It wasn’t always pretty for Maryland, but head coach Kevin Willard and his squad got what they needed most this week: two wins. After securing a comeback win at Iowa on Wednesday night, Maryland quickly overcame a slow start and never looked back in a game of records en route to a 73-51 win over Nebraska. Breaking down three things we learned from Saturday’s win:
Defense is the theme of Maryland’s two-game winning streak
Maryland knew it’d have to rely on its defense until its offense found its groove, and Saturday’s win provided credence to that. Maryland turned to its fullcourt press after Julian Reese’s jumper gave the Terps their first points of the day, but the first sign of defense to offense came after Kaiser’s lone block of the day led to the second three of the from Jahari Long briefly after Jahmir Young settled the pace in transition.
From there, Maryland’s offense would come to life as Jamie Kaiser Jr. joined the early three-point party, but the defense proved to be a disrupter for Nebraska from that point on. Nebraska suffered eight turnovers, including four turnovers within the next three minutes, the rest of the first half after Long’s second three. Maryland’s defense did well to “keep our foot on their neck,” as Julian Reese described it, as head coach Kevin Willard’s team forced 18 turnovers, the most since the win over Alcorn St. back on Dec. 12.
Saturday wasn’t the first time that Maryland’s defense stepped up with its performance coming just three days after Iowa went the final 5:44 of the game without a field goal. The Terps did similar against the Huskers, holding them without a bucket over the final 4:44. After holding Nebraska to 39 points over the final 35 minutes, the Huskers’ 51 points marked a season-low for points allowed by Maryland’s defense and the fewest since defeating Minnesota last season, 81-46. While the lockdown efforts sparked a comeback win on the road earlier in the week, Saturday’s defensive efforts got the Terps out of an early hole and was the reason why the Terps cruised to its tenth home win of the season.
Entering Sunday, Maryland sits within the top ten nationally in both adjusted efficiency (7th) and two-point field goal percentage defense (7th), per KenPom, while placing top-20 nationally in effective field goal percentage (18th). Reese, who registered five blocks against Iowa, is a big part of Maryland’s success in the post and has posted at least one block in all but three games this season. Reese secured his tenth double-double of the season after securing 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
Most impressive offensive performance through Big Ten play
The thought of Maryland securing a 20-plus point win despite a quiet day from their star player seems foreign based on the results of the first half of the season, but that’s exactly what happened on Saturday after Jahmir Young finished with 12 points (5-of-15) in 33 minutes, the fewest minutes played since the Rider game back on Nov. 28. Young’s quiet night was only reflected on the scoreboard, though, as his nine rebounds marked the most since Dec. 19, but the scoring distribution was arguably the biggest development from the win.
Freshman Jamie Kaiser Jr. last made more than two threes in a game back on Dec. 12 when he finished 3-of-7 from deep, but Saturday may have been his coming out party after finishing 3-of-4 from deep with all three makes coming in the first 10:14. It was the type of perimeter shooting that fans expected from the Virginia native heading into the season. “As a freshman, I would do anything I can to help the team win. He’s been putting me out there in a lot of minutes lately and these Big Ten games and besides today, they’re all close games. So that just gives me a lot of confidence that he has faith in me putting me in the game. So I just want to show him why he should keep me in the game,” he said postgame.
While Young turned to facilitator and dished out six assists, Julian Reese benefitted from the improved outside shooting and finished with a game-high 15 points. The Huskers struggled to limit production both on the paint and on the glass as Maryland outrebounded Nebraska, 43-25, and turned 17 offensive rebounds into 18 second-chance points. Kaiser Jr. wasn’t the only Terp to shine on Saturday as Jahari Long was once again the quiet spark for the offense, knocking down his first three-point attempts including a pair in the first six minutes to give the Terps a jolt. Long is now 5-of-6 over the last two games from three.
DeShawn Harris-Smith was able to turn heads early, knocking down a three at the eight-minute mark of the first half, while flashing his aggression and getting downhill to finish with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in 26 minutes. There’s room for growth within the halfcourt efficiency as Jordan Geronimo, who is now 3-of-15 in his last three games, finished with three points while Donta Scott added nine points on 3-of-11 shooting and missed all five three-point attempts.
Still, Willard admitted the rotation was trimmed on Saturday, adding postgame that “it’s that time of year,” as Kaiser Jr. and Long accentuated their role and impact for Maryland. The Terps will need Kaiser Jr. and Long to sustain their outside shooting to alleviate pressure from Young and Reese, which could help Harris-Smith find more consistent offense in time.
Maryland keeps its postseason aspirations alive
It wasn’t long ago when Maryland was projected to travel to Virginia in an early NIT projection, and while there’s plenty of work to be done, this week added fuel to the fire as the program avoids a second missed postseason appearance in three seasons.
With the win, Maryland moves to 55th in the updated KenPom rankings and tied for fifth in the Big Ten, yet according to projection, has still less than a 2% chance to make the NCAA Tournament. With still half of conference play remaining, plenty can change, but Nebraska marked the last team to miss the NCAA Tournament despite a top-five Big Ten finish back in 2017-18 after finishing 22-11 (13-5).
Maryland is still just 3-6 in Quad One and Two games this season but gets a much-needed break before getting a chance to avenge its loss to Michigan State when they travel to East Lansing on Feb. 3., also a chance to add a Quad One win. There’s ample work to be done to firmly reenter the bubble conversation, but head coach Kevin Willard and his team will now look to stack wins.
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May 18, 2024