Maryland men’s basketball (15-7, 6-5 Big Ten) will be on the road in Minneapolis to take on Minnesota (7-14, 1-10 Big Ten) Saturday night, as it looks to win its fourth-straight game.
The Terps have been on a roll as of late, coming off of a three-game homestand in which they went undefeated. The last game was the team’s biggest, beating No. 21 Indiana 66-55 for its third win against a ranked opponent this season.
The big question going into the game was how coach Kevin Willard was going to look to contain junior forward Trayce Jackson-Davis. The Terps didn’t manage to stop his presence on the boards, as he grabbed 20 rebounds with five of them on the offensive end.
But they held Jackson-Davis, who had been averaging 25.4 points per game in the five games prior, to 18 points on 7-13 shooting from the field. The rest of the offense really struggled against the Maryland defense, shooting 37.5% from the field and 27.3% from three, and turning the ball over 12 times.
Maryland’s offense had three double-digit scorers, nearly having two players put up more than 20 points. Graduate student guard Jahmir Young continued his hot streak as of late, scoring 20 points and getting six rebounds, his fifth game with more than 20 points in the last seven games. Senior forward Donta Scott had an impressive showing, scoring his most points in a game since November with 19 points to help out on offense.
“I think he’s back to slowing down a little bit, I think he’s enjoying the physicality,” Willard said in reference to Scott’s offensive consistency. “He’s been really really good at just understanding the game plan attack.”
Sophomore forward Julian Reese had an all-around performance that was one of his best of the season. Reese notched his third double-double of the season, putting up 10 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks. He also played solid defense against Jackson-Davis.
“Ever since he’s gotten healthy and got back into a rhythm, we’ve been a really good basketball team,” Willard said. “He’s been doing it man, he’s been awesome.”
Maryland will look for success on the road against Minnesota, something that hasn’t been easy this season as it is just 1-5 away from the XFINITY Center.
Minnesota sits in last place in the Big Ten this season, entering on a six-game losing streak.
Minnesota has had trouble on offense all year, as it ranks last in the Big Ten in offense, second-to-last in team field goal percentage, and second-to-last in team three-point percentage.
Sophomore forward Dawson Garcia is the team’s best performer this season, as the leading scorer and leading rebounder, averaging 14.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. He’ll be the scorer that the Terps need to stop on Saturday.
Minnesota also has two others that average in double figures, junior forward Jamison Battle and junior guard Ta’lon Cooper, so the Terps cannot only hone in on Garcia.
The game will start at 9 p.m. and will tip off at the Williams Arena.
