After No. 1 -- now what? Here's how Maryland can stay atop the rankings

— -- Maryland, the No. 1 team in ESPN's Power Rankings, has the talent to hold pole position through March -- but with three new likely starters, questions remain before a deep tourney run. Here's what the Terps must do to win their first title since 2002.

1. Return Sulaimon to his old form

The Terps' season just might live or die on the play of their two transfers -- one of whom comes fully loaded with baggage. In three years at Duke, former All-American Rasheed Sulaimon went from a freshman starter on an Elite Eight squad to a bench player with fewer than 20 minutes per game and a rep as a difficult teammate. By January of this year, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski ran out of patience and, amid sexual assault allegations, booted Sulaimon off the squad (for reasons unrelated to the allegations, Sulaimon says). Now the 6-foot-4 guard, with just a year of eligibility left, heads to a once-hated rival -- one that needs him to perform. When motivated, Sulaimon is a quick, strong defender who can break down a defense late in the shot clock and bury 3-pointers. It's up to Terps coach Mark Turgeon, who's known Sulaimon since he was 13, to bring that back out of him. If he succeeds, Maryland has its best shot at a title.

RASHEED SULAIMON YEAR BY YEAR

*TO% is percentage of possessions that end in turnovers, per KenPom

2. Learn to stop the pick and roll

The Terps won with defense a year ago, leading the Big Ten by allowing just .993 points per possession in conference games. But there was a weak spot in that otherwise stout unit: UM struggled at guarding the pick-and-roll. According to Synergy, the squad allowed .785 points per play against the ball handler on those plays, placing it in just the 28th percentile nationally. So how will Maryland adjust this season? Freshman Diamond Stone (6-11, 255 pounds) and transfer Robert Carter (6-9, 235) should help better protect the rim against penetrating guards, and if they aren't mobile enough to hedge against screens, Turgeon can always shift senior Jake Layman to the 4. Says one Big Ten assistant coach, "That length and size will cause problems. They'll have some flexibility and versatility in their roster." And one last notion in which the Terps can take heart: Compared to the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in last year's NCAA tourney, UM was second worst against the pick-and-roll -- but the only team below them? Wisconsin, who, you might recall, didn't have too bad a season.

UM COMPARED TO NO. 1 NCAA TOURNAMENT SEEDS

3. Maximize Melo

The case for UM's ascension starts with sophomore Melo Trimble, who might end up the nation's best point guard. But while he led the Terps in points and assists last season, he didn't bear the burden of leadership thanks to then-senior Dez Wells. "Whether it was a big shot or a defensive play, Dez was that guy that stepped up," says the assistant coach. "Who will replace that grit and ability to finish games?" Not only was Wells the team's backbone, he shined in the biggest games. Against KenPom's Top 100, Wells averaged 14.4 ppg and hit 54.2 percent of 3-pointers. Trimble has shown a similar impulse: Last season, his scoring rose against top-100 foes, and nowhere was his value more evident than in the Round of 32 loss to WVU: After tallying 15 points and seven boards in the game's first 31 minutes, Trimble left with a concussion, and WVU quickly took control. Hopefully, this year will be less about his head -- and more about shouldering the load.

MELO TRIMBLE VS. TOP TEAMS

4. Score in the paint -- but still spread the D

Don't let last season's 28-7 record fool you: Buckets came hard for Maryland, which ranked 10th in Big Ten play with an adjusted 101.7 points per 100 possessions. That was partly because the Terps lacked an inside scoring presence: They posted up on just 6.6 percent of possessions. But that should change this year with new guys Stone, the No. 6 recruit in his class slotting in at center, and Carter. Carter averaged 11.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg two years ago at Georgia Tech and should start at PF, sliding 6-9 Layman to the wing. That lineup should bully teams inside, so long as Stone and Carter hit their jumpers and opponents can't pack the paint. If not, Turgeon might be better off staggering their minutes and using Layman as a stretch 4. Either way, the two new bigs are the biggest reason the Terps are ranked No. 1. Figuring out how to use them? That's the only way they'll stay there.

TOP POSSESSION DISTRIBUTION BY POWER FORWARDS

*Layman's stats from 2014-15; Carter's from 2013-14 at Georgia Tech