Takeaways from Maryland men’s basketball’s season-ending loss to Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Maryland males’s basketball noticed its season come to a detailed Saturday, falling by 22 factors to No. 1 general seed Alabama within the second spherical of the NCAA Event. Regardless of the lopsided remaining scoreline, the Terps fought with the Crimson Tide and saved their deficit below 10 with 13 minutes remaining. Nonetheless, it’s Alabama that can proceed its season in Candy 16 and Maryland that was despatched residence packing.

Listed below are just a few takeaways from Saturday’s recreation.

Julian Reese’s foul bother modified the sport.

Sophomore ahead Julian Reese shortly turned considered one of Maryland’s most vital gamers as the house stretch of the season developed. Not solely did he turn out to be an much more efficient participant on the court docket, however he was capable of keep on it for longer. For the primary half of the season — and maybe a little bit bit longer — Reese was one of the foul-prone huge males within the nation. He noticed his enjoying time restricted after continuously selecting up a number of early fouls and having to take a seat on the bench for prolonged durations of time.

That unhealthy behavior reintroduced itself once more on the worst attainable time Saturday. Reese picked up his first and second fouls inside a 19-second span early within the first half, and after re-entering later picked up his third with 8:50 to go within the interval. He dedicated his fourth private foul with 12:13 nonetheless on the clock.

Reese was solely capable of play 21 minutes earlier than he fouled out with 2:24 left.

“I really feel like once I get fouls, I received to maintain the identical physicality and simply preserve enjoying. I perceive that simply comes with it,” Reese stated. “And simply go away some performs alone, like over-the-back calls and like, simply don’t gamble, don’t swipe down on some issues. Simply received to be taught from that and construct on it.”

Maryland head coach Kevin Willard pulled no punches when discussing the fouls referred to as on his blossoming star ahead, particularly the second foul when Reese and Alabama star freshman Brandon Miller received twisted up within the backcourt.

“You recognize, you’ll be able to’t name that second foul. Not in an NCAA Event recreation. That’s simply my feeling on it. I believed it was a horrible name and it modified the end result of the sport,” he stated. “… It was a horrible name. It modified our entire recreation plan. We have been going to pound it inside, pound it inside. That’s what we now have been doing for the final two months of the season.”

Maryland’s protection saved it afloat, however its offense sunk the ship.

Maryland did an important job of constructing Alabama, one of many nation’s highest-paced and gifted offenses, uncomfortable early. The Crimson Tide didn’t rating their twentieth level till over 15 and a half minutes had elapsed, placing them on tempo for 51.6 factors within the recreation — 30.3 factors fewer than their common of 81.9 factors per recreation.

Even when Maryland had saved that up — and holding Alabama down for that lengthy is a tall, tall process — it might’ve been on the dropping finish of Saturday’s recreation. The Terps scored solely 51 factors themselves, which is eighteen.3 factors lower than Alabama’s common of 69.3 factors allowed per contest. It was clear that Maryland needed to sluggish the sport down and restrict the variety of possessions every group had, however that leaves a slimmer margin for error capturing the ball.

Maryland didn’t rise as much as that problem, making simply 19 of its 54 field-goal makes an attempt, together with 10 missed layups. It persistently tried to drive the ball to the inside, however particularly with Reese off the ground, it noticed little to no success there.

“They’re very gifted. They’re very athletic. And so they problem each shot, so I really feel like they did a great job of defending the rim,” Maryland graduate guard Jahmir Younger stated.

The Terps additionally made simply considered one of their eight three-point makes an attempt — often a great technique for a group with inconsistent long-range capturing however not practically as efficient and not using a risk within the put up.

The Terps’ 2022-23 season got here to an finish.

It’s pure to really feel disappointment within the fast hours and days following a season-ending defeat. However when Maryland’s followers, gamers and coaches look again on this season with a macro perspective, they’ll absolutely achieve this positively.

The narrative has been overwhelmed into the bottom to a degree, however it’s true — Maryland overachieved this season relative to preseason expectations.

The Terps checked off nearly each field a sensible fan may’ve hoped they might. Willard made his mark on this system in his first season, establishing his most well-liked type of play, energizing the fanbase and alumni and constructing some optimistic momentum for the longer term.

“I feel immediately is March 18th. I received employed on March twenty first [last year]. I informed them that these guys have actually executed an unbelievable job of coming collectively and turning this program into — getting it entering into the proper route,” Willard stated of his message to the group after the sport. “And it was executed with an unbelievable perspective. … It’s very tough to go away some place you like very a lot and are available to a brand new place, and these guys made this yr completely phenomenal. I informed them I used to be happy with them, I cherished them, I stated thanks.”

Now a lot of the main target of the offseason will flip to roster development — particularly which gamers which are eligible to return will. Younger and the senior duo of Donta Scott and Hakim Hart all have the choice to return and use their additional and remaining years of faculty eligibility, however none of them have indicated that they’ve decided on that but. Graduate college students Don Carey and Patrick Emilien have each exhausted their school eligibility, so they won’t return.

Moreover, as is commonplace within the fashionable age of faculty basketball, it’s doubtless that Maryland’s roster will likely be closely influenced by transfers, whether or not they’re leaving or becoming a member of the squad. No present Maryland participant has entered the switch portal on the time of writing, however it’s a near-certainty that among the holes on the Terps’ roster will likely be stuffed by incoming transfers.