Preview: Maryland men’s basketball in pursuit of 3-0 start in matchup against Binghamton

Maryland men’s basketball (2-0) prepares to close out its stretch of home games to open up the season with a matchup against Binghamton (2-0). 

New coach Kevin Willard has led the Terps to two dominating wins at home to begin the 2022-23 season. In those games, the Terps have shown their ability to win in different aspects on the floor. 

Against Western Carolina, Maryland drastically improved its interior defense after surrendering 34 of 49 points in the paint to Niagara on opening night. In its second game of the season, Maryland limited the Catamounts to only 20 points down low for the entire game. 

“I got a group of guys that are doing exactly what I’m asking them to do,” Willard said. “They’re playing hard, they’re playing together, they have a great attitude, they’re doing exactly what i’m asking them to do.”

Sophomore forward Julian Reese scored a career-best 19 points and 12 rebounds, and senior guard Jahmir Young stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, five rebounds and two blocks. 

The recent emergence of Reese gave the Terps a much needed boost in their interior defense and low-post offense.

Young, a Charlotte transfer, was given the keys to Willard’s offense and has showcased his ability to score inside and out through two games for the Terps. Still, it will take time to get fully acclimated with his teammates.

“We’re definitely still learning, but I feel like we’re making progress every game,” Young said. “I feel like in practice we get up and down a lot and compete a lot which also helps. But I feel like during the games, just tryna let every guy touch it, find their rhythm as the game goes on and just play together.”

Maryland embodied Willard’s offensive identity of running the floor and scoring in transition. Western Carolina’s 17 turnovers led to easy looks in transition, often forcing the Catamounts to foul.

The Terps had an off night shooting from three and at times appeared to get trigger happy, a much different outcome from opening night when the Terps shot at an impressive 45% clip. However, Willard remained confident in his team and its ability to shoot beyond the arch.

“Let it fly, it’s who we are,” Willard said. “We’re gonna have to shoot the ball … when your team plays as hard as those guys are playing, I’m not gonna tell them anything besides go hoop.”

An area where the Terps must improve upon is their rebounding. Maryland made strides in that department after the first half against Niagara, but the Terps have been out-rebounded by eight on the offensive glass so far this season. 

Binghamton entered this season off a 12-17 2021-22 campaign with first-year coach Levell Sanders. Sanders was promoted from assistant coach and led the Bearcats to the program’s highest conference win total in 12 years, and a winning conference road record for the first time in 13 years.

This season, Binghamton is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.

The Bearcats have excelled at shooting from deep so far, with an impressive 37% clip from behind the arc. Last season, they shot just over 35% from three.

In its previous game against Marist, Binghamton narrowly edged out a win on the road. The Bearcats capitalized on their sharp shooting and 10 rebound advantage to come out on top, 78-75.

The Bearcats leading scorer from last season, guard Jacob Falko, returned for his senior year and has gotten off to a hot start shooting the ball. Falko notched 19 points against Marist with three connects from deep, and through two games this season, leads the Bearcats in steals and assists. Falko’s 13.5 points per game ranks second on Binghamton, behind only graduate student Miles Gibson. 

Gibson totaled 19 points against Marist after an 11-point season opener. The 6-foot-6 forward often plays around the perimeter, regularly attempting long-range shots. Gibson shot 2-8 from behind the arc in the first two games.

Maryland will look to build off its exceptional defensive performance last time out and improve to 3-0 at home.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m at the XFINITY Center in College Park.