After snapping a three game losing streak with a convincing 75-45 win over Saint Peter’s last week, Maryland men’s basketball will host UMBC Thursday at 7 p.m. for one final tune-up before Big Ten play. With a New Years Day matchup against Michigan looming, Maryland will look to take care of UMBC before facing the gauntlet that is the Big Ten schedule.
The Terps may have to do this without the services of Julian Reese, who exited early vs. UCLA and missed the Saint Peter’s game with a shoulder injury. The sophomore big is averaging just over 11 points and seven rebounds a game on the young season and is a key piece to the frontcourt puzzle. Without Reese, the already-small Terps lack size and have struggled to rebound against bigger teams.
Although Willard declined to provide an update on Julian Reese’s availability for Thursday, it is possible that Willard will give his star forward limited minutes or rest him entirely in preparation for the Michigan game and beyond. In Reese’s absence, the frontcourt play of Patrick Emilien will be something to pay attention to. “I think the biggest thing for us is I think moving forward, if Julian [is] not on the floor is probably not switching so much with our four man and putting him in situations where he’s not able to help rebound with either, whether it’s Cal [Swanton-Rodger] or Pat [Emilien],” Willard said. “I think that was some of the issues that, you know, we do to try to take away other teams’ offense sometimes puts us at a rebounding disadvantage, so I think that’s something we’ve looked at as maybe just being a little bit more old school when Pat’s on the floor.”
Another key situation to pay attention to in this game will be the production of Don Carey. After starting the first 11 games, Carey came off the bench vs. Saint Peter’s to make way for Ian Martinez, who started his first game of the season. Carey has struggled with his three-point shooting this season, shooting 23% from beyond the arc which includes a 4-23 skid over his past five games. Willard added he expects the former Georgetown guard back in the starting lineup on Thursday as he tweaks his lineups. “I think it’s just a matter of trying to get down going a little bit, you know, maybe trying to just put them in different situations with different guys on the court at different times. But I can see Don being back in the starting lineup for tomorrow’s game.”
UMBC has allowed opponents to shoot over 40% from three, so this could be a good chance for Carey to get back on track and find his rhythm. It will be interesting to see how Willard handles his lineups vs. UMBC and beyond.
For UMBC, this stop in College Park is their final game of 2022 before they face off against Vermont on Jan. 1.
The Retrievers are riding a six-game winning streak entering Thursday’s contest after handling William & Mary 78-62 on Dec. 18. While their non-conference schedule hasn’t exactly been daunting, they have found their identity through three-point shooting.
UMBC attempts nearly 27 three-pointers per game, which is tied for 28th most in the country, while connecting on 37.5% of them. Maryland will have to defend the perimeter and force UMBC to beat them in other ways if they want to cruise to a win.
Leading scorer Colton Lawrence has helped these numbers by scoring 14.5 points per game and shooting 40% from three-point territory. Lawrence transferred to UMBC after spending the last five seasons at Division II school Bentley. His high usage rate and nearly 45% field goal percentage has shut down any doubt about his ability to perform against higher competition at the Division I level.
UMBC’s second-leading scorer is Jacob Boonyasith, who scores over 12 points a game while shooting just under 40% from three-point range. Boonyasith is coming off a 19-point performance against William & Mary on Dec. 18 where he went 2-4 from three-point range. While a lot of his production comes from three, more production comes from the free throw line where he shoots nearly 90% and has the most attempts of any Retriever.
Lawrence and Boonyasith are key reasons why UMBC has won six straight and scores at such a high clip. With or without Reese, Maryland will have to defend these two on the perimeter and control the defensive and offensive glass if they want to finish their non-conference schedule with a win.
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