This Time, the Real Joe Smith Shows Up : West: He comes back after weak showing and leads Maryland to 82-68 victory over Texas.

The only thing better than Joe Smith on a good night is Smith after a bad one.

Maryland’s All-American sophomore, back in form after a slow start in the NCAA tournament, had 31 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocked shots Saturday to lead Maryland past Texas, 82-68, in the second round of the West Regional.

The victory sent the third-seeded Terrapins (26-7) to Oakland, where they will face second-seeded Connecticut in the regional semifinals.

With the seventh 30-point game of his career, Smith again followed a poor outing with a spectacular one. In Thursday’s first round, Smith had struggled through a nine-point, four-rebound night against Gonzaga.

After being held to a season-low six points and five rebounds by Duke on Jan. 28, Smith responded with 29 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocks against Virginia four nights later.

“I knew coming off Thursday’s game, Joe was going to come out on fire,” teammate Duane Simpkins said.

Smith said: “I know lots of people didn’t expect me to bounce back after the Gonzaga game, and I wanted to prove I could come out and play. My teammates did a great job of breaking the press and getting me the ball inside.”

Smith has scored 30 or more points seven times in his career, one more than the late Len Bias, who played for Maryland in the 1980s.

Smith, in foul trouble most of the night against Gonzaga, made an impact immediately against Texas, grabbing rebounds, intimidating Longhorn shooters and scrambling after loose balls. His double-double was his fourth in the last nine games.

Texas (23-7) got 15 points from senior guard Terrence Rencher and 14 each from Reggie Freeman and Roderick Anderson, who made only three of 19 shots. But the Longhorns were still able to tie the Terrapins, 60-60, with 6:27 left. Thereafter, they missed five free throws, allowing Maryland to pull away.

“They were zoning off (the perimeter), so I had to take the shots in the lane,” Anderson said. “The shots just weren’t falling.”

Maryland Coach Gary Williams said: “The big thing we had to do today was stay aggressive with their traps and pressure and for the most part, we did that. We had a lull in the second half, but that was Texas really fighting hard and coming at us when they tied it up.

“We got a little back on our heels and weren’t as aggressive as we had been. That’s what we talked about. The players made the commitment that they were going to play as hard offensively as Texas was going to play defensively.”