No. 25 Maryland men’s basketball gets 101-75 win over Iowa behind second-half surge

Photo courtesy of Maryland Terrapins

If the first half of a basketball game could be compared to a boxing match, it would be the first 20 minutes of Sunday’s game between Maryland (20-6, 10-5 Big Ten) and Iowa (14-11, 6-9).

Both teams continued to land shot after shot, regardless of how tight the defense was. If either team started to pull away, the other would respond with a scoring run. 

The Terps, as they’ve done all season long, had a strong first half, scoring 47 points. Their average of 41.5 points per first half coming into Sunday ranked fourth in the nation and was the best mark for any Big Ten team in the last 15 years. They entered halftime shooting over 56% from the floor and 61.5% from three.

However, their defense had no answers for the Hawkeyes, who scored 51, shooting 57% from the floor and three. It was the first time the Terps let up over 50 points in the first half all season and just the third time they let up more than 40. It was also the first time they trailed at half since Northwestern on Jan. 16. 

“We knew they were going to score a lot on us in the first half,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “That’s what you get from a Fran McCaffery team, he’s probably one of the best offensive coaches in the country.”

The difference in the efforts came in the turnover battle. The Terps were sloppy and gave the ball away 11 times compared to Iowa’s five. The Hawkeyes capitalized on almost all of them, spearheaded by the Sandfort brothers, Payton and Pryce. The former was named to the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Midseason Top 10 on Feb. 5, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The latter provided 15 points off the bench. 

“I told the guys at halftime that we’re only down four when we should be down 20,” Willard said. “So let’s just get in our press, get in zone, and mix it up a little bit.”

Willard’s strategy worked, as everything changed in the second half. The Terps came out of the locker room firing, quickly going on an 8-0 run and brought the energy in Xfinity back to a max. 

All in attendance were waiting on what had been happening all game, for the Hawkeyes to respond with a punch back. That punch never came.

The Terps would outscore the Hawkeyes by 30 in the final 20 minutes, 54-24, featuring at one point a 23-4 run. After hitting eight from long range in the first half, the Hawkeyes didn’t convert a single three-point attempt in the second half.

On the other side, there wasn’t a single Maryland starter who seemed capable of missing: with 15:14 remaining in the game, all five of them had reached double-digit points. Only six points were scored off the bench, courtesy of Jordan Geronimo. In the two games this week, those six points were the only points to come off the bench. 

“We all score a lot of points, the starting five, so they can’t double team or overhelp,” said Ja’kobi Gillespie. “I feel like we help each other out in that way.”

The scoring effort was led by Gillespie, who finished the day with 26 points, five rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. The guard shot 11-for-14 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from three and was grinning after each make. 

“Jakobi’s one of the best scorers in this league,” Willard said. “I think ever since the Washington game, he’s started to really figure out when to push it and when not to. He’s playing great.”

As per usual, the frontcourt duo of Derik Queen and Julian Reese was dominant, both recording a double-double. After a quiet first half that featured just four points, Queen flipped a switch and finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Reese notched 16 points and 12 rebounds. 

The Terps broke their record for points in a Big Ten game this season, 91 against Illinois on Jan. 23, with over four minutes remaining in the game.

After nearly breaking Iowa’s spirit completely, the Terps were victorious, 101-75. It’s the third time this season eclipsing the 100-point mark.

After being ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll last Monday, the Terps left their mark this week with two impressive wins, hoping to see a major jump when new rankings are released tomorrow. Until then, the Terps finally get to rest, as they’ll be at home for the rest of February. They’ll take the court again on Thursday against USC.