Beyond Sunday’s bout with Old Dominion, Maryland men’s basketball has nothing but Big Ten opponents on slate. That’s just one of the reasons why snapping its three-game losing skid was so essential.
And the Terps capitalized on the opportunity, forging some serious momentum before Big Ten play erupts. Maryland stuffed the first-half stat sheet with 10 threes and 12 assists despite being without Pharrel Payne.
With the offense operating at a speed that looked like it was shot out of a cannon, Maryland
soared to a 73-58 victory. Despite some second half hiccups, the Terps are back above .500 on the season.
It was an outright barrage to open the contest. Just four minutes in, Maryland had already sprung out to a 13-0 lead — and that advantage was chiseled in multiple ways.
The Terps were quick to erupt on fast breaks, with an Andre Mills steal leading to an and-one slam for Isaiah Watts — the Washington State transfer made his first start in a Terp uniform Sunday.
Maryland’s aggressiveness in penetrating the paint created openings across the court. Of the team’s first 13 points, six came on 3-pointers.
The Terps tallied 17 points before Old Dominion scored one. The Monarchs missed their first seven shots from the field, and two of those attempts were rejected by a Maryland defender.
Without Payne’s excellence as a post option, the Terps spread their offense around the perimeter. The ensuing ball movement resulted in seven assists on Maryland’s first eight baskets.
The Terps have struggled with turnover issues at times to start the season, but it took them 14 minutes before they gave away possession Sunday. This helped them maintain rhythm, especially from beyond the arc.
Through the first 15 minutes, Maryland launched 15 3-pointers and sank six — its well-spaced offense meant a majority of those shots were uncontested.
Maryland outscored the Monarchs, 22-6, in the final eight minutes of the half. In that span, head coach Buzz Williams’ faith in Watts was vindicated.
Making his first start of the year, Watts reminded Terps fans of the outside shooting ability that made him such an attractive feature in the transfer portal. In the first half, he buried four threes on five attempts and scored a team-high 17 points.
Maryland entered the second half with a 45-18 lead.
The Terps’ aggressiveness didn’t falter returning from the locker room. Though Old Dominion racked up seven points in the first three minutes of the second half, Solomon Washington responded with a fiery steal and feisty windmill slam on the other end.
But the Monarchs didn’t go away so easily. They whittled the deficit down to 20 points with 14 minutes left to play. And it wasn’t so much Old Dominion’s firepower that dominated the action up and down the court, but rather Maryland’s sudden inability to score.
Approaching the midway point in the half, the Terps embarked on a six-minute stretch without a made field goal, going 0-of-7 in that span.
Maryland found a way to temporarily steady the ship. Myles Rice and Washington got some easy buckets, and Elijah Saunders sank the team’s only 3-pointer of the half to put things at ease.
But the Terps’ inability to adjust the offense when things went sour from deep could be cause for concern as long as Payne is out. The operation became discombobulated, and the Terps losing the rebounding battle 24-17 in the second half didn’t help things.
A late 9-0 run cut the Terps’ lead to as small as 12, but Maryland was never in jeopardy of losing its final nonconference game of the campaign.
Three things to know
1. A different strategy. Maryland attempted 29 3-pointers Sunday night, an uptick from its season average of 25. Instead of paint mashing and foul drawing, the Terps made their mark from deep, particularly in their explosive first half. It will be interesting to see if Williams opts for a pacier attack in conference play, even with the looming return of Payne.
2. Defensive guards. Mills and Watts’ significant impact Sunday wasn’t just limited to offense. Defensively, Mills notched one block and three steals, while Watts came through with two blocks. The Terps’ energy on that side of the ball was palpable all evening.
3. No bench. Maryland didn’t register a single point off the bench throughout the entire first half — Rice and Diggy Coit only took one shot each in the first 20 minutes. In the second half, just seven bench points were scored. The Terps will need more activity from their reserves in Big Ten play.
