Maryland men’s basketball loses big against No. 1 Florida in March Madness Sweet 16
Maryland men’s basketball fell to the No. 1 Florida Gators 87-71 on Thursday, their largest loss of the season, in their second March Madness Sweet 16 appearance since 2003.
“Thirty-two percent of their points come from offensive rebounds. I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. It’s an unbelievable stat,” said Maryland Head Coach Kevin Willard on Wednesday in a LINE.
Rebounding was certainly one of the keys in Florida’s victory on Thursday. Florida had more offensive rebounds than Maryland had defensive rebounds. Just over 24% of Florida’s points came from second chances, outscoring Maryland in that category 21-9.
Florida went on a 12-4 scoring run at the start of the second half, taking a 52-42 point lead after Maryland failed to hit 3-pointers early and turned the ball over. Maryland was never able to convincingly get back in the game.
“They were making their threes, their shots,” Maryland’s Derik Queen said. “If they didn’t make it, they got the offensive rebound and repeated.”
It was a tale of two halves.
The game was fast-paced early in the first half, with both teams struggling to keep possession of the ball. The Terps had five of the nine turnovers with just over nine minutes left in the first half.
Julian Reese contributed early for the Terps, scoring seven of their first nine points, matching Florida’s nine points early on. Florida responded with a 9-0 scoring run to lead Maryland 18-9.
Reese grabbed five of Maryland’s 10 rebounds compared to Florida who won the rebound battle with 21 in the first half, including seven offensive rebounds.
Maryland’s ability to get to the free-throw line helped get them back into the game. Florida fouled 11 times while Maryland only fouled six in the first half.
Despite being two-for-seven from the field in the first half, Queen was six-for-six from the free throw line, adding to his total of 10 points in the first half.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie hit two important 3-pointers on back-to-back Maryland possessions to cut the Florida lead to 24-19.
Rodney Rice hit his first three of the game to tie the game at 33 points with just over three minutes left in the first half. Before that, Gillespie was the only Terp who scored from beyond the 3-point line, going three-for-five.
Despite both teams turning it over early in the first half. It was Florida turnovers that allowed Maryland to gain more possession of the ball and start eating away at the deficit. Florida had 13 turnovers in the first half, six more than Maryland did.
Florida went into halftime with a 40-38 lead over the Terps, a deficit they never overcame.
Despite the Terps season being over they achieved the program’s second March Madness Sweet 16 appearance since 2003. But uncertainty looms for the team.
Former Maryland athletic director Damon Evans left for Southern Methodist University and Willard’s future with the team is up in the air as well. Recently, a head coaching position opened at Villanova University and Willard was linked to the conversation on X.
Willard said in a post-game press conference he loves Maryland, but added, “I have to take everything into consideration moving forward. But I have not even talked to anybody, so I don’t know what I’m doing.”