Maryland men’s basketball looks to solve road woes against struggling UCLA

Maryland men’s basketball met UCLA in the Xfinity Center last year for an early season top 25 matchup in front of a sold-out student section. Excitement was building in College Park after the Terps won their first eight games in year one of the Kevin Willard era.

But the building was silenced right away. The Bruins were dominant from start to finish in a wire-to-wire 87-60 win — the Terps’ largest margin of defeat in the Xfinity Center since it was built.

Friday’s matchup comes with much different circumstances. There was potential for another ranked matchup this year after both Maryland and UCLA fell just outside of the preseason AP top 25 poll. But both teams have sputtered out of the gate to open this season. 

The Terps have won six of seven after a 1-3 start, but were pushed to the final buzzer by 4-7 Nicholls on Tuesday, narrowly escaping a catastrophic upset.

The Bruins weren’t as lucky — their nation-best 29-game home winning streak was snapped by Cal State Northridge on Tuesday in a game they never led after it was 2-0 less than three minutes in. The loss — UCLA’s third straight — dropped Mick Cronin’s squad to 5-5. The Bruins played top 15 teams Marquette and Gonzaga close but have yet to secure a win over a power conference opponent.

UCLA had high expectations for the 2023-24 season despite losing four starters from a team that reached the Sweet Sixteen last year — it was picked to finish third in the preseason Pac-12 media poll. Cronin brought in a strong freshman class, led by 7-foot-3 five-star Aday Mara.

But the Bruins have struggled to find their stride so far, with the Terps up next.

Willard expressed his displeasure with Maryland’s schedule following his team’s win over Nicholls. After a late game time Tuesday, his team had just two days off ahead of UCLA, with one of the days consisting of a cross-country flight.

“I would’ve liked to not play at 8:30 tonight when we have to travel tomorrow, but I don’t think the Big Ten really cares about that,” Willard said.

Long flights across the country will become the norm beginning next season, with four Pac-12 teams — including UCLA — joining the Big Ten. Friday’s matchup between the Terps and Bruins will be a non-conference game for the last time in the foreseeable future. 

The road has not been kind to Maryland, and a well-over 2,000-mile trip doesn’t make things any easier. The Terps have lost all four of their games away from home this season, with double-digit losses in both of their true road matchups. They’re just 2-11 on the road under Willard.

Maryland will need its veterans to step up in the trip to Los Angeles. Donta Scott is one of two fifth years on the Terps’ roster, but he’s struggled this season with a field goal conversion rate under 40 percent.

But Scott gave Maryland a big performance when both he and the team needed it most. The forward drained four looks from three-point range in a 15-point, seven-rebound performance.

Scott’s showing came as no surprise to Willard, who said Scott was the Terps’ best player in practice last week.

“I just wanted him to focus on being the Donta Scott who plays hard, runs the floor, gets rebounds … does some things that really help the team,” Willard said.

Maryland will likely need more of the same from Scott moving forward. It has relied heavily on Jahmir Young and Julian Reese but will need more production from the supporting cast in order to change the outlook on its season.

A win over UCLA may not be the resume-booster it typically is, but beating a big brand on the road would go a long way in building momentum ahead of Maryland’s clash with No. 1 Purdue in College Park on Jan 2. 

Tip-off is set for 9:00 p.m. from the Pauley Pavilion on Friday.