Maryland (1-3) vs. UMBC (3-2)
Tipoff: 7 PM, Xfinity Center
TV: BTN
Radio: 105.7 FM (Baltimore), 980 AM (DC), SiriusXM channel 372
Betting: Maryland -19, O/U: 142.5
Maryland basketball returns to action on Tuesday night as they look for their first win in two weeks. Head coach Kevin Willard and the Terps will do so in hopes of staying undefeated against the Retrievers, entering the matchup a perfect 15-0 vs. UMBC including a 16-point win back on Dec. 29.
Led by head coach Jim Ferry in his third season, UMBC is one of five D1 programs to not return one starter, but that experience proved not to matter after nearly opening the season with a road win in an eventual 94-93 loss to Louisville. After losing to Marist by six in the home opener days later, UMBC has rebounded to win three straight including a 94-79 win against Loyola (MD) on Sunday.
Dion Brown, Marcus Banks Jr and Bryce Johnson lead UMBC’s backcourt as all three enter Tuesday averaging double-figures, while 6-foot-9 grad forward Khydarius Smith is averaging 16 points per game on 64.2% shooting.
“Jim’s doing a great job. Team gets out and plays. Make, miss, they’re going,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said on Tuesday. “Good strong, big guards. Backup center is really, really good. [A] lefty that can put it on the floor and make centers guard. Last year they played us a lot of zone so I expect, with our numbers, where they are right now, that we’ll probably see some zone.
With the Terps opening as comfortable favorites heading into Tuesday, we take a look at three things to watch:
Time to rebound
The opening stretch for Maryland basketball has been suboptimal with the team sitting at 1-3 for the first time in 30 years. This was the stretch that Willard has pointed to in order to get his team into a rhythm before the Big Ten opener against Indiana on December 1. Frankly, Maryland isn’t going to be able to show enough on Tuesday night alone to ease any major concerns for season outlook, but the Terps need to generate confidence over the three-game stretch to open conference play on the right foot.
A big drawback from Willard through the opening weeks has been the lack of practice times for his various lineups, but the next three games gives the rotation a chance to get more comfortable. “A lot of our misses have come with lineups out there that I have done a really, really bad job of combining and not working and not practicing. Especially the UAB and Davidson game, I had some lineups out there that don’t play well together and don’t fit well together, and guys got caught with the ball really uncertain with what to do so they shoot the basketball.”
Freshmen progression
In order for Maryland to find their footing, they’ll need their freshmen to live up to expectation, starting with Jamie Kaiser Jr. and Deshawn Harris-Smith. “A lot of their mistakes that they’re making right now, they won’t be making in a month from now,” Willard added. “Right now, some of their mistakes are hurting us. When you have three guys connected and two guys trying to figure out what’s going on defensively, you’re going to have major breakdowns and that’s kind of what we’ve had. It’s one of those things that you’ve got to see them go through it.”
Get shooters in comfortable spots
Julian Reese has done well passing out of the post when faced with double-teams, while the Terps have also had opportunities to find open shooters at times, but that hasn’t amounted to much success with the Terps shooting just over 21% from deep through four games. “We’ve really struggled to shoot the basketball this year and that continued up there,” Willard noted.
Maryland missed nine uncontested shots against Villanova on Friday, setting the stage for the fewest points in program history in the shot clock era. The lack of shooters on the current roster has limited the Terps’ chances of finding much perimeter scoring aside from Jahmir Young, who accounts for seven of the team’s 19 made threes. Could Maryland establishing any offensive rhythm help their shooters like Kaiser Jr. and Batchelor find their touch? It’s possible, but Maryland will need its limited shooters to live up to the billing as shooters in order to have a chance to match preseason expectations.
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