More than a day removed from the Terps’ dramatic loss to Michigan in the Big Ten tournament, coach Kevin Willard said he hadn’t slept a wink.

Maryland men’s basketball has won 10 of its last 14 games, but those four losses — with go-ahead shots in the final 10 seconds — have each hurt worse than the last. This last one might have been the most brutal of all, with a lackluster defense allowing Michigan’s Tre Donaldson to cruise an easy path along the full length of the court for a layup.

“I’d almost rather get blown out, to be honest with you,” Willard said.

But soon, Willard should be sleeping well again — on top of a heaping pile of money.

According to a CBS Sports report, Maryland and Willard are hammering out a contract extension that will make the 49-year-old one of the 10 highest-paid coaches in college basketball. Willard (63-38 at Maryland) is at a high-water mark with the Terps, presiding over the 11th-ranked squad that finished second in the Big Ten, made its second NCAA tournament in three years, and should put freshman Derik Queen into the NBA draft lottery.

Home attendance is up, and for the first time in a few years, the program is nationally relevant. The catchy (if a little corny) branding of the starting “Crab Five” has helped put the Terps back in the conversation — just as important as winning itself.

But even those who have come to appreciate Maryland’s spunky bounce-back this season are surprised by the figures. Is Willard really a “top 10” coach in men’s basketball? Should a guy who has so far won a single NCAA tournament game at this school now be getting potentially more than $5 million per year?

Going solely off of Willard’s resume, the answer is “not yet.” But that’s the game, baby. These days, it’s tough for a coach’s accomplishments to keep up with the brisk pace of rising salary.

Some of the wildest March Madness plot twists come off the court, as athletic directors frantically deal with rumors of rivals who wants to poach their coach. At 49, Willard isn’t exactly young, but he’s got a lot of years left on the sideline. The threat of another suitor swooping in — Villanova, Virginia, Indiana, N.C. State and UNLV are among the big-time programs looking to make a hire right now — might be what’s keeping the Terps administration on edge.

There’s definitely alignment between Willard and athletic director Damon Evans, who has helped broaden the Terps’ NIL war chest and will open a new $50 million practice facility later this year. With an extension for Willard, the Maryland AD gets a chance to trumpet how successful one of his major hires has been.

Willard didn’t confirm the report, but hinted strongly that he and Evans are in lockstep.

“His focus and my focus are exactly the same,” Willard said. “So our focus right now is strictly the NCAA tournament and this team. But all I can say is me and Damon are on the same page and always have been.”

It’s easy to get on the same page with someone who wants to give you a raise, after all.

To date, Willard’s achievements at Maryland don’t rise to those of a top 10 coach. His teams still struggle away from Xfinity Center, going just 9-21 in Big Ten road games over three years. Getting Derik Queen to College Park was a recruiting coup, but he’ll have to keep proving he can navigate the increasingly chaotic portal system, conference realignment and the athlete compensation models that now seem to change every year.

It’s a lot easier for programs to gain momentum in one year now — but a lot easier to lose momentum, too. A raise should come with more assurance that this breakout season is not just a one-year spike.

However, it would be way too early to dismiss that Willard could live up to a monstrous extension, too.

He has shown growth, including a 5-5 Big Ten road record this season that finished a lot better than it started. He kept Julian Reese in-house, and helped build a team around him — this year’s team is stylistically worlds apart from the plodding, defense-oriented groups of his previous two seasons.

Frankly, these Terps are a lot more fun to watch.

Willard has gotten an eyeful of Big Ten basketball at this point, taking lessons from Tom Izzo, Dana Altman and Matt Painter among some of the most distinguished competition. He sees every style from blistering, track meet-style offenses to thudding elbow-throwers, and climbing to second in the Big Ten is a sign of how he has adapted.

“I always try to get better every year,” Willard said. “But this conference forces you to be a better coach. If not, you will get leveled. No ifs, ands or buts about it.”

This is why March looms so large for Maryland — and for Willard especially. When he was hired in 2022, his critics circled his 1-5 NCAA tournament record. The last game he coached Seton Hall in 2022, they were whipped by TCU in a 27-point blowout that hardly met the billing of an 8-9 first-round game.

Three years later, Willard has just one NCAA tourney win at Maryland, too. But if the Terps can dance their way through Seattle and into the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, it would show the program (and its coach) are on the right track.

Given the timing of the report, it doesn’t seem as though a contract extension hinges on the fickle whims of March Madness. Willard believes the regular season the Terps just put together proves his worth.

“I love our culture, I love our work ethic,” Willard said. “I love that there’s so many kids who want to come play for us that we’re turning kids down. So I like where this program is, I like where it’s going, I like the kids we have in it.

“March doesn’t necessarily define that,” he added, “but we definitely want to take on March.”

Proving he’s worth his next contract is a challenge as big as the tournament itself. Willard has to be willing to take that on, too.