Maryland Men’s Basketball achieves first win streak since November
The Maryland Terrapins battled the Iowa Hawkeyes to a 77-70 victory Wednesday night at the Xfinity Center at the University of Maryland.
The Terps (10-14) looked to keep the ball rolling following their electric victory at Minnesota. The Hawkeyes (18-6) aimed to extend their win streak to seven games.
“These last two wins have been very big for us, just getting our confidence up, and we’re all on the same page now, so it feels good,” Darius Adams said following the Terps’ second victory in a row.
It was a career night for the redshirt freshman Andre Mills, putting in a career high 24 points, leading all Maryland scorers. Mills poured it in early and his scoring opened up opportunities for his teammates repeatedly.
Adams spoke on Mill’s energy and impact, “If [Mills is] getting downhill one time, then I’m gonna get downhill the next time, I mean we’re just playing off each other.”
Mills said following the victory, “I just like seeing my teammates eat.” He continued, “I’ve enjoyed DA’s [Adams] growth, I’ve enjoyed watching Diggy [David Coit] get 40 damn near every game, Collin [Metcalf] has been playing more than he’s ever played before, I’m just enjoying everybody’s process honestly.”
Following the win, Metcalf, who produced unreal energy for the Terps said, “Dre’s energy is infectious, as soon as he gets going, the rest of us we see it, we start clicking.”
The Hawkeyes’ Bennett Stirtz assisted Brendan Hausen on back to back possessions for two threes as Iowa captured the lead 51-50. Mills finally got the crowd to their feet after skying for a putback layup to knot the game at 54.
The Terps quickly stacked on a 6-0 run as Iowa called timeout, sending the crowd to their feet cheering with six and a half minutes to play in the game.
As crunchtime arrived, Elijah Saunders put in a three to extend the Maryland lead to 70-64. Coit put the finishing touches on with two free throws and the Terps led by seven.
Maryland Head Coach Buzz Williams emphasized playing the full 40 minutes, “Until this past week, we’ve either won convincingly, or lost convincingly.”
Williams has geared practice to make every possession count. “How can we increase their endurance physically, but more importantly how can we increase their endurance of understanding mentally the importance of every possession.”
Metcalf also stressed the same sentiment. “We’ve learned that no matter what’s happening, up 40, down 40 you’ve got to keep playing.” He continued, “You’ve got to play all 40, you can’t give up and play 25.”
Stirtz led all scorers with 32 points and six assists.
Mills started off hot, two threes in the first half, totaling 14 points to lead all scorers by halftime. Maryland’s output had a much different feel in this game as they led 37-32 at the half.
The Terps outrebounded Iowa by nine and blocked four shots, three from Metcalf alone. The Terps were playing hungry. Saunders had 12 points, eight rebounds and a block, his energy was apparent along with Metcalf. Coit ended the game with 19 points and five assists.
Metcalf said, “If you don’t win the rebounding war, you lose.”
Turnovers have been a big issue this year for Maryland. Although they had 14 turnovers to just four from Iowa, the Hawkeyes failed to capitalize, only outscoring the Terps 9-5 from points off turnovers.