Maryland basketball’s 2023-24 season came to a close at the hands of Wisconsin on Thursday afternoon, as the red-hot Badgers knocked down 16 three-pointers in a thumping of the Terps, 87-56, to advance to the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament.
The outcome was never in doubt after the opening minutes, as Wisconsin connected on its first five attempts and started 7-of-8 from beyond the arc to take an early double-digit lead in the first half. Five different Badgers finished with two or more threes in the victory.
The 31-point loss was the third-biggest losing margin in Big Ten tournament history.
“Wisconsin’s team is really good. Give Greg [Gard] and his team a lot of credit,” Maryland head coach Kevin Willard said. “They made a couple shots early and they got going. Give them credit, they just kept going.”
Maryland, who defeated Rutgers 65-51 in the first round of the conference tournament, ran out of gas on Thursday and will finish the season at 16-17. This is the second losing season in three years for the Terps, who had not done so in 29 years prior to that season.
Jahmir Young, the leading scorer and heart and soul of the Terps for the last two seasons, scored 18 points in his final game in a Maryland uniform. The hometown product who transferred to Maryland after three seasons at Charlotte, scored over 1,000 points in his brief career in College Park.
“Just thankful for the year, just taking that last walk,” Young said of his mindset as he exited the court for the final time. “Just thanking all my teammates and thanking coach for embracing me these last two years.”
Young started off hot on Thursday, connecting on his first four shots from the field. He scored eight of Maryland’s first 13 points and shot 7-of-11 from the field in the first half, but received little help from his supporting cast.
Four players for Wisconsin finished in double figures, led by an 18-point, five-rebound performance off the bench for John Blackwell. The freshman knocked down his first three attempts from downtown, as Wisconsin shot a scorching 10-of-13 from three in the first half en route to a 47-26 lead.
Blackwell and Steven Crowl combined for 28 first-half points, outscoring Maryland by two.
“They hit 10 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,” Young said. “They had us running on defense for a majority of the game. Hats off to them. They had a great game, that’s really it.”
Wisconsin continued its offensive outburst in the second half, scoring the first 18 points to increase its lead even further. The Badgers out-rebounded Maryland 42-25 and recorded 25 assists on 31 made field goals.
Maryland was without senior guard Jahari Long, who suffered a knee injury in the late stages of Wednesday’s win, and their lack of depth was on full display. Wisconsin’s bench outscored Maryland 37-5 and 10 total players scored at least one point.
Aside from Young, the only other offense came from DeShawn Harris-Smith, who scored all 16 of his points in the second half to end his freshman campaign on a high note. He made three of Maryland’s six made three-pointers in the loss.
“I thought DeShawn, more than anybody, kind of embraced the tournament a little bit,” Willard said.
Many questions will now surround the program, which could see significant turnover in its roster next season. Without the services of Young, Donta Scott and potentially others, Willard will be tasked with creating a roster that can compete in the Big Ten. Maryland entered the 23-24 season projected to finish third in the conference and severely underperformed.
“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,” Willard said. “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.”
Reinforcements are coming, as five-star local product Derik Queen announced his commitment to the Terps in February. He will need to be surrounded by perimeter shooters, an aspect of this years team that was a glaring hole. Maryland was one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the country, shooting. dismal 28% on the season.
“We’ll retool the roster, and we’ll be back next year,” Willard said.
