In an early must-win game, Maryland basketball was nowhere near prepared as Villanova dominated en route to a 57-40 win as head coach Kevin Willard watched his team get dominated for nearly all 40 minutes.
Maryland turned to Jamie Kaiser Jr. as the fifth starter against Villanova, giving the freshman his first career start, but that would quickly be overshadowed once the game tipped off.
Villanova left no uncertainty who controlled the game after a pair of threes sent the Pavilion Center into an early eruption, helping ‘Nova build a 9-0 lead just three minutes into the game before Julian Reese cut the cold spell with a layup. But the Terps’ bucket was a mere disruption in the ‘Cats dominance as their ball movement exposed Maryland’s first-half defense as the lead grew to 17-3 just seven minutes into the game.
By the seven-minute mark in the first half, Maryland was already trailing by 20 and unable to find any shot to go through the bottom of the net, finishing with as many field goals as turnovers through the first 20 minutes. While the perimeter shooting was the concern heading into Friday night, Maryland couldn’t get anything to fall as Reese was one of four players to finish with exactly one field goal through the first half with the team shooting just over 14% from both the field and three-point.
Facing a 39-15 deficit at the break, things wouldn’t get better as Maryland opened the second half with consecutive turnovers, but to no surprise, ‘Nova was dialed in. A layup, then three, then a layup after an offensive rebound on a Justin Moore airball stretched the lead to 31 within the first four minutes, prompting Kevin Willard to call another early timeout. Villanova would lead by as many as 32 points, though the Terps would buckle down defensively coming out of the break as they allowed just one field goal over the final 13:17, ironically snapped by Hakim Hart. But again, it was the lack of offense that negated the Terps’ late defensive success.
Julian Reese and Caelum Swanton-Rodger both knocked down layups before Jahmir Young knocked down two threes across a two-minute span midway through the half, giving the Terps their only field goals until Donta Scott hit a three with 2:41 remaining. That triple was part of a 13-2 Maryland run to make the score slightly more respectable before falling to 1-3.
In the end, Maryland finished just 24% from the field as Jahmir Young knocked down three of the team’s five triples, but a concerning performance for a Maryland squad coming off a week’s rest. Just like halftime, Maryland finished with the same number of turnovers as made field goals (12) with the early season concerns only magnified in mid-November.
Maryland will look to rebound on Tuesday vs. UMBC for a 7 PM tipoff.
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