Amid Baba Oladotun’s long-awaited commitment to Maryland Wednesday evening, Maryland men’s basketball took the court at Xfinity Center for a clash with Mount St. Mary’s.
Though the Mountaineers pushed the game to overtime, the Terps ultimately handled its in-state foe, defeating Mount St. Mary’s, 95-90.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
An all-time Diggy Coit performance
Basketball can be unfriendly to smaller players. But for Diggy Coit, who is listed at a generous 5-foot-11, basketball has been extremely friendly over the past
few contests. Against Marquette, Coit logged 19 points and five assists, catching fire from beyond the 3-point line.
But Wednesday against Mount St. Mary’s, the senior blew past that output, tallying a whopping 41 points — tied for the third-most by a Terp ever.
Coit’s success as a player starts and ends with his shooting ability. He has a proclivity for step-backs and fadeaways, both from the midrange and deep. As a smaller player, it allows him enough space to get shots off, and it’s provided some highlight-reel moves on defenders.
But Coit’s ability to run the floor effectively has been arguably more important from a team perspective. His smoothness with the ball in his hands has quelled some concerns about a true ball-handler on a Maryland team that features a slew of two-guards.
Coit is also a slick passer and reads the floor well — he had a nice dish to Andre Mills on a fast break resulting in a dunk. He’s a college veteran, and his experience across multiple levels has made the game slow down a bit. Expect Coit’s mark of three assists Wednesday to improve as the weeks pass.
The way Coit ended the game, however, is up there in the annals of all-time clutch Maryland performances. He knocked down difficult shot after difficult shot — highlighted by the 3-pointer to force overtime and a clutch poke-away in overtime to give the Terps back possession. It’s no understatement to say that Coit singlehandedly won the Terps the game.
“Every night it’s gonna be somebody different,” Coit said. “Every night it’s gonna be somebody else scoring or making a play. So I just try my best to make the right play.”
Maryland’s lack of size without Pharrel Payne showed
After suffering a brutal fall Saturday at Marquette, Payne was sidelined for Wednesday’s contest. But that meant the Terps were tasked with playing an entire 40 minutes without the big man — and some issues were glaring.
Head coach Buzz Williams’ decision to start Northeastern transfer Collin Metcalf at center backfired quickly. The senior quickly missed a few looks right around the rim before committing an illegal screen. He was pulled promptly from the game less than two minutes into it — freshman Aleks Alston took his place.
Metcalf looked slow, seemingly unable to keep pace with the flow on the court, even against a low-major opponent. His limited athleticism and jumping ability hindered him on the glass, and though he was one of the nation’s blocks leaders last season with the Huskies, he recorded only one block Wednesday night.
But Maryland’s rebounding issues were greater than just Metcalf. The whole team had problems on the glass: Maryland lost the rebounding battle, 37-35, and the defensive rebounding contest, 25-22.
A compelling storyline with Payne out was Elijah Saunders’ chance to become more of a factor around the rim. But while the big man scored 14 points on the evening, his shooting left much to be desired. He followed up an 11-point first half by not scoring in the second. His late 3-pointer in overtime suggests, however, that he’s still willing to shoot — even from deep — and that has the potential to pay massive dividends.
Saunders was most effective on physical drives, and though he missed a few layups, he did create contact and draw a number of fouls near the hoop. He will need to continue to polish his game and discern the appropriate times to unleash from 3-point range.
“First half, I felt I was just being more aggressive,” Saunders said. ”Second half, I was really just settling for threes.“
A troublesome, but relieving finish
Maryland led by eight at the half and built a 12-point lead, but that was short lived. A rapid 13-1 run just before the 10-minute mark of the second half, which was followed by Arlandus Keyes’ three consecutive 3-pointers, ultimately gave the Mountaineers a six-point advantage with just under eight minutes to play.
It was Coit who had to save the day — he hit two consecutive 3-pointers and got himself to the line to make it a one-point game. But the Terps’ lack of size and willpower on the defensive glass allowed the Mountaineers frequent extra possessions down the stretch.
The two teams traded daggers in the final two minutes — an Andre Mills offensive rebound off a Darius Adams’ missed free throw led to a wide-open Isaiah Watts make, but Xavier Lipscomb answered right back with a triple. The Terps’ defense appeared discombobulated and out-of-sorts on the possession, as the Mountaineers simply skipped the ball around the court to find the open man.
Coit rescued the Terps for the first time on Maryland’s last play of regulation, draining an extremely sudden deep 3-pointer. But his heroics in overtime were even more indicative of a player on a heater. The difficulty of shots he drained was absolutely sensational, making another three and a Kobe-esque midrange fadeaway.
In the period, he was a perfect 2-of-2 from the field, and also an unblemished 2-of-2 from the free throw line.
While Maryland fans likely aren’t thrilled with just how close the game was, they’re sure to be pleased with the team’s recent ability to pull out clutch-time victories — and discover diamonds for players in the process.
“I know that a lot of people think, like, when you’re in the zone, you think about your shots, but we got to win this game. That’s all I’m thinking about,” Coit said.
