March Madness finally lived up to its moniker late on the final day of 2025 opening weekend. That's when Maryland basketball star Derik Queen hit a buzzer-beater against Colorado State to send the Terrapins to the Sweet 16 with a 72-71 victory. After the wild conclusion to the game, Queen's coach, Kevin Willard, revealed the electric (and NSFW) way his star freshman told him he wanted the last shot .

“I asked everybody. I said, ‘Who wants the ball?” Willard told CBS sideline reporter Andy Katz after the game. “He said, ‘Give me the MF ball!' And I said, ‘Alright, you're getting it.' And I said, “Don't mess around. Go after it and do it.' And I give him a lot of credit, man. The Big Dawg came up and through.”

Derik Queen wanted the ball.

He got the ball.

In a 2025 NCAA Tournament with precious few upsets and even fewer last-second finishes, the Maryland-Colorado State was the best basketball game to watch of the long weekend.

The 12-seed Rams had the 4-seed Terps on the ropes early, building a 37-30 lead at halftime. However, Queen and the Terps shipped away in the second half, battling back to take the lead late. After a Jalen Lake 3-pointer looked like it had won the game for the Rams, Maryland's 6-foot-10 freshman from Baltimore took the “MF” ball and won the game for Maryland, putting the ACC school in its first Sweet 16 since 2016.

Next up for Maryland basketball is a date with 1-seed Florida.

While that will be a challenge, things get even more complicated for the Maryland basketball program when March Madness ends.

That's because the futures of Derik Queen and Kevin Willard are quite uncertain.

Queen is one of the best freshmen in the nation, and although his Montverde Academy teammate Cooper Flagg will win Freshman of the Year and likely be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Queen isn't far behind. There is a good chance he heads to the pros next season, especially if his head coach leaves.

There are rumors that Willard is a leading candidate to take the Villanova job . The former Seton Hall and Iona head man has a contract offer on the table to stay on as the Maryland head basketball coach but is keeping his options open until the conclusion of the season.