The Maryland men’s basketball team defeated Wisconsin, 73-55, on Jan. 25 behind senior guard Jahmir Young’s 22 points.
This marked the second time Maryland had the chance to avenge a loss. On Jan. 19, the Terps defeated Michigan, 64-58, after being blown out in Ann Arbor a few weeks before. This time, they avenged a 64-59 loss in Madison in December.
Maryland is now 13-7 overall, 4-5 in the Big Ten and 10-1 at the Xfinity Center.
“This building, especially when the students are in it, is really electric,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “This is a real, true home-court advantage. We haven’t really capitalized on big runs, but we’ve gone on some good mini-runs with the press. It’s really helped to have a good home crowd.”
Young, who has scored 20-plus points in four of his last five games, had 11 in the first half and finished the game 8-for-15 from the field (53 percent).
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve noticed is I think is not only has he gotten used to the league I think he’s gotten into good enough shape the way we’re playing and his second wind is coming really quick,” Willard said of Young. “I think he’s gotten in great shape. I think he’s gotten comfortable with the size and length. I think he’s gotten much more comfortable with the offense.”
Seniors Donta Scott and Hakim Hart chipped in with 14 and 13 points, respectively. Hart also dished out a game-high eight assists. Sophomore Julian Reese followed up his 19-point performance against Purdue with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting and three rebounds.
Reese has more than held his own against top centers Hunter Dickinson, Zach Edey and Steven Crowl in the Terps’ last three games.
“I think you need to put Juju in the conversation of being one of the best five-men in the league right now considering what he did over the last three games against three of the best big guys in the country,” Willard said.
“He’s always a presence on the court for us and he brings a big impact to the floor,” Scott said of Reese. “… He’s been doing really good with the bigs these last couple of games and trying to make sure they don’t get easy buckets and making them work. He’s just growing and getting better. … He’s a really smart player and he’s been able to make key plays to keep us in games.”
Maryland began the game against Wisconsin 8-for-11 from the field compared to a 2-for-8 start in Madison during its 64-59 loss. The Terps finished the first half shooting 13-for-25 (53 percent).
“I feel like they stole one from us when we went up there so we just had to get them back,” Young said. “I feel like we had to punch them in the mouth from the get-go and felt like we did that.”
Each team fed off of the crowd during the blackout game at Xfinity Center, coming out energetic and looking to get back on track. Maryland was coming off a loss at Purdue, while Wisconsin had just fallen at Northwestern.
The Terps fed off those in attendance by going on a 12-3 run to build a 32-23 first-half lead before Wisconsin cut its deficit to 32-28 by halftime.
“I was excited. We haven’t been up at halftime very much in Big Ten play, so it was all positive in the locker room,” Willard said.
Maryland began the second half more amped up and energized than the first. The Terps began the second half on a 17-8 run during the first five minutes, shooting 8-for-9 from the field. Wisconsin shot 4-for-10 en route to a double-digit deficit.
Maryland continued to pile on the points against the Badgers on its way to the final 18-point margin. This marks the largest margin of victory in conference play in two years for the Terps.
“I felt like we were in really good shape and we just came out and were aggressive,” Willard said. “Having a four-point [halftime] lead is better than being down 14, 16 or 40.”
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