Maryland was outmatched from beginning to end on Thursday as Wisconsin stretched its lead over 40 points before handing the Terps an 87-56 season-ending loss. Everything that head coach Kevin Willard and Jahmir Young said after the loss: Jahmir Young on whether fatigue was a factor “Yeah, they hit ten threes in the first half, and it was tough. They shot at such a high percentage from three, and we couldn't run them off the line. They had us running on defense for a majority of the game. Hat's off to them. They had a great game. That's really it.” Young on the emotions checking out of the game for the final time “Just thankful for the year. Just taking that last walk. Just thanking all my teammates and thanking Coach for embracing me these last two years.” Young on his message as the team’s leader “I was just trying to tell them, I mean, it's 20 minutes left, just to try to leave it all on the floor. Just take it one possession at a time, chip away. The game got a little ahead of us, and we couldn't fight back.” Young on the emotions during the second half “There was a lot of emotions, especially this game, knowing that it was our last one. Just the game getting out of hand and us just -- you could see us just deflate a little bit. Wisconsin was on a run, and their confidence was just building every shot that was going in. The game was just getting away from us, and we were just embracing that. Me and Tay just embracing our last time in a Maryland uniform.” Willard on the slow start vs. Wisconsin “Yeah, I think playing at night and coming back at 1:30 is tough. You have to play better during the season, so you don't get in that position.” Willard on Maryland’s three-point defense vs. Wisconsin “Wisconsin's team is really good. Give Greg and his team a lot of credit. They came out – we were going to play Blackwell as a driver just because he'd been driving the basketball so well. He had played really well the last four games. Three games, I think he scored in double digits, and he was excellent against Purdue. They made a couple shots early, and they got going. Give them credit. They just kept going.” Willard on what the younger players get out of the conference tournament experience “That's a good question. I think it's really important for them to understand kind of the first time you're in a conference tournament and you're playing back-to-back games. I think every experience for them is really valuable. I thought DeShawn, more than anybody, kind of embraced the tournament a little bit. Jamie, it's a tough matchup for Jamie with Klesmit and A.J. Storr. I think all experience at their age is really important. I thought they both had great years, playing in probably the best basketball conference in the country and probably the oldest conference in the country. So I think they both will take a lot out of it, and I think they both had great years.” Willard on the roster construction heading into the 2023-24 season “To be perfectly honest with you, the roster was built -- the way we built the roster, I felt was good. Just as the year went on, I was just really, really shocked at how much we struggled to shoot the basketball. I just think our inability to make shots just led to nine three-points-or-less losses, and that adds up. It just wears you down a little bit. Wears you down as a player, wears you down as a coach, and I know it wore the fan base down. We'll retool the roster, and we'll be back next year.” Related Links Maryland football 2024 spring ball preview: running backs & tight endsWith Maryland basketball’s disappointing season over, what’s next? (+)Two local targets set official visits to Maryland (+) Where defensive back recruiting stands for Maryland in 2025 cycle (+)
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