LOUISVILLE — Each of those packages employed new coaches this offseason, however the Maryland males’s basketball staff left the KFC Yum! Middle with one other piece of affirmation that its revival beneath Kevin Willard is forward of schedule; Louisville, in the meantime, continued a surprising free fall.
Maryland
Terrapins dominate freefalling Louisville in ACC-Big Ten Challenge
At halftime, Payne instructed his staff: “Struggle. Be determined. Don’t allow them to make a run.”
And but when the groups returned, the Terrapins hit 5 straight three-pointers and their 11-point halftime edge grew to twenty.
Maryland (7-0) aced its first true street take a look at, constructing on a pair of high quality wins on the Corridor of Fame Tip-Off Event. The Cardinals turned the ball over 13 occasions and struggled taking pictures from shut vary and from the perimeter. Maryland raced out to an 18-4 lead, had a 37-26 edge at halftime and dominated the second half.
Even with a large lead, “the mind-set is to do extra, win by extra,” Maryland senior Donta Scott mentioned. “Who wouldn’t need to win by extra?”
Louisville has endured a dreadful begin to its season: The Cardinals misplaced their first three video games by one level apiece, then went to Hawaii for the Maui Invitational and misplaced to Arkansas, Texas Tech and Cincinnati by a mean of 26. Maryland grew to become the most recent staff to roll previous the Cardinals.
The Terps’ spectacular begin has usually been powered by both robust three-point taking pictures or Julian Reese’s dominance within the paint. Once they’ve lacked in a kind of areas, they’ve compensated with the opposite. However as Maryland overpowered Louisville, the staff as a substitute showcased its versatility. Scott scored 18 factors, and Jahmir Younger (15 factors) and Ian Martinez (10 off the bench) joined him in double figures.
Within the first half, with Reese restricted and three-point pictures not falling, Scott and Younger supplied reassurance that Maryland may discover offense elsewhere. The Terps had an 11-point halftime lead regardless of simply three factors from Reese and a 3-for-13 clip from past the arc.
The Terrapins discovered their stride after intermission. As Maryland keyed in on its defensive depth, Louisville went greater than 4 minutes with out scoring, starting on the 11:04 mark within the second half, and the Terps’ lead ballooned from 22 factors to 32.
Willard mentioned he wasn’t anxious about his staff overlooking a slumping Louisville. “If this was late February,” he mentioned, “I’d fear about that.” Willard has directed the staff’s focus towards the way it can enhance, which has alleviated these considerations and led to a snug win on the street.
“This staff has come collectively actually fast,” Willard mentioned. “They’ve purchased into how we need to play.”
The turnover-prone Cardinals have one of many lowest-scoring offenses within the nation. Louisville entered Tuesday averaging 17.5 turnovers per recreation, among the many worst marks in Division I. The Cardinals improved upon that common, ending with 13 giveaways towards Maryland, however the Terps scored 21 factors off these turnovers.
Late within the first half, when Louisville had some blips of promise, the Terps answered every time. When the Cardinals known as a timeout earlier than Reese’s free throw with six seconds to go within the first half, their offense couldn’t get a shot off earlier than the halftime buzzer. Maryland’s protection gave them extra hassle within the second half, with the Cardinals taking pictures simply 9 for 30 from the sector.
“We didn’t compete,” Payne mentioned. “We didn’t battle. We didn’t meet their depth. At occasions, it appeared like we gave up.”
Coming off a career-best exhibiting within the Terps’ earlier outing, Reese was restricted by foul hassle and scored simply six factors in 24 minutes.
“He’s bought to determine it out,” Willard mentioned. “He’s gotten two fast fouls once more. That’s sort of gotten him out of his rhythm. He’s bought to grasp that when he’s placing up the numbers he’s placing up, he’s going to get much more consideration.”
Reese’s lack of manufacturing didn’t matter for the Terps, who had been offensively superior to the Cardinals in almost each space. Maryland had some turnover hassle (12 within the recreation) and a poor mark from the free throw line (14 of 25), however the Terps shot 50 % from the sector to compensate.
This yr’s version of the ACC-Massive Ten Problem marks the tip of the occasion, which ESPN and the conferences established in 1999. Beginning subsequent season, the ACC and SEC will as a substitute accomplice with ESPN for these annual nonconference matchups. Each the ACC and SEC have main media rights agreements with ESPN, whereas the Massive Ten this summer time introduced an enormous new cope with Fox, CBS and NBC, however not ESPN.
Maryland, which left the ACC for the Massive Ten in 2014, performed on each side of this problem, going 10-5 with the ACC and simply 2-7 with the Massive Ten. (Final yr’s loss to Virginia Tech turned out to be the ultimate recreation of Mark Turgeon’s tenure.) As members of the Massive Ten, the Terps hadn’t gained a street matchup within the occasion till Tuesday.