The Terps extended their winning streak to four games.
With students back on campus for the first game in over a month, Maryland men’s basketball took on No. 17 Wisconsin in a high-stakes matchup at Xfinity Center.
The Terps did not let down the packed home crowd, dressed in gold for their annual Gold Rush game, defeating the Badgers, 76-68, for their third ranked win of the year Wednesday night.
All five starters scored double-digit points.
After starting conference play 1-3, Maryland (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) is on a four-game winning streak and sits firmly in fourth place in the Big Ten standings. The Terps are also 5-0 at home in Big Ten this season.
While Maryland led by a point at halftime, it started the game extremely slow. Through the first 12 minutes, the Terps shot 28.6% from the field and 22.2% from three, while Wisconsin (16-5, 6-4) shot 53.3% from the field and 62.5% from three. The Badgers also outrebounded Maryland, 12-10, during this span, yet the Terps trailed by just five points.
They held tough through next six minutes, only allowing the deficit to reach seven points as the Terps continued to search for success offensively. And when it finally came, Xfinity Center exploded. After a 12-6 run, Rodney Rice snatched the Terps’ first lead in more than 15 minutes with 1:41 remaining in the half, cashing in on a fast-break three.
“The crowd was great because it gave us an emotional lift,” head coach Kevin Willard said. “We’ve been on the road in January for 15 to 16 games, so to come home to a great crowd and play against a really good team and play well was good.”
Six Terps contributed points to their first-half lead, including Julian Reese with a team-high nine points. He was Maryland’s go-to player in offensive lulls and helped stop multiple Wisconsin runs from ballooning the deficit.
Reese — fresh off being named Naismith Men’s College Basketball Player of the Week — finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and a block, and also scored Maryland’s first points of the game. Following two empty possessions, the home crowd was buzzing, waiting to erupt. After getting scored on by Wisconsin center Steven Crowl, Reese retaliated by backing him down for a physical layup, before signaling to the gold-clad sea that the 7-footer was just too small.
“[Julian] got us through that first half. I though [Julian] was really physical and dominant,” Willard said.
Derik Queen and Ja’Kobi Gillespie, arguably Maryland’s two best players, struggled mightily in the first half. They combined for nine points on 2-of-14 shooting from the field, although Queen corralled seven rebounds and Gillespie remained a pest on defense, recording two steals.
For Wisconsin, John Tonje was a problem for the Terps all night. He scored 11 first-half points and finished with a game-high 23 on 50% shooting from the field and 62.5% from three.
Maryland started the second half strong, as Selton Miguel instantly hit a 3-pointer, but then Wisconsin got hot, opening up an 11-1 run and six-point lead.
The Terps regained the lead six minutes later, though, hitting three straight threes to send Xfintity Center into a frenzy. The first came from DeShawn Harris-Smith, who made just four in the 21 games prior on a 18.2% 3-point percentage.
“You play the percentages, he’s four for whatever,” Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard said. “If there’s five guys on the court, that’s the guy I would probably say, ‘Make him have to shoot it.’”
A Queen layup expanded the lead to six points — the Terps’ largest at the time — but he continued to struggle shooting the ball, finishing the game 3-of-14 from the field with 12 points, 12 rebounds and two assists.
Wisconsin battled back, but the Terps did not surrender the lead for the remainder of the game, as Queen, Rice and Gillespie sunk free throws down the stretch.
Three things to know
1. Rice stayed hot. Following 23-point performance, which included a game-winning 3-pointer, at Indiana Sunday, Rice led the Terps in scoring again Wednesday, posting 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from three.
2. Maryland’s bench contributed little. A trend this season, the Terps’ bench did not provide much in the way of points Wednesday night. Across four players and 41 minutes, Maryland’s bench totaled six points on 2-of-7 shooting from the field. Tafara Gapare and Harris-Smith lead the bench in points per game this season with 4.7 and 3.4, respectively.
3. Ranked Terps? Maryland was the unofficial No. 27-ranked team in the country, according to this week’s Associated Press top-25 poll, heading into Wednesday night. And the Terps’ win over the Badgers almost certainly means they will make their first appearance of the season in the national rankings next week.
Maryland’s next game will be at Ohio State next Thursday.
“Everyone wants to get ranked,” Rice said. “It is about time, though.”