After splitting its road trip, the Maryland men’s basketball team returns home to Xfinity Center to face Penn State on Feb. 11.
Maryland is 2-6 on the road and picked up its first conference road win after beating Minnesota, 81-46. This was the largest Big Ten win for the Terps since a 100-65 win against Ohio State on Jan. 16, 2016.
“I’m proud of these guys. We wanted to come out and play a good, solid 40 minutes.” head coach Kevin Willard said after the win against Minnesota. “… The way we ended the half and the way we came out at the half I thought was really impressive.”
It also marked the Terps’ largest road conference win since 1953 when they defeated Clemson, 81-41, while in the ACC.
Maryland came out hot and managed to grab a 20-point lead going into halftime against the Gophers while shooting 56 percent from the field (17-for-30). The Terps’ dominance would continue with another 40-point half while they held Minnesota to 25 points.
Willard believes the team began to find their rhythm again defensively in the 58-55 loss to Purdue on Jan. 22.
“On the road, I thought the turning point was how much we battled at Purdue. Defensively, I thought our guys really started to figure out who we are again,” Willard said.
The Terps (16-8 overall, 7-6 Big Ten) were on a four-game winning streak before heading to Michigan State for a Feb. 7 tilt. But after allowing the Spartans to begin the game on a 15-0 run, the Terps’ comeback fell just short, 63-58.
Maryland began the game 0-for-5 while the Spartans managed to grab a double-digit lead in four minutes.
“The start’s my fault,” Willard said. “This is our fifth day on the road and we practiced terribly [on Feb. 6]. We didn’t practice very good. We traveled. We did stuff that we normally don’t do. I thought our practice yesterday was a result of how we started.”
The Terps grabbed the lead with 12 minutes remaining after going on an 18-7 run to begin the second half. However, the Terps were not able to capitalize off their momentum, leaving Michigan State in the game. Tom Izzo’s side was able to come away with the win.
Maryland has seven games remaining, with four of them coming in College Park. That leaves room for still a strong finish. However, the Terps’ performance on the road has been a cause for concern for the entire season as they continue to dig themselves into a hole at the start of games.
“I think it’s what is unique about this league,” Willard said. “It’s very hard to win on the road in this league. It’s very difficult. So, to kind of be in the position where we’re at with seven games left, I think we’re in a great position.”
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