COLLEGE PARK — The rising enthusiasm surrounding Maryland men’s basketball has made its way to players such as Rodney Rice.

“Being on campus and going to class and study hall and all that, people are just stopping to say good luck or something,” the sophomore shooting guard said Wednesday morning. “So, that means a lot.”

That excitement isn’t misplaced. For only the second time in the program’s Big Ten era and first time since 2015, the Terps (24-7, 14-6) are the No. 2 seed in the league tournament and won’t have to play against an opponent to be determined until Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. They are ranked No. 11 in the latest Associated Press poll — their highest ranking under coach Kevin Willard — and have won seven of their past eight games and 11 of their past 13.

Even Willard isn’t immune to the hype.“We’re excited about it,” he said. “It’s the first time [during his tenure] being a double-bye. So the break’s been nice to kind of get these guys mentally reset a little bit after the tough grind of the end of February and March. So we’re looking forward to it. It’s a great opportunity, and obviously, you want to win a Big Ten championship and improve your seeding in the NCAA Tournament because that gives you better chances. So we’re looking to go to Indy and play well.”

Reaching Sunday’s title game at 3:30 p.m. seems like a realistic proposition. If the seedings hold, Maryland’s quarterfinal matchup could involve a date with No. 7 seed Illinois (20-11, 12-8), which upset Michigan and Purdue in its past two games but fell to the Terps, 91-70, on Jan. 23.

A semifinal tilt on Saturday at approximately 3:30 p.m. might include a meeting with No. 3 seed Michigan (22-9, 14-6), which is mired in a three-game losing skid and lost to Maryland last week. And then the Terps could get a chance to redeem a 58-55 setback on Feb. 26 to No. 1 seed Michigan State (26-5, 17-3) that turned on junior shooting guard Tre Holloman’s game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer from half-court.

Winning three games in three days is no easy task. But freshman center Derik Queen said he and his teammates are aware of the rare opportunity afforded them.

“We’re right there,” said the Baltimore native who on Tuesday was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a first-team selection, and an All-Freshman team choice. “Just three games in three days, might as well go win it.”

Former Terps forward and current Maryland Sports Radio Network sideline analyst Walt Williams likes the team’s chances.

“When I see this team, I look at any team in the country, and I don’t see us walking into an arena against any team in the country and going, ‘This is an automatic loss,’” he said. “I think we have a chance against any team in the country because we have that element of, we can score in transition, we can score in a half-court situation, we can score on the perimeter, we can score on the inside. I think we can fit into any environment and be successful. I think that gives us a chance. I think we have a legitimate chance to win the Big Ten Tournament.”

With the Terps riding a three-game winning streak, Willard has been pleased with a defensive effort that has prevented the last four opponents from reaching the 70-point plateau. He did acknowledge that he would like to see more production from an offense that had gone three consecutive games converting less than 40% of its shots before besting that number Saturday against Northwestern.

Extended breaks have not provided much grace for Maryland. It had a layoff of four days before losses to Marquette in November and Purdue in December, five days before setbacks at Washington and Oregon in a four-day span in January, eight days before a loss at Ohio State on Feb. 6 and six days before the setback to Michigan State.

Despite that history, Willard said the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament should benefit the Terps.

“We haven’t been great coming off breaks, but I think this break was much needed just from the fact that grind was real those last four games,” he said. “I think the pressure, the stress of where we were, how we were playing, I think that was a little bit of a mental fatigue on our guys.”

A deep run in the Big Ten Tournament could set up Maryland with a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament. Currently projected as either a No. 4 or 5 seed, capturing the championship might lift the team to No. 3, which would mark the program’s highest seed there since the 2002 squad won their only national title as a No. 1 seed.

Willard’s primary focus though is this weekend. When informed that Willard said he wasn’t considering the NCAA Tournament, Queen was not surprised.

“I don’t think he’s on social media. So he really doesn’t see it,” he quipped. “But I think we’re kind of forced to look at it because it’s all up and down Twitter and Instagram.”

That the Terps can banter about contending for a Big Ten crown and marching through the NCAA Tournament is quite a reversal from a year ago when that team limped to a 16-17 record and bowed out of the second round of the conference tournament. And Rice said he and his teammates aren’t ducking outside forecasts of their potential.

“We know how good we can be,” he said. “We know how good we can be when we play together as a team. So the expectations are high, but we can accomplish those.”

Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at eklee@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.