The Maryland men’s basketball team (12-14 overall, 4-11 Big Ten) snapped its five-game losing streak with a 90-74 win against Nebraska (7-19, 1-14) on Friday, Feb. 18, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Graduate guard Fatts Russell explained the significance of this win for the Terps.
“It only takes one win to get going. I felt like this one was pretty good,” Russell said. “… I feel like we’re building momentum at the right time.”
Here are eight observations from the Terps’ road win.
1. Julian Reese played a solid first half.
The freshman center came out firing Feb. 18. After Maryland trailed by a tight margin several times throughout the first half, Reese was pivotal in giving the Terps the lead. The Baltimore native led the Terps with 13 first-half points, shooting 4-for-5 from the field and 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. He also had three rebounds.
Reese started with a pair of free throws, and then a jumper in the paint put Maryland within three points of Nebraska (17-14). Not long after, Reese made a layup, forced a foul and made the ensuing free throw to give the Terps a 21-19 lead.
Reese re-entered the game with less than five minutes remaining in the first half. He immediately made a layup, which placed him beyond his previous career high of 11 points. However, Reese had zero points in the second half and fouled out with a few minutes remaining.
2. Maryland struggled with deep shots but did well in the paint and forced turnovers.
Maryland’s season-long struggles from deep reappeared against the Cornhuskers. The Terps finished the first half 1-for-9 (11 percent) from behind the arc. The lone make came from Russell.
Meanwhile, Nebraska shot 4-for-9 (44 percent) deep.
Despite struggling with deep shots, Maryland only turned the ball over once in the first half. The Terps scored 24 paint points in the first half compared to Nebraska’s 12.
The second half was not much different, with Maryland making three 3-pointers and posting 22 paint points. Threes came from Russell (one) and graduate guard Xavier Green (two).
Maryland also forced 12 turnovers in the game, which Russell believes was crucial to winning.
“We hang [our hat] on the defensive end. That’s what Maryland basketball is. We defend at a high level,” Russell said.
3. Fatts Russell had another strong performance.
Russell picked up where he left off against Purdue Feb. 13. The Rhode Island transfer scored Maryland’s first basket of the game, a pull-up jumper.
Russell had a quiet patch toward the middle of the first half. However, he began to make some noise toward the end of the first half. He made three layups during the final three minutes of the first half. One occurred on the fast break off of a Nebraska turnover. The basket gave Maryland a two-point lead (42-40).
As “air ball” chants echoed throughout the arena, Russell drained a 3-pointer in the first few seconds of the second half. The basket gave the Terps an early five-point lead (45-40).
Russell finished the game with a team-high 23 points.
“I decided on being more aggressive offensively,” Russell said of his offensive burst. “Me and [interim coach Danny Manning] have been talking a lot, and he felt like I needed to be more aggressive, so that’s what I’ve been doing.”
4. Maryland’s starters started the first half slowly …
Nebraska jumped out to an early 19-14 lead, but junior center Qudus Wahab started the game strong, scoring the Terps’ second basket of the game nearly three minutes after the start on a dunk that junior forward Donta Scott assisted.
After missing a few shots, Wahab snagged an offensive rebound and converted a second-chance dunk. The basket put the Terps within two points of the Cornhuskers (8-6). He finished the first half with six points.
Scott and junior guard Hakim Hart combined for nine points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field in the half. Green started his second consecutive game instead of senior guard Eric Ayala. He finished the first half with zero points.
5. … but they had a more robust second-half performance.
Scott scored Maryland’s second basket of the second half, a jumper in the paint. The Philadelphia native sparked a 12-5 run for the Terps that allowed them to claim a quick 54-45 lead. He had six of those points.
Scott had a memorable early basket within that run. After Nebraska turned the ball over, Russell snagged the ball and sprinted down the court. He immediately passed the ball to Scott, who dunked the ball:
Six Terps concluded the game in double figures: Russell (23), Hart (13), Reese (13), Scott (13), Wahab (10) and sophomore guard Ian Martinez (10).
“Going into the Big Ten Conference, you need as many in a good rhythm as possible,” Russell said. “We talked about it. We’re all on the same page. We’re just trying to find our rhythm, find some type of flow and just build momentum going into this Big Ten tournament.”
6. Eric Ayala returned.
After missing the Feb. 13 game against Purdue with a wrist injury, Ayala returned to the lineup against Nebraska. However, the senior guard did not start.
Ayala had a quiet performance, finishing with only two points. His only two points came off of a pair of free throws in the first half.
“His presence down the stretch, making sure we got the ball to the right guys, was really big for us,” interim head coach Danny Manning said of Ayala’s return. “He was a calming factor for us. … Having him out there kind of settled us down.”
7. Ian Martinez exhibited strong energy in the second half.
Martinez contributed to the Terps’ second-half surge. About midway through the first half, Martinez slapped the ball out of Nebraska’s junior guard Trey McGowens’ hands and sprinted down the court. He jumped and dunked the ball:
“I’ve done it before, but right now, it really felt good,” Martinez said regarding the dunk.
Martinez did it again seconds later. Once again, the Utah transfer stole the ball and scored a layup on the fast break. He had one more dunk in the final minute of the game.
Martinez had a strong game, both offensively and defensively. He finished with 10 points, four assists, four steals and three assists.
“I just try to just help the team, bringing energy, especially on the defensive side,” Martinez said. “… We’ve always got to be energetic and lead on the defensive side, and then offense will come.”
8. Nebraska’s Bryce McGowens had a strong performance.
Maryland had a difficult time containing Nebraska freshman Bryce McGowens. The 6-foot-7, 179-pound guard left his mark early on. He finished an alley-oop dunk only 13 seconds into the game.
McGowens led Nebraska with 11 points at the end of the first half, shooting 2-for-6 from the field and 7-for-8 at the free-throw line. Half of Nebraska’s first-half points from the free-throw line came from McGowens (7 of 14).
Like he did in the first half, McGowens scored Nebraska’s first basket of the second half. He finished the game with a game-high 25 points. He was 14-for-15 from the free-throw line.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox