte Dodd or Michal Cekovsky needs to step up for the Terps.

Dodd has shown bright spots at various points of the season but struggles with consistency while Cekovsky simply hasn't been able to stay healthy. Both players also struggle with foul trouble while averaging over 6.5 calls per 40 minutes.

Still, each player has the size (Dodd is 6'11", Cekovsky 7'1") and athleticism necessary to make a difference when playing well. This was shown in key wins over Wisconsin and Purdue with limited performances from Frank Kaminsky and A.J. Hammons respectively.

A strong showing by one or both of these players could provide a huge boost for a deep run.

Maryland has shown it can succeed with just Melo Trimble and Dez Wells doing most of the scoring, but that is a scary way to go through a single-elimination tournament.

When one of the two players is limited like in the losses to Iowa, Ohio State and Michigan State, someone else needs to step up. In a best-case scenario, multiple people end up figuring out a way to shoulder the load.

Evan Smotrycz, Jared Nickens and Dion Wiley have all shown plenty of ability but have also disappeared completely at times this year. When all of them struggle, it puts too much pressure on the starting lineup to produce.

Nickens is especially someone the team needs to get going. The elite shooter has game-changing talent but is just 3-of-14 from behind the arc in the past four games. If he can't turn things around, the entire offense will suffer.

A 62-58 loss to Michigan State in the Big Ten semifinals represented the first time all season Maryland lost a game decided by six points or less. Still, the squad remains an incredible 11-1 in such games this year.

While statistical models call this luck because close games usually balance out (KenPom.com rates Maryland as the second "luckiest" team in the nation), this is a team built to win this way.

Like Shabazz Napier during Connecticut's run to a championship last season, the Terps have two guards capable of creating shots for themselves and taking over late in games. Melo Trimble and Dez Wells have done that throughout the season and have no reason to slow down now.

Additionally, Maryland ranks 14th in the nation in free-throw shooting at 75.7 percent as a team, led by Trimble's 86.5 percent. This means when the squad is ahead late in games, it stays ahead.

This group has to keep the confidence it had from a season's worth of success in close games and figure out how to close out more victories in the Big Dance.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter. If it's March, I'm talking about pretty much nothing but college basketball.