Three takeaways from Maryland men's basketball's regular-season opener
With 7:14 left in the first half of Maryland’s regular-season opener against Bucknell, the Terps trailed the Bison 25-23 after an Aleksander Pachucki 3-pointer. From that point on, Maryland outscored Bucknell by 31 points and cruised to a 96-67 win, providing a reminder that this isn’t last year’s squad. Here are three takeaways from Maryland’s season-opening win.
Andre Mills put on a show to start his sophomore season
Mills continued to solidify his role as Maryland’s go-to perimeter scorer, leading the Terps with 22 points. He delivered one of the most efficient performances of his career, going 8-for-12 from the field and posting the fourth best offensive rating as a Terp, according to KenPom.
Both his performance against Bucknell and his 27-point effort in Maryland’s exhibition win over West Virginia offer further proof that he can consistently be the player who averaged 17.9 points per game over the final 13 games of last season.
With 8:38 to play in the first half and Maryland stuck in an offensive rut, Mills drove the lane, absorbed contact and made a layup, giving the Terps a much-needed basket. His 5-for-6 night from inside the arc was an encouraging sign for a player who could take another leap forward by improving his finishing at the rim.
Mills also did plenty of damage from deep, going 3-for-6 from 3-point range. His ability to get to the basket, deliver from deep and get to the free-throw line makes him Maryland’s most reliable perimeter threat.
If Mills can consistently do what he did against Bucknell, he could be one of the Big Ten’s top scorers this season.
Offensive rebounding will be a key part of Maryland’s identity
One of the staples of “Buzz Ball” is the ability to dominate on the offensive glass, and that’s exactly what the Terps did against the Bison. Maryland grabbed an eye-popping 28 offensive rebounds and outscored Bucknell 28-4 in second-chance points.
Tomislav Buljan led the way with five offensive rebounds, but the dominance on the boards was a full team effort as nine other Terps pulled down at least one. Guards Kaden House, Mike McNair Jr. and Bishop Boswell each grabbed three offensive rebounds, illustrating the entire team’s commitment to hitting the offensive glass.
While dominating the offensive boards on a nightly basis won’t be as easy in Big Ten play, Buzz Williams has a track record of putting together elite offensive-rebounding teams. In each of his final two seasons at Texas A&M, the Aggies finished first nationally in offensive-rebound percentage. The Terps have the length, athleticism and mentality to win on the offensive glass, and offense rebounding could become their best skill this season.
Maryland needs to play in transition to avoid scoring slumps
For most of the first half, Maryland struggled with Bucknell’s zone defense. Easy buckets were hard to come by, and at one point the Terps went eight minutes and 16 seconds without a field goal. Bucknell turned the game into a rock fight by forcing Maryland to play in the half court. When the Terps were able to get out in transition, the scoring opened up.
With just under three minutes to play in the first half and Maryland clinging to a five-point lead, Baba Oladotun grabbed a rebound, aggressively pushed the ball up the court and found Bishop Boswell for a 3-pointer. Then with less than 20 seconds remaining, Mills jumped a passing lane, stole the ball and scored on a fast-break layup to give the Terps a 44-30 halftime lead. The Terps were at their best when they pushed the pace and played in transition. They scuffled when they were forced to play a half-court game.
Maryland finished the Bucknell game with nine steals, 18 fast-break points and 22 points off turnovers. Last season, the Terps finished 346th out of 365 Division I teams in steal percentage. That’s a number that must improve this season for Maryland to avoid long scoring droughts. Generating more steals will allow the Terps to turn defense into offense and create easy baskets when games get tight and their half-court offense bogs down.
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