Maryland men’s basketball battled to the final second Sunday in a gritty 76-75 win over Villanova at Prudential Center.
There were nine lead changes in the game’s closing six minutes, with both teams repeatedly hitting clutch shots and free throws. Maryland looked like a different team in the closing 20 minutes after a slow start had it down double-digits at halftime.
Here are three takeaways from the contest.
Terps were disjointed early and determined late
The Terps came out slow and went down early as a result. Four turnovers and 3-of-10 shooting in the game’s first six-and-a-half minutes — paired with excellent play from Villanova graduate forward Eric Dixon — had the Terps trailing by 10.
Shooting struggles that have plagued Maryland under head coach Kevin Willard once more gave it fits. The team was 11-of-27 from the field and 2-of-10 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
Derik Queen was a force in the second half, but it took him some time to get there. He recorded just four first-half points and turned the ball over the same amount of times, including two travels.
Maryland’s 12-point halftime deficit would have been even bigger if not for strong play by Julian Reese. He was a saving grace offensively in the paint, scoring 11 first-half points and salvaging multiple otherwise-unsuccessful possessions.
The Terps put together a 17-3 run in the second half to take a lead with 8:46 left in the game. But that was far from the end of action. The lead changed teams four times in the final two minutes. It was a down-to-the-wire affair, with both teams capitalizing on nearly every opportunity down the stretch.
Battle of big men
Villanova’s clear-cut best player was Dixon. The sixth-year graduate forward was stellar all night long. He scored 10 of Villanova’s first 15 points and nailed his first three 3-point attempts, ending the first half 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
And while he faced more resistance in the second half, he was still the key piece of the Wildcats’ offense and their go-to scorer down the stretch. Dixon was responsible for Villanova’s final 11 points, and was given the ball for a potential game-winner as time expired.
He racked up a career-high 38 points on 15-of-29 shooting. He was also 5-for-11 from 3-point range, the only player in the game with double-digit attempts from such distance.
But Maryland’s big man duo was plenty effective in their own right. Queen bounced back from a lackluster first half to become the Terps’ offensive focal point in the second.
“He was a little bit too lackadaisical, a little bit too cool in the first half,” Willard said. “He got a little pissed off in second half. And when he plays that way, he’s as good as anybody there is.”
The freshman big man exploded for 18 points and six rebounds — four of them offensive — in the second half, including scoring Maryland’s final four points. He drained two free throws with 19 seconds left to give the Terps a one-point lead they never relinquished.
Reese was also key on both ends of the court. He finished with 18 points, 10 boards and two blocks.
The Reese-Queen duo looked to be the most in sync they’ve been all year. The ball movement between the pair was smooth — something it hasn’t been previously — and led to open looks for both players. That’s a formula Maryland can, and should, continue to replicate going forward.
Terps decidedly proved they aren’t a fluke
Maryland fans had a lot to feel good about following a 78-74 loss to No. 15 Marquette. The Terps looked like a team that could confidently spar with the country’s top teams. But, down 12 at halftime against their second high-major opponent, they needed to avoid letting that game against Marquette be an outlier.
And that’s exactly what they did. With its backs to the wall, Maryland looked like a new team and dominated the final 20 minutes — against a team that blew it out a season ago — in order to pull out a key nonconference victory.
The Terps proved Sunday they have a sustainable formula to win games against good teams — and are able to fight back late. That wasn’t something Maryland, an awful shooting team, could do last season. What’s more, Sunday’s win came outside of Xfinity Center. Maryland was 5-11 last season away from home.
Maryland is for real this year. It erased any doubts of that against the Wildcats.
