Maryland opened the game facing a 12-2 deficit, but it’d mark the last time that Nebraska took control of Saturday’s game as the Terps secured a 73-51 win in the annual Black Out game at Xfinity. Maryland’s 51 points allowed is the fewest allowed all season and since last season’s 81-46 win vs. Minnesota. Maryland allowed 39 points over the final 35 minutes.
Jamie Kaiser Jr. set a career-high with 14 points in the win, including knocking down 4-of-5 threes, while Jahari Long added 11 points thanks to 3-of-4 shooting from deep. The duo’s 25 combined points marked the most bench points in a conference game since Jan. 21, 2022. Julian Reese notched his tenth double-double of the season, adding 15 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, while Donta Scott became the fifth Terp to record 1,500 points and 800 rebounds in his career. Jahmir Young, meanwhile, finished with 12 points on 5-of-15 shooting as Maryland is back at .500 in conference play.
Everything that Maryland head coach Kevin Willard, Jahari Long, Julian Reese and Jahmir Kaiser Jr. said after the win vs. Nebraska:
Willard on Maryland’s ability to generate points off offensive rebounds and turnovers
“With such a quick turnaround we told the guys like, Fred [Hoiberg] has a unique defense. I mean, they do a great job keeping you on one side of the floor, but the one thing that it does, it puts them on a lot [of] different matchups. We’ve been doing it all year. The way we’ve been shooting the basketball, it’s shoot and go get it and I thought Donta [Scott] and I thought obviously Jordan [Geronimo] and [Julian Reese] are great just keeping balls alive, especially in that first half.”
Willard on whether Maryland’s passing improved vs. Nebraska
“I felt for a while we’ve been getting better offensively and passing the basketball. Most of our turnovers against Michigan State, DeShawn [Harris-Smith] and Jahmir [Young] were off the bounce so it wasn’t off the pass. But yeah, I mean, this defense makes you whip the ball around because you just can’t keep it on one side. It just doesn’t work against them. That’s really the only thing we practiced yesterday ‘cause we didn’t have much time to practice.”
Willard on his reaction to Nebraska’s early 12-2 lead
“Jahari [Long] hit a big three that kind of relaxed everybody. We got in Thursday morning at three o’clock in the morning and we didn’t really practice on Thursday and because of class yesterday, we didn’t practice. We just had two walkthroughs…and every time I’ve done that with this team, they’ve come out and struggled a little bit. I really wasn’t that worried about and I know they were getting open threes, but it was only a matter of time till we kind of picked up our defensive intensity. I mean, we’re [the] number one defensive team in the Big Ten and it’s not even close right now. I think it’s almost like three whole points on KenPom. I think we’re down the 11th in the country. So as bad as we’ve been offensively for these guys that come out and play the defense they have just tells you something about the character of these kids.”
Willard on Maryland’s season-high 25 points off the bench
“Jamie’s kind of going through it as a freshman. Me and him had a little conversation during the game at Iowa. It really wasn’t a conversation. It was a one-way…I’ve really never yelled at him or DeShawn because they’re freshmen but Jamie was plus-nine with six minutes to go in the game and he was sulking on the bench and I needed him in the game. And so I had a little bit of a conversation with him about how well he’s playing, how well he’s played and that eventually I said my man, eventually you’re going to make a shot. And when you do, it’s going to be over. And Jahari has been playing really good all year. It’s just, he’s been consistent. So those two guys, the bench got short tonight just because it’s that time of year.”
Kaiser Jr. on the conversation with Willard during the Iowa game
“He talked to me during the game and then I approached them during the week and I was just telling him like my offense hasn’t been clicking all year pretty much but I want to do everything I can to help the team win whether that be grabbing rebounds, extra possessions, offensive, rebounds, getting steals, just picking the energy up for my team. And he said, yeah, keep doing that but just keep shooting. I have complete and total confidence and I really appreciate that from him and I’m just glad it happened today.”
Willard on the impact Saturday’s win could have on the rest of Big Ten play
“I’ve been saying all along, this team’s going to get better and better as the season goes on. What we saw in November wasn’t even close to what we’re going to, and I still think that we’re going to get better. Offensively, we’re going to get better and if we continue to play defense the way we’re playing, I’ll play against anybody.”
Willard on whether he altered the gameplan to begin second half
“That’s why I didn’t call time out. It’s just [a] tough week. Sunday, noon. Wednesday, travel…Saturday, noon. I knew that they just needed some time to wake up. The same thing happening against Michigan State…just wake up and just let them get going.”
Willard on how Maryland’s confidence has grown since the start of the season
“I think our freshmen are playing at a very, very high level, especially defensively. They were lost at the beginning of the season. Jordan was lost from a defensive standpoint. We only had three guys that really knew what they were doing defensively. So I think what I’ve seen mostly is that these guys have really picked up what we’re trying to do defensively. And DeShawn and Jamie are no longer hurting us. They are actually helping us tremendously. They’re both smart defenders. Jahari’s helping us defensively where at the beginning of the season, which I kind of saw coming was this is not a complicated defense, but it’s also not just a strictly man to man defense. You’ve gotta let guys make mistakes because it’s the only way they’re gonna learn the right rotations. And we were making a lot of mistakes at the beginning of the year. And now we’re hardly making any on the defensive end.”
Willard on the impact of the bench production on Jahmir Young’s reliance
“We’re still going to rely on Jahmir. Obviously he didn’t have the best night but that little dude’s been doing…he’s been balling. I think for him, he relaxes a little bit, especially at home. He loves playing at home. He’s got a lot of family, lot of friends, but it does take him a little time at home to kind of relax. So I think when other guys kind of start getting going, it really helps him get going offensively where on the road, he kind of takes it on himself to get everyone else going. I think at home, he almost defers to other guys and so I think those guys coming in and making shots just kind of helped him relax a little bit.”
Long on Maryland’s lopsided win without Jahmir Young dominating
“It means a lot. I think we did a great job rebounding the basketball, we controlled the glass. And we did a great job shooting and I think it’s all starting to come together. The main thing I always just tell myself is how can I help like [Julian] and the older players. I think the easiest way is just making shots and being the best I can defensively. So I think it’s all starting to come together. I’m just finding ways to be aggressive and make plays. So I think we’ll be just fine.”
Willard on how Maryland held Iowa without a made FG for 5+ min, then Nebraska for final 7+ min
“Again, it’s these guys kind of, they really understand what we’re trying to do. And again like DeShawn and Jamie for being as young as they are and in today’s college basketball, what they’ve picked up on scouting reports, what we’re trying to do on certain guys. Like I said, they don’t make mistakes anymore…in November and December where we had major break, like Indiana. Some of the things we did at Indiana were crazy. I went back and watched that film. It just doesn’t happen anymore. So now that we’re able to get a steal, we’re able to get a layup, we’re able to score off our defense cause we’re still gonna. We’re never going to be pretty on the offense but we have so many less breakdowns. Like when we go watch film on Monday, we’ll watch our defensive breakdowns. In the last four or five game, it’s like five or six clips, even when teams score it’s because they’re earning it. I just think everyone’s really locked in on what we’re doing. I think they understand what we have to do to win. They’ve bought into it. We’re just not having as many breakdowns, to be honest with you. It’s just as simple as that.”
Willard on whether Jahari Long gets starting lineup consideration
“No.”
Reese on what Maryland did differently after Nebraska opened ahead 12-2
“Just taking away their strength, three pointers. They were hitting a lot of threes, getting a lot of open through these, even when we fought back into the game. Just cutting that off. It’s pretty easy from there.”
Reese on how Maryland’s bench production helps the team
“It helps us in a big way. Especially for their confidence coming off the bench and being able to contribute like they did and be able to hit shots. It’s just good for their confidence and good for the games going into next week.”
Jahari Long on his two early threes
“I just trusted myself. Every day we work on shooting. Every day I come into the gym and shoot so the main thing was just coming in, being confident. That’s what the coaches tell me all the time. So that’s all I was. I was just more confident than ever.”
Kaiser Jr. on his role off the bench
“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.”
Long on what’s clicked for him offensively
“Just the confidence, just the coach is talking to me. The assistant coaches, they’ve been telling me to trust myself because I do it every day in practice. I’m a confident player in practice. They told me just be confident in the game. So that’s what I’ve been able to do.”
Kaiser Jr. on how Maryland’s defense has progressed
“I think as a team that’s been our, really our thing because we struggled scoring the ball early. So we just hung our hat on defense all year. And now that the offense is clicking, we’re really starting to see how good we can be. Personally [it] took me a while to get used to the defense. All my teammates know that. But I’ve been really getting used to it and picking it up and the games becoming a little easier for me now.”
Kaiser Jr. on hearing fans chant for him during Saturday’s win
“Probably one besides the day I got here. It’s just really exciting because not only them, but my teammates were also cheering me on to. That just shows how selfless of a team we have and I think that’s going to continue to carry on throughout the season.”
Reese on Maryland ending the first half on a 16-2 run
“Just staying to our principles and getting after their guys. That ten-second call kind of got us riled up and we kind of got momentum that way. And then after the fact we had that lead going into the half, we tried to just keep our foot on their neck because we really weren’t in that position all season during conference and we just try to stay on top of and just kept our foot on the gas.”
Reese on Maryland’s dominance on the glass
“That’s definitely a point of emphasis with this team, especially since we’re not really the tallest team, but we try to play the most hard and just try to take care of rebounding and the little things like that and sometimes that determines later on in the game in the like rebounding, the second chance points. That can be the decider of the game down the stretch.”
Reese on whether Maryland’s three-point shooting opened the post
“Nebraska kind of has like an unorthodox post defense where they just stay on top and just have a guy in help. We scouted that and we were able to hit a lot of threes and that was good for us.”
Reese on being able to share the spotlight with Jamie Kaiser Jr., Jahari Long
“It’s a great thing seeing with these guys and [we were] just joking [about it] in the locker room when he got called him for media ‘cause they didn’t really don’t come in here like that. And it’s just a great feeling for them. It’s just a great thing.”
Reese on the win heading into the week-long break
“It’s definitely a great feeling but in the back of your head, you know you don’t want to be that team that lets a team come back and win. That was being emphasized in the huddle, just to keep our foot on their necks and we did and just a great overall win going into the break and I feel like we earned this break we have.”
Kaiser Jr. on limiting Keisei Tominaga and Rienk Mast
“The scout, we watched the film when they played last game. And he was hitting everything and they just kept going to him going to him and we thought that he was going to do the same thing at the beginning of this game and we really shut him down. Ju did a great job on him and, number 30, he didn’t really get off either. We were just making them take tough twos. Just try to let them take as many tough twos as possible.”
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