Going into Sunday, Maryland men’s basketball was tied at 318th in the country in three-point percentage. However, in its final home game of the season against No. 21 Northwestern, the Terps were just in an unreal rhythm all afternoon, shooting 14-22 from three.
On senior day in College Park, the Terps dominated the Wildcats 34-20 in the second half to win 75-59, finishing the season undefeated in conference home games.
The second half for Northwestern was more about shots not falling than sloppy play. The Wildcats shot 30.8% from the floor, and 1-9 from three as the looks just weren’t going down. It was a closing performance that just wasn’t good enough, as the Maryland defense was just too much.
Northwestern coach Chris Collins touched on how the Maryland defense made things difficult for his team.
“It’s one of those teams where you have to make plays, you gotta find the open areas,” Collins said. “It’s really hard for you to run a lot of sets against them because the way they switch.”
The performance from the three-point line was something that coach Kevin Willard had been looking for all season. The 14 made threes was a season-high for the Terps, and the thought of possibly sustaining this type of shooting could make the team dangerous in March.
“Our defense has enabled us to kind of get back to playing a lot faster than maybe December and January,” Willard said.
Every single Maryland starter scored in double figures, as four of the five starters had great performances on their senior day. Graduate student guard Jahmir Young led the way yet again with 18 points, making an impact scoring inside and on the perimeter, going 7-13 from the field. Senior guard Don Carey had one of his best games of the season with 13 points on 4-7 shooting from three. Senior guard Hakim Hart had 10 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and senior forward Donta Scott scored 11.
Defensively, Maryland silenced one of the best guards in the Big Ten in Northwestern’s senior guard Boo Buie. He had seven assists in the first half, but finished the game with four points on 1-9 shooting from the field with eight assists. Redshirt senior guard Chase Audige was the shooter relied on for points, finishing with 16 points and hitting some tough shots throughout.
“We wanted to get the ball out of [Buie’s] hands early, make it hard for him to get it back,” Willard said. “They run so many dribble handoffs that we took away the dribble handoffs, and I think he’s so good at that, he’s so good at turning the corner going to his right … I thought that was part of the reason he struggled.”
The game was a dog fight from the start, with both sides converting on the offensive end.
Maryland, the second-worst three-point shooting team in the Big Ten, started out 3-4 from downtown. Even junior guard Ian Martinez, who averages less than six points per game, knocked down his lone look from deep in the first half when his shot went around the rim and in off the backboard.
Audige had it going early in the first half, scoring 10 of Northwestern’s first 20 points in the game. He got in rhythm quickly, and was making shots off the dribble as well as catching and shooting from three, making four of his first six shots. An acrobatic drive and finish with his right put Audige in double figures and the Wildcats up 20-18 with just over ten minutes to go in the first half.
A 7-0 run got the Terps back in the mix, which was capped off by yet another three as Young dribbled between his legs at the top of the key before drilling a three as Maryland went up by two and stayed hot from three-point range.
With under five minutes left in the half, big time players made some impressive shots to keep things close. Maryland’s rapid defensive adjustments had disrupted Northwestern at times, but Audige came through again on the right wing to make a contested mid-range jumper to get within one. But this was followed by a backdoor cut from Young and a big left-handed dunk to go up 35-32 and put himself in double figures on his senior day.
To close out the half, the competitive spirit of the game heated up even more with a few lead changes. With under two minutes to go, Audige cashed in a one legged fadeaway from the free throw line to put the Wildcats up 39-38. In response, Young cashed in on the final shot of the half with a step back three at the buzzer to put Maryland up 41-39.
As the second half continued, the game started to slip away from Northwestern. In an eight-minute span, the Terps went on a 17-5 run to capitalize on the Wildcats going cold from the field while facing some matchup zone defense.
Maryland’s strong second half continued, and the veterans got a farewell moment with 1:18 remaining, when all of the seniors were on the court and got subbed off. The fans gave them all a standing ovation as each player got to have their final moment in front of the home crowd. Coach Willard also touched on the atmosphere at Xfinity Center after only losing once at home this season.
“I have to be honest I had to sit back every once in a while and just watch, cause it’s a fun place to play and fun place to watch the game.” Willard said.
The seniors and the rest of the Terps will look to close out the regular season strong on the road, starting with a matchup against Ohio State on Wednesday.
