ATLANTA -- The term psychic is rarely used to describe Maryland backup big man Ryan "Sleepy" Randle.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pounder is the fourth giant in the Terps' four-giant frontcourt rotation. Sleepy is a pretty chill guy, but when asked on Friday how fellow bigman Chris Wilcox was going to jump off against Kansas, Randle was brash. And most prescient: "He's going to get it started with a dunk and then he's going to just take it from there."

	Maryland's bench mob of Drew Nicholas (12), Chris Wilcox and Ryan Randle outscored KU's reserves 30-12.

In a game in which 33 dazzling points from Juan Dixon seemed to overshadow everything else, it was a Wilcox flush, a two-handed monster slam following a Maryland timeout that got the Turtle moving. And as Sleepy predicted, Wilcox and Maryland just took it from there.

Early on, it didn't look good for the Terps, especially after center Lonny Baxter picked up a quick second foul at the 17:19 mark and headed to the bench. A little over a minute later, Kansas jumped to a 13-2 lead behind two 3s from Kirk Hinrich and a single from Jeff Boschee. Then came the timeout where Maryland coach Gary Williams challenged his players' (ahem) manhood.

"He was just telling us we're all (well, soft)," said Wilcox. "We wanted to prove him wrong."

And prove him wrong they did. Just when it seemed the Jayhawks were on their way, Wilcox slashed in from the right side, took off from just inside 10 feet and threw down over two defenders.

"That was our spark right there," Randle said. "After that we relaxed and started having fun."

Apres le stuff Wilcox, the Terps went on a very fun 42-24 run to end the first half behind Dixon and the freakish athletic play of the Terrapin bigs.

First, there was Wilcox who recorded three of his four blocks, including two on KU's Drew Gooden in the first four and a half minutes. The Kansas all-American finished with a misleading 15 points. For much of the game he was stuck on four points and appeared intimidated.

"I was watching on TV and Gooden was saying he and Collison were the best two big men in the country," said Wilcox, who finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds. "I wanted to go out there and make a statement. I think I outplayed him."

While Wilcox held down the paint in the first half, it was another Maryland big man, 6-10, 245-pound Tahj Holden who helped the Terps run away from Kansas midway through the second half. In a two-minute stretch, Holden scored seven of his 13 points putting Maryland up by 15.

"Tahj was the key to the game," said Collison. "He was so huge in their run."

It was a moment of redemption for the cerebral junior who has had a disappointing season, spending much of it in Williams' doghouse after losing his starting job to Wilcox.

"You can't really compare them," the winning coach Williams said. "Wilcox, you remember every play he makes. Tahj is a different kind of player."

Holden brings neither the emotion nor the athleticism that Wilcox does, so his pumped-up play during the second half was welcomed. KU wanted to take the game at both Baxter and Wilcox and get the two in foul trouble. They weren't counting on Holden stepping so firmly into the fray.

"I think a lot of people underestimated how quick our big-guy group is as a core," Holden said. "People were saying Gooden was quicker than Chris, and Collison was quicker than Lonny. We took it personally." Holding a 20-point lead with 6:10 left, it appeared as if Maryland would waltz into Monday's final, but the Terps had to survive one last run from the No. 1 team in America, which roared back thanks to a series of Maryland turnovers and deep Jayhawk 3s.

"Come on Maryland," one Terp fan yelled as KU cut the lead to just four with 20 seconds left. "This is Kansas. Not Duke."

But there would be no repeat of last year's semifinal debacle. After a Gooden 3, Kansas called one last timeout, a timeout they didn't have. Chants of "Web-ber. Web-ber" came down. Suddenly, Sleepy looked like a prophet. "We just wore 'em out," said Randle, who contributed two points, two rebounds and two blocks in 15 minutes.

So what about Monday's final against the Hoosiers? Big Ryan just shook his head. "I'm no psychic," he said.

Uh-huh.

John Gustafson writes for ESPN The Magazine.