Maryland basketball's hot streak ends in second half in season-ending loss vs. Florida

Oliver Schaack
Mar 27
6 min read

There was no more magic in Kevin Willard’s wand on Thursday night. Maryland’s magical season has come to an end, and the Terps season has ended. The Florida Gators showed their worth of a number one seed, and advanced to the Elite Eight with a 87-71 victory in San Francisco.

The first four minutes and change through the first media timeout was back-and-forth on both ends. Florida held a narrow 7-6 lead, but both sides showed fantastic energy on defense with five forced turnovers between both squads. Florida’s presence on the boards was apparent early with five boards, including three offensive rebounds, compared to Maryland’s lone rebound through the timeout.

Julian Reese was the hot man early for the Terps, scoring seven of Maryland’s first nine points. Walter Clayton Jr. for Florida made two improbable threes, one from way downtown and the other on a sidestep three. Beyond Clayton Jr., there was not much continuity for Florida on offense out of the gates.

A big break for the Gators early was two missed free throws from Selton Miguel that would have made the score 12-11 Florida. The empty trip to the line led to a Thomas Haugh three on the other end. Moments later, an Alijah Martin three made it a 9-0 Gators run and the score 18-9. However, a scary moment for Todd Golden and Florida occurred as Alex Condon looked to have rolled his ankle trying to get back on defense following a Deshawn Harris-Smith steal for Maryland.

Condon limped his way off the court and hit the locker room in a matter of moments. Even with the early nine-point lead, the health of Condon was enough of a scare for Gator fans to be worried.

Maryland's sloppy play continued, with six turnovers in the first ten minutes. They had only ten shots as a team to this point, while Florida took 17. Derik Queen knocked down back-to-back shots to make it a seven-point game at 20-13. The two buckets gave the Terps momentum, and on the very next possession, Ja’Kobi Gillespie knocked down a huge three. The 7-0 run made the score 20-16.

Another Gillespie three after two Gators free throws brought the deficit down to three, but the immense troubles rebounding the basketball continued well into the first half however for Maryland. The rebounding margin grew to +8 by the 7:37 media timeout, and the Terps trailed 24-19. A third Gillespie three and two free throws momentarily after brought the score to a tie, and it was clear the Terps weren’t afraid of Florida.

The Gators caught the turnover bug from Maryland but had a much severe case in the final third of the first half, with 10 turnovers before the six-minute mark. Queen was also able to take advantage of Florida’s foul trouble with four straight free throws, the fourth of which gave Maryland the lead, 28-27, for the first time since they led 2-0 to start the night off.

Both teams had serious issues in different aspects of the game. Maryland was getting completely manhandled on the boards as they have all of March, even with the Condon ankle injury. Meanwhile, Florida was turning the ball over at a rate that they have not the entire season. The 12th turnover for Florida made for 18 in the game between both teams, the most in a tournament game in the first half this entire March Madness. Neither team garnered separation and the game was for taking through the first 20 minutes, but the Gators narrowly took a 40-38 lead into the locker room.

At the break, Gillespie led the way for Maryland with 15 points to go with Queen’s 10. Reese and Rodney Rice had eight and five, respectively, but Miguel was nowhere to be found in the first half with zero points to his name. In fact, the other four Crab Five members were the only scorers for Maryland through the first 20 minutes.

The Gators meanwhile were just praying that Alex Condon would be able to play in the second half. Clayton Jr. and Will Richard were the Gators’ saviors in his absence. It was by far the biggest question mark up to this point in the game, and would be one of the biggest factors as to whether Florida’s dominant season would continue, or if the Crab Five would live to see another day.

Half number two started just as the first half ended. Florida scored the first five points, Maryland followed with the next four. Condon started the half in the hallway from the court to the locker room, and it looked like he was not going to return to action. For the first time, it appeared that Maryland would not be the team lacking the most depth. Even with the depth issues for the Gators, they started to build a lead. Maryland failed to convert on several early second half possessions, and it resulted in an eight point lead for Florida, at 50-42 before Willard called a timeout to talk things over.

The Terps brought the deficit down to six, but a familiar face checked into the game for the Gators with 13:29 remaining. Condon shockingly made his return, and the Gators were back to full power. A few possessions later, Gillespie drew his fourth foul on a Clayton Jr. drive, putting Maryland in a huge bind. 12 and a half minutes to go, and Maryland trailed by ten with big time foul trouble in their backcourt.

The troubles continued for the Terps with fouls. Reese at the 8:13 mark received a flagrant one foul, resulting in two more Gator points, and extended their lead to 13. Their 11-2 run was one of dominance and blew the game wide open as the Terps trailed now by 16 at 72-56.

At this point, it became a track meet for Florida. Maryland had no answer and the Gators solved their turnover problem in the second half. Combined with a shooting clip of 53% in the second half, it was far too much for the Terps to contain.

Reese finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, and in the process finished his Maryland career. A unicorn in the current college basketball landscape, Reese started and finished his career in College Park, and the memories for him will last a lifetime.

“I'm just kind of grateful I was able to be a part of a program like this. This is a blessing to be a part through the ups and downs. And I feel like I kind of came out, even though we lost, I came out with my chin up and we fought hard and we just weren't able to get it done.”

Going forward for Maryland, the biggest question will now be what Kevin Wilard is going to do. The majority of the college basketball and Terps fandom has accepted that Willard will take the job at Villanova, but how he has handled the whole situation is what has shocked many.

When asked about his future, Willard was very straight to the point about how he would move forward on his career.

“Right now my biggest concerns in life right now -- I don't know who my boss is going to be. It's the guy that brought me here who I really liked and appreciative of him bringing me to College Park is not here anymore. And I don't know who we're going to hire. In today's day and age, that worries me a little bit. I'm just being honest. My honesty got me in trouble, might as well keep getting me in trouble. So this is going to be a family decision. I love College Park. I love Maryland. But when you're at this point in your career and you're looking at things, I have to take everything into consideration moving forward. But I have not even talked to anybody, so I don't know what I'm doing.”

When asked if Villanova has offered him the head coaching position, Willard said, “I have no idea.”

Derik Queen finished with another fantastic statline totaling 27 points and going 10-10 from the foul line. When asked about his future and whether he intends on declaring for the draft, Queen said nothing has been decided. Yet, most of the country would agree that the odds of him staying in college basketball are close to zero considering his incredible season and his draft stock of being a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.

This season was one of rejuvenation for Maryland basketball. The first Sweet 16 since 2002, a Big Ten Freshman of the Year in Derik Queen, the nation’s best scoring starting five in the country, and a nickname that will stand the test of time with “The Crab Five”.

No matter the future, the Head Coach, or the 2025-2026 roster, Maryland fans will never forget this year and the bumpy but incredible ride that ensued. One chapter closes, and we will wait to start the next chapter this upcoming fall.

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