SPORTS AND HEALTH – For a little more than a half, Maryland, a co-champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, struggled to put away a team that had a losing record in Conference USA.
But the fourth-seeded Terrapins used a 12-2 run early in the second half to gain control of No. 13 Houston and glided to an 89-77 victory in the first round of the Midwest Region.
The Terrapins will face fifth-seeded Michigan State on Sunday.
Houston made its first N.C.A.A. tournament appearance since 1992 after winning its conference tournament following a 15-15 regular season. Houston’s credentials were not what made Maryland nervous. It was 6-foot-4 Aubrey Coleman, the leading scorer in Division I at 25.6 points per game.
Maryland (24-8) opted to defend Coleman primarily with the rangy 6-6 Greivis Vasquez, the A.C.C. player of the year, who led the Terrapins in scoring (19.5 points per game).
Vasquez could not prevent Coleman from scoring from all different angles, slashing to the basket for layups and banking in a 3-pointer from the wing in the first half. And it might have had the added burden or benefit, depending on the perspective, of tiring Vasquez.
Coleman had 26 points, 16 in the first half. Coleman’s backcourt mate Kelvin Lewis pitched in 24 points, but Houston’s other three starters combined for just 4 points.
Vasquez, one of the best all-around players in the country, had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. And he brought a supporting cast that Houston (19-16) could not match.
The freshman center Jordan Williams had 21 points and 17 rebounds, helping Maryland outrebound the smaller Cougars, 50-29. Landon Milbourne added 19 points.
Maryland seemed to slowly gain control of the game as halftime neared, largely on the strength of Williams’s first-half double-double: 10 points and 10 rebounds. Leading by 5, the Terrapins held the ball for the last shot. But it missed with a couple of seconds remaining, and Houston’s Adam Brown drained a 40-footer at the buzzer to leave the Terrapins with a tenuous 39-37 lead.
Houston Coach Tom Penders and Maryland Coach Gary Williams each arrived with 648 career victories, tied for fifth among active coaches.